Recall of perpetrator height and weight by Asian and Caucasian eyewitnesses: Evidence of ethnic stereotyping

Abstract

Psychologists are less concerned with the idea that eyewitnesses can be unreliable than with the question of what conditions foster reliable and unreliable descriptions and identifications (Loftus, 1979). Verbal descriptions given by witnesses typically are general rather than specific (gender, race, height, weight, hair, age) and include ranges (e.g., early to mid 30s) (Sporer, 1992; Wells, 1985: Yamey, 1979). The accuracy of the eyewitness's general description of a perpetrator is important both for the immediate investigation (O'Hara & O'Hara, [988) and for the later evalu,ation of the eyewitness evidence at triat (Visher, 1987). One factor that could influence the height and weight judgments of eyewitnesses is the perceived ethnicity of the perpetrator. Another is the ethnicity of the eyewitness. The purpose of the research presented here was to evaluate the potential influence of ethnic stereotypes and ethnically-related cognitive biases on the accuracy of height and weight estimations by Asian and Caucasia.~ eyewitnesses. Several research studies have demonstrated that stereotypic expectancies can bias the interpretation of ambiguous infommtion about others (Darley & Gross, 1983; Devine, t'989; Duncan, 1976). Hamilton, Shennan, and Ruvolo (1990) concluded that expectancies can influence the way persons process information we receive, seek additionaI information, and guide our behavioral interactions with others~ In regal proceedings, discrepancies between the verbal description of a perpetrator given by a witness and the actual physical attributes of the accused typically are taken as reason to doubt the accuracy of the eyewitness identification (Neilv. Biggers, 1972). Based on the concept of ethnic stereotyping, it was hypothesized that a perpetrator who differs from the normative height and weight of his ethnic group is likely to be recalled as being more consistent with his normative ethnic heigl;md weight. An eyewitness's beliefs about population nora,s may account tot an underestimating of aboveaverage physical characteristics of another person and an overestimating of below-average physical characteristics (Flin & Shepherd, 1986). This hypothesis predicts a general regression toward the population mean for estimations of height and weight of persons perceived to be from a given ethnic group. In addition. Flin and Shepherd (1986) found that height estimations of others were significantly related to the height of the eyewitness. In this regard, Clifford and Bull (1978) have suggested that "Perhaps the police should note down a description of the witness as well as the witness's description of the suspect." Perhaps Asian witnesses would recall others as being shorter than Caucasian witnesses simply because they themselves are shorter. To asses this possibility, the witness's own heights and weights were recorded in the present experiments with the expectation that their heights and weights would influence their perceptions and recollections of the perpetrators.