Biased lineups have been shown to increase significantly false, but not correct, identification rates (Lindsay, Wallbridge, & Drennan, 1987; Lindsay & Wells, 1980; Malpass & Devine, 1981). Lindsay and Wells (1985) found that sequential lineup presentation reduced false identification rates, presumably by reducing reliance on relative judgment processes. Five staged-crime experiments were conducted to examine the effect of lineup biases and sequential presentation on eyewitness recognition accuracy. Sequential lineup presentation significantly reduced false identification rates from fair lineups as well as from lineups biased with regard to foil similarity, instructions, or witness attire, and from lineups biased in all of these ways. The results support recommendations that police present lineups sequentially.
The authors examined the use of mug shots as an investigative tool. Data are reported from 3 staged-crime experiments (N = 365) exploring the effects on mug-shot selections of number of faces seen before the confederate criminal's, of biased procedures, and of sorting pictures to fit the description of the criminal. The confederate was frequently selected from mug shots, and few innocent people were selected. Selections of faces declined with number of pictures viewed before the confederate's. Biased instructions and clothing bias increased choices of innocent people but not of guilty people. More innocent faces were selected when the pictures matched the confederate's description than when the pictures were not sorted to match the confederate's description. Viewing mug shots had no effect on subsequent identifications in lineups. Implications for police use of mug shots are discussed.
Research on white opinions of such compensatory policies as busing and affirmative action has suggested that prejudice is the primary determinant of policy attitudes (Jacobson, 1985;McConahay, 1982). Often, however, racism is measured in a manner that confounds prejudice with values and concerns about justice. A study was conducted in which undergraduates ( N = 185) were told that one of four affirmative-action programs for black students would be implemented at their university either in the following year or in 5 years. We found that: (a) support varied considerably across programs and was greater when implementation was imminent; (b) separate operationalizations of race prejudice and dispositional justice beliefs accounted for equal, and at times greater, variance in affirmative action opinions relative to a measure of symbolic racism; and (c) correlates of policy endorsement, including dispositional justice beliefs but not racial affect, varied from program to program. It is suggested that future research should explicitly distinguish race prejudice from values as predictors. It is also suggested that justice concerns, particularly regarding policy specifics, are important predictors of affirmative action attitudes that to date have largely been overlooked.
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