The Effect of Facial Composite Construction on Eyewitness Identification Accuracy in an Ecologically Valid Paradigm

Previous research has produced equivocal results with regard to whether facial composite creation affects subsequent eyewitness identification accuracy, but the most widely publicized view is that creating a composite impairs the ability to later recognize the perpetrator from a line-up. In our firs...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Criminal justice and behavior 2019-02, Vol.46 (2), p.319-336
Main Authors: Pike, Graham E., Brace, Nicola A., Turner, Jim, Vredeveldt, Annelies
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Accuracy
Crime
Identification
Memory
Motivation
Police
Witnesses
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Summary:Previous research has produced equivocal results with regard to whether facial composite creation affects subsequent eyewitness identification accuracy, but the most widely publicized view is that creating a composite impairs the ability to later recognize the perpetrator from a line-up. In our first experiment, we examined this effect using several ecologically valid elements including a live staged crime, trained police officers, and a long delay between construction and identification, albeit with only a short delay between crime and composite construction. Composite construction did not significantly affect line-up identification accuracy. Experiment 2 replicated this result using a laboratory-based design and sequential line-up task, eliminating the possibly confounding effect of differential levels of motivation and relative judgments. Taken together, the experiments suggest composite creation may not negatively impact subsequent line-up accuracy, regardless of whether an ecologically valid method or more standard laboratory testing was used.
ISSN:0093-8548
1552-3594
DOI:10.1177/0093854818811376