Multiple independent lineups: A procedure for corroborating eyewitness identification evidence in children

Child eyewitnesses exhibit problematic choosing on police lineups at a higher rate than adults (Fitzgerald & Price, 2015), which is an issue as mistaken eyewitness testimony is a leading cause of wrongful convictions (National Registry of Exonerations, 2019). This study examined a novel eyewitness technique to use with children, the multiple independent lineup (MIL) technique, to assess facial identification accuracy. A total of 486 children (60% male, 39% female, and 1% other; Mage = 8.59) witnessed a live event and, the following day, engaged in a lineup identification task (i.e., single simultaneous face lineup or the multiple independent lineup technique). Largely, the results found support for the multiple independent lineup technique to help infer the accuracy of child eyewitnesses. Interestingly, children of all ages performed similarly on the multiple independent lineup technique. The results also revealed that facial identification responses are similar between the two lineup conditions (i.e., single simultaneous lineup and multiple independent lineup technique). Implications and future directions are discussed.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Applied Science (MASc)

Level thesis:degree_level

Master's

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Experimental and Applied Psychology

Grantor dc:publisher

Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research, University of Regina

Year dc:date.issued

2023

Author dc:creator

• Carr, Shaelyn

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Kaila, Bruer

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Jeff, Loucks
• Chris, Oriet

Language dc:language.iso

en

DOI

https://doi.org/10.82465/4117

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:uregina.scholaris.ca:10294/16192