The Biasing Effect of the Photographic Showup Compared to the Lineup on Later Lineup Identification

Abstract

Of interest in this study were the effects of the preliminary showup and lineup eyewitness identification methods on later identifications. After watching a video enactment of a car theft, 204 participants answered a questionnaire pertaining to the crime scene. Immediately following this, subjects participated in one of three identification conditions: (a) a showup (n = 65), a single photo of an innocent suspect, (b) a preliminary lineup (n = 56), six photos of suspects including the innocent suspect, or (c) a control (n = 83), no preliminary identification required. One week later, all the participants returned and viewed either a perpetrator-present or a perpetrator-absent photographic lineup. The major finding was that in the perpetrator-absent lineup more false alarms for the innocent suspect were made by showup participants than by either the lineup or control participants. Results were discussed in terms of the biasing properties of the showup procedure and how the memory for the perpetrator is affected.