Eyewitness Identification

Dr. Smith traces the history of eyewitness identification research from its roots to present. He shows how psychological researchers have known that memory is susceptible to influence by a number of different factors. He defines important terminology that includes estimator and system variables, lineups and showups, culprit and suspect. Dr. Smith describes the various ways that law enforcement can influence and improve the accuracy of eyewitness identification. Dr. Smith also describes the factors related to promotion of fair lineup procedures. We end with discussion of witness confidence and accuracy.