Tests Cast Doubts on Lineup Process

Raising questions about the accuracy of eyewitnesses’ identification of suspects, an Iowa State University psychologist’s experiment has showed that people who identify a suspect from a police lineup or a group of photos are far more confident of their choices if given positive feedback. They become less sure of the identification--and are likely to be less confident witnesses at trial--if given negative feedback or none at all. In the experiment, 352 people were shown a grainy videotape made by a surveillance camera and asked to identify the man on the tape from a lineup or photos. All chose--wrongly, because the man was not in the lineup or photos.