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