Adults’ perceptions of child eyewitness credibility: multiple independent lineups

Abstract

Eyewitness testimony is a powerful piece of evidence in criminal cases (O’Neill et al., 2011; Neal et al., 2012), but this can be problematic as eyewitness testimony is a leading cause of wrongful convictions (Innocence Project, 2023). Mistaken eyewitness testimony is prominent in children, as children identify innocent suspects more frequently than adults (Fitzgerald & Price, 2015). Age-appropriate lineup techniques have been explored to reflect child eyewitness accuracy, such as the multiple independent lineups technique (MIL; Carr & Bruer, 2023). Although Carr & Bruer (2023) found promising results using the MIL technique with children, how adults perceive child eyewitness credibility through MIL was unstudied. This study aimed to fill this gap in how adults perceive child eyewitness credibility on the MIL. To do so, juryeligible participants (N =176. 73% female, 24% male, 3% identified as other [i.e., nonbinary], Mage = 23.26, SD = 7.85) read a mock trial transcript where the child eyewitness made their identification(s) of the suspect through the traditional lineup or the MIL technique. Perceived credibility for the participants was measured through several different dimensions (i.e., identification, overall credibility, honesty, and cognitive ability). Largely, the results did not indicate any significant differences across lineup techniques (traditional lineup or MIL), nor the age of the child eyewitnesses (younger or older). This indicates that adults perceive child eyewitness credibility similarly regardless of technique used and age of the child eyewitness. Implications and future directions are discussed.