Centrality bias for rejecting lineups: examining the impact of wildcard positioning on youth eyewitness choosing behaviour

Abstract

Eyewitnesses can be extremely important figures in the criminal justice system. However, there are many factors that can affect their abilities to make correct decisions when viewing photographic lineups. The age of an eyewitness can greatly impact their ability to view, comprehend, and ultimately make a decision when viewing a lineup. Zajac and Karageorge (2009) discovered that by placing a wildcard (a salient rejection option) in a lineup, children are more likely to correctly reject target-absent photo arrays. This simple technique allows children to reject a lineup, while still being able to make a choice. The present study focused on the physical location (positioning) of the wildcard in the photo array to determine if the placement of the wildcard impacted youth witness identification decisions. Further, this study sought to examine if older children (aged 11-to-15 years) benefited from the inclusion of the wildcard in a lineup, as younger children have. Participants were recruited from a summer science camp to view a brief video. After a day delay, youths were shown two lineups (one male, and one female). Results demonstrated the salient placement of the wildcard did not have an effect in either lineup, however target presence was a factor in selection rates for the female lineup. In the female lineup, the correct target was selected significantly more often than the innocent suspect, a trend not found with the male lineup.