Your task is to summarize for the rest of the class the material under the subheadings "Is There a Problem?" and "Methods and Framework."(pp. 554-555)  The questions below are intended to help you focus on the major points of these sections.

1.  What are the three "general observations" eyewitness identification researchers have made over the years? (p. 554)
 
     -using a simulated or staged-crime methodology have tended to find that false identifications occur with surprising frequency
     -sincerity of most of the false identifications
     -many studies of documented cases of wrongful convictions also exist
 
 
2.  What does Wells describe as the "paradigm of choice" in eyewitness research, and what are some examples of how it can be done? (p. 554)
 
staging events by:
     -slide sequences
     -film scenerios
     -live stagings
 
 
3.  What are some advantages of using this "paradigm of choice" and not actual, real-life crimes? (pp. 554-555)
 
 subjects caught by surprise, responses can be categorically scored
 

4.  Explain the difference between system variables and estimator variables. (p. 555)
 
system: critical variables that are manipulated in  experiments and can also be controlled in actual cases by people in the criminal justice
system (e.g., number of people in a lineup, instructions given to witnesses, etc.)

estimator: variables that are out of the control of the justice system (e.g, amount of time that the eyewitness had the culprit in view
during the incident, how good the lighting was at the scene of the crime, etc.)
 

     Your task is to summarize for the rest of the class the material under the subheadings "The Function of Lineups" and "The Structure of Lineups."(pp. 555-558)  The questions below are intended to help you focus on the major points of these sections.

1.  Eyewitnesses are typically asked to perform 2 tasks: 1) provide a verbal description of the suspect(s) and 2) identify a culprit from a police lineup.  Explain how these two tasks are related to the psychological ideas of recall and recognition. (p. 556)
 
Two ideas related to memory are recall and recognition.  Recall corresponds to the verbal description of suspects that witnesses provide to police.  Recognition corresponds to choosing from among many people in a lineup.
 

2.  Explain a single-suspect lineup model and what constitutes a "false identification," according to Wells. (pp. 556-557)
 
A single-suspect lineup contains one suspect and the rest are distractors who are not suspects.  A false identification is identifying a suspect who is not actually not guilty of committing the crime.  Identifying a distractor is referred to as an error, not a false identification.
 

3.  Explain an all-suspect lineup model and the dangers it poses in terms of identifying an innocent person. (p. 557)
 
An all-suspect lineup has no distractors.  It is dangerous because there is an increased chance of a false identification.  Because they are all suspects, anyone the witness identifies will be seriously investigated by police and considered for arrest.
 

4.  Wells suggests that lineups are similar to experiments.  Explain the two types of controls that can be used in lineups and what their purposes are. (p. 558)

Blank lineup:  contains no suspects; all members are known innocent distractors.  Those witnesses who get beyond this lure are more likely to make an accurate identification in a subsequent lineup.

Mock witness control:  a set of non-witnesses are given only limited information about a crime.  If the mock witnesses tend to choose the
suspect as the person that they believe is the culprit, then it raises the possibility that the actual witness' identification was based on the same limited information.  In other words, maybe one guy is just very distinctive looking, so even people who didn't see the crime pick him out.  In that case, we know not to take too seriously the fact that the real witnesses all pick him out.

     Your task is to summarize for the rest of the class the material under the subheadings "Relative-Judgment Process," "Sequential Lineups," and "Functional Size."(pp. 555-558)  The questions below are intended to help you focus on the major points of these sections.

1. Explain what Wells means by the concept of "relative judgments."  What dangers are posed by these judgments? (p. 560)
 
relative judgments: process by which the eyewitness chooses the lineup member who most resembles the culprit relative to the other members
of the group
 
The danger is that false identifications can occur, especially in a culprit-absent lineup.  This can be avoided in large part by telling eyewitnesses about the possibility that the culprit might not be in the lineup.
 

2.  Explain what the difference is between sequential and simultaneous lineups. (p. 561) What is a "show-up"? (p. 562)
 
A sequential line-up is when the eyewitness sees one member of the lineup at a time, eventually seeing many suspects.
A simultaneous line-up is when the eyewitnesses see all of the members of the lineup at the same time (think Usual Suspects)
A show-up is a one suspect lineup.
 

3.  Explain what Wells means by the functional size of a lineup as opposed to its nominal size.  Give an example of lineups with both high and low functional sizes. (p. 562)
 
The functional size of a lineup refers to the number of viable suspects who resemble the culprit.
The nominal size is the number of total people in the lineup.
For example, if the culprit is a Black male and the nominal size of a lineup is 8, but seven of the suspects in the lineup are White, then the functional size is 1.
 

4.  How can issues of conformity and obedience to authority lead to false identifications in lineups with low functional size? (p. 562)
 
Issues of conformity and obedience to authority lead to false indentifications in lineups with low functional size because the eyewitnesses can deduce who they think the police expect them to choose.  Also, eyewitnesses don't want to be seen as uncooperative, and they don't want to harm the investigator's case.

1.  Why does the certainty with which many eyewitnesses make identifications create concerns about the miscarriage of justice? (p. 564)

 
Eyewitness certainty is often determined by variables that are unrelated to accuracy, but jurors rely on a witness' confidence to determine if s/he is accurate.
 
 

2.  What does Wells mean by "malleability of certainty"? (p. 565)
 
 
The tendency of an eyewitness' certainty to change or fluctuate according to various situational variables, the similarities of people in the lineup, etc.
 
 

3.  What are some post-identification factors that can influence eyewitness confidence? (pp. 565-6)
 

- New information found out about the suspect or the case
- Normative and informational social pressure (like when a cop asks, "are you sure it is not that guy?")
 

4.  In your opinion, how might police or lawyers contribute to the problem of inflated confidence among eyewitnesses?  Is there anything that can be done to combat this?
 
Police and lawyers might coerce the person by their mere presence or with their comments (see #3 above).  Maybe there should be fewer policemen present at the lineup or they should not say anything until the person chooses.
 

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