A growing movement in the United States and around the world involves promoting the advantages of conducting an eyewitness lineup in a sequential manner. We conducted a large study (N = 2,529) that included 24 comparisons of sequential versus simultaneous lineups. A liberal statistical criterion revealed only 2 significant sequential lineup advantages and 3 significant simultaneous advantages. Both sequential advantages occurred when the good photograph of the guilty suspect or either innocent suspect was in the fifth position in the sequential lineup; all 3 simultaneous advantages occurred when the poorer quality photograph of the guilty suspect or either innocent suspect was in the second position. Adjusting the statistical criterion to control for the multiple tests (.05/24) revealed no significant sequential advantages. Moreover, despite finding more conservative overall choosing for the sequential lineup, no support was found for the proposal that a sequential advantage was due to that conservative criterion shift. Unless lineups with particular characteristics predominate in the real world, there appears to be no strong preference for conducting lineups in either a sequential or a simultaneous manner. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved).

No. of pages 601. ISBN 978-0-8058-5152-6. Price $120 (Hardcover).The amount of research relevant to eyewitness identification is now too large to fit into a single volume. Memory for People is the companion to The Handbook of Eyewitness Psychology: Volume I-Memory for Events. Volume II focuses on memory for people from applied and legal perspectives, relying on extensive reviews of factors that influence witnesses of all ages. An international collection of researchers in psychology, criminal justice and legal studies provide a state-of-the-art update of what Munsterberg (1908) attempted 100 years ago.Memory for People is organized into five sections. Section I focuses on finding suspects. Meissner, Sporer and Schooler begin with a discussion of eyewitness descriptions, which are affected by encoding and retention factors, and individual differences involving both the witness and suspect. The relatively low correlation between the person description and recognition accuracy is explored, with a focus on the verbal overshadowing effect and its underlying cognitive processes. McAllister continues with a discussion of the deleterious effect of viewing mug books on subsequent lineup identifications, including the contributions of familiarity and commitment to a mug-book choice. He concludes, as will many authors in this volume, that more research is needed (specifically in the area of computer-based mug-book systems). Davies and Valentine follow with discussion and evaluation of the evolution of facial composite systems, classified into four generations of increasing sophistication. The current systems incorporate configural characteristics to better complement the way people recognize faces.Sections II and III take two perspectives on identifying suspects. Section II is a wide-ranging collection that describes factors under the control of the justice system (i.e. system variables such as how a lineup is conducted). Bruce, Burton and Hancock begin with an expertise theory of familiar face recognition, which arises from an accumulation of information (e.g. different viewpoints) about initially unfamiliar faces. An application using closed-circuit TV images showed that eyewitnesses can accurately recognize familiar faces from low quality images, but accuracy is poor for unfamiliar faces, even from high-quality images. Yarmey focuses on earwitness memory (i.e. voice identification) and concludes with a list of recommendations to help police gather more reliable evidence. Dysart and Lindsay compare show ups to lineups, and conclude that the former are suggestive. Nevertheless, more research is called for because police will continue to use them. Malpass, Tredoux and McQuiston-Surrett focus on lineup construction and fairness, detailing the methods available to ensure that a suspect does not stand out and that each lineup member is a plausible alternative. Dupuis and Lindsay call for research on new innovations such as multiple-choice large sequential lineups, elimination lineups and lineup training. Brewer, Weber and Semm...

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