Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 7, 2026

Holistic Facial Composite Creation and Subsequent Video Line-up Eyewitness Identification Paradigm
Published on: December 24, 2015
Impact of defense-only and opposing eyewitness experts on juror judgments
Jennifer L Devenport1, Brian L Cutler
1Psychology Department, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225-9089, USA. Jennifer.Devenport@wwu.edu
Abstract:
Previous research shows that expert testimony on eyewitness memory influences mock-juror judgments. We examined the extent to which opposing expert testimony mitigates the impact of defense-only expert testimony. Participants (N = 497) viewed a video-taped trial involving an eyewitness identification and individually rendered verdicts and evaluated the evidence and the experts. We manipulated the Foils (unbiased vs. biased) and Instructions (unbiased vs. biased) of the lineup and Expert Testimony (no expert vs. defense-only expert vs. opposing experts). Expert testimony did not significantly influence juror judgments, but the opposing expert testimony diminished the credibility of the defense expert in the eyes of the jurors. Results point to the need for further research on conditions that qualify the impact of expert testimony.
Related Concept Videos
Confirmation Biases
Hindsight Biases
The Stanford Prison Experiment
Eyewitness Memory
One such error is memory distortion, which occurs because human memory does not function like a...
Theory of Attribution I: Correspondent Inference Theory
Actor-Observer Effect

