Identification performance across the life span: Lineups and the reaction time-based Concealed Information Test

Area of Science:

• Cognitive psychology
• Forensic science
• Developmental psychology

Background:

• Eyewitness identification accuracy is crucial in legal proceedings.
• Children and older adults often exhibit lower performance due to cognitive and social factors.
• Developing identification procedures that accommodate diverse age groups is essential.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the effectiveness of classic lineups and the reaction time-based Concealed Information Test (RT-CIT) across the lifespan.
• To determine if RT-CIT can mitigate age-related deficits in eyewitness identification.
• To evaluate RT-CIT as a potential alternative for child and older adult witnesses.

Main Methods:

• A field experiment involving 1239 participants aged 6-79 years.
• Participants witnessed a mock theft and then completed either a classic lineup or an RT-CIT.
• Performance was analyzed across different age groups (children, adolescents, young adults, mid-adults, older adults).

Main Results:

• Young adults (18-35) performed best in classic lineups.
• RT-CIT demonstrated moderate accuracy in detecting recognition and non-recognition.
• Children and adolescents showed superior performance with RT-CIT compared to lineups; performance was similar for young adults.
• Mid-adults performed better with lineups than RT-CIT; children struggled with RT-CIT instructions, leading to exclusions.

Conclusions:

• The RT-CIT shows potential as an alternative eyewitness identification procedure for children and adolescents.
• This method may offer enhanced protection for innocent suspects within these age groups.
• Further research is needed to optimize RT-CIT for younger participants and address instruction comprehension issues.