DEFAULT VALUES IN EYEWITNESS DESCRIPTIONS - A PROBLEM FOR THE MATCH-TO-DESCRIPTION LINEUP FOIL SELECTION STRATEGY

Study 1 (N = 205) reveals that witnesses often provide vague descriptions. Witnesses leave out information such as sex and race that they certainly noticed (default values). Study 2 (N = 89) weakly supports the claim (Luus & Wells, 1991) that correct identification rates from lineups are enhanced by selecting foils who fit the description of the criminal rather than foils who are highly similar to the suspect. Study 3 (N = 210) indicates that false identification rates can be inflated by selecting lineup foils who fit vague descriptions of the criminal but otherwise differ from the suspect on default values.