IMPROVING THE RELIABILITY OF EYEWITNESS IDENTIFICATION - PUTTING CONTEXT INTO CONTEXT

We examined the effects of context reinstatement procedures on eyewitness identification accuracy. Subjects were 290 undergraduates who viewed a videotaped reenactment of a liquor store robbery and, in a later session, attempted to identify the robber from a lineup parade. Two types of context reinstatement procedures were examined together with eight encoding, storage, and retrieval vari- ables manipulated within the stimulus videotape and the lineup procedures. Disguise ofthe robber impaired identification accuracy (p < .05). There was a significant interaction between disguise and the context reinstatement interview (p < .01) such that the context reinstatement interview had a stronger impact on identification accuracy in the high-disguise condition. Lineup cues interacted with lineup composition (p < .05), retention interval (p = .01), and exposure to mug shots (pp = .05; although in a manner contrary to our expectation). These interactions indicated that lineup context cues improved identification accuracy in the high-similarity, 2-week retention interval, and no mug- shots conditions. © 1987 American Psychological Association.