U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

NCJRS Virtual Library

The Virtual Library houses over 235,000 criminal justice resources, including all known OJP works.
Click here to search the NCJRS Virtual Library

Descriptive Eyewitness Testimony: The Influence of Emotionality, Racial Identification, Question Style, and Selective Perception

NCJ Number
212227
Journal
Criminal Justice Review Volume: 29 Issue: 2 Dated: Autumn 2004 Pages: 317-340
Author(s)
Fredrik H. Leinfelt
Date Published
2004
Length
24 pages
Annotation
This study examined the impact of race in conjunction with emotionality and question-related variables on descriptive eyewitness recall accuracy.
Abstract
The criminal justice system places a great trust and credibility in eyewitness accounts, thereby insisting on the ability of witnesses to accurately recall information. Prior research has shown that many factors can have an effect on the accuracy of eyewitness memory, including the context of the witnessed event and the race of involved individuals. This study examined whether there is a combined impact of race, emotionality, question type, and selective perception on descriptive recall accuracy in a confined setting using a mock robbery scenario. The study found that eyewitnesses tended to pay more attention to weapons and vehicles during a mock scenario than to perpetrator behavior, perpetrator description, and other information surrounding the event. The results support a majority of the literature suggesting that the current usage of eyewitness testimony by the legal system is far from ideal. It is recommended that the present high emphasis placed on eyewitness accounts be reviewed and reconsidered. References and appendixes A and B