A SERIES OF RESEARCH STUDIES WAS CONDUCTED IN AN ATTEMPT TO ASSESS THE CAPABILITIES OF SELECTED ETHNIC GROUPS TO RECOGNIZE MEMBERS OF OTHER ETHNIC GROUPS. A GROUP OF 75 BLACK SUBJECTS, ALL OF WHOM HAD PREVIOUS PERSONAL CONTACT WITH WHITES, BUT NONE WITH JAPANESE OR CHINESE PERSONS; 72 WHITES, WHO ALL KNEW BLACKS, BUT NO CHINESE OR JAPANESE; AND 65 CHINESE AND 60 JAPANESE SUBJECTS, ALL OF WHOM REPORTED SPECIFIC FRIENDSHIPS AMONG SEVERAL ETHNIC GROUPS, WERE TESTED. AN IDENTICAL RECOGNITION TASK WAS ADMINISTERED TO EACH OF THE FOUR ETHNIC GROUPS BY A MEMBER OF THAT PARTICULAR GROUP. SUBJECTS WERE SHOWN AN INSPECTION SHEET OF 20 PHOTOGRAPHS OF A PARTICULAR ETHNIC GROUP. THEY WERE THEN SHOWN A TEST SHEET OF PHOTOGRAPHS, WHICH CONTAINED 9 PHOTOS ALREADY SEEN ON THE INSPECTION SHEET AND 11 DUMMY PHOTOS (WHICH THEY HAD NOT SEEN BEFORE). THE SUBJECTS WERE ASKED TO MARK THOSE WHICH THEY HAD SEEN ON THE INSPECTION SHEET. ALL SUBJECTS ATTEMPTED THE TASK FOR FOUR SETS OF ETHNIC PHOTOS. ALL FOUR GROUPS PERFORMED BEST WHEN IDENTIFYING THEIR OWN RACE PHOTOS. THE BLACK SUBJECTS PERFORMED POORLY WHEN ATTEMPTING TO RECOGNIZE ANY ETHNIC PHOTOS OTHER THAN THOSE OF BLACKS. THE WHITE SUBJECTS RECOGNIZED THE ASIAN PHOTOGRAPHS ALMOST AS WELL AS WHITE ONES, BUT HAD POOR RECOGNITION OF THE BLACK PHOTOS. THE CHINESE AND JAPANESE WERE ALMOST IDENTICAL TO EACH OTHER IN THEIR RECOGNITION PERFORMANCES. THEY PERFORMED BEST IN RECOGNIZING EACH OTHER, SOMEWHAT WORSE IN RECOGNIZING BLACK PHOTOS, AND POOREST IN RECOGNIZING WHITE PHOTOS. THERE APPEARED TO BE NO RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN A HISTORY OF ASSOCIATION WITH A PARTICULAR ETHNIC GROUP AND THE ABILITY TO RECOGNIZE THAT GROUP'S MEMBERS. INTERETHNIC IDENTIFICATIONS WERE FOUND TO BE ALMOST FOUR TIMES MORE LIKELY TO BE ERRONEOUS THAN WERE INTRAETHNIC IDENTIFICATIONS. EACH SUBJECT WAS ASKED TO REPORT HIS LEVEL OF CONFIDENCE IN HIS RECOGNITION PERFORMANCE FOR EACH GROUP. THOSE SUBJECTS WHO PERFORMED MOST POORLY WERE JUST AS LIKELY TO EXPRESS GREAT CONFIDENCE IN THEIR ABILITY AS WERE THOSE WHO PERFORMED WELL. IT IS CONCLUDED THAT INTERETHNIC EYEWITNESS IDENTIFICATION SHOULD BE VIEWED SKEPTICALLY, EVEN WHEN THE WITNESS EXPRESSES CONFIDENCE IN HIS IDENTIFICATION. (VDA)