Date of Award
2017
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
Psychology
Committee Chair
Jeffrey Neuschatz
Committee Member
Jodi Price
Committee Member
Dianhan Zheng
Subject(s)
Eyewitness identification, Witnesses--Psychology, Forensic psychology
Abstract
The present study investigated the influence of jailhouse informant testimony on eyewitness identifications and self – reported confidence. Participants watched a video of an actual armed robbery and, after, made an identification decision from a photo lineup. Except for those in the no – feedback control condition, all participants then read that certain lineup members either confessed to the crime, denied involvement or were implicated by a jailhouse informant. Jailhouse informant testimony implicating the identified lineup member led participants to have higher confidence in their identification. In contrast, jailhouse informant testimony implicating one of the unidentified lineup members led participants to have lower confidence in their initial identification, and it led 80% to identify a different lineup member when given the chance. These results suggest that jailhouse informant testimony can influence eyewitnesses’ confidence and their identification decisions.
Recommended Citation
Smith, Preston M., "The influence of jailhouse informant testimony on eyewitnesses' propensity to change their identification" (2017). Theses. 230.
https://louis.uah.edu/uah-theses/230