Eyewitness misidentifications can lead to innocent people going to prison. This study examined the effect that distinctive feature method, multiple perpetrators with one having a distinctive feature, and lineup type had on eyewitness identification accuracy. The confidence-accuracy relationship was also examined. A sample of (N = 102) individuals completed a face recognition task. Two mixed factorial ANOVAs revealed that replication led to an increase in correct identifications in target present lineups and an increase in incorrect identifications in target-absent lineups. Single perpetrators and perpetrators who had a distinctive feature in the multiple perpetrator condition, had a non-significant difference in eyewitness identification accuracy. With multiple perpetrators where one had a distinctive feature, the perpetrator who did not have a distinctive feature was identified the least in target-present lineups and most incorrectly in target-absent lineups. No effect of lineup type was found. A calibration analysis was conducted to investigate the confidence accuracy relationship. Postdictive confidence was a better predictor of accuracy than predictive confidence. Furthermore, non-choosers confidence was a worst indicator of accuracy compared to choosers. The findings of this study furthered the understanding surrounding the effect that estimator and system variables have on eyewitness identification accuracy and the confidence accuracy relationship of eyewitnesses.
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