called journaling. After 2 weeks of journaling, not
only did he remember the event, an event that in fact
never occurred, but he also provided specific details of
the event, such as the color of the man’s shirt who
found him as well as the coarseness of the man’s hand.
Critics of false memory research argue that lab-
created false memories are plausible and fairly
benign. They dispute the generalizability of the results
to legal and therapeutic settings in which the memo-
ries recalled are often more traumatic and more atyp-
ical (e.g., childhood sexual abuse).Eyewitness Recognition
Eyewitness identification of perpetrators can play a
central role in the investigation of a crime and in
resolving the case, whether by trial or through plea
bargaining. Eyewitness identification can occur spon-
taneously, as is the case when a crime victim encoun-
ters her perpetrator in public and calls the police.
Eyewitness identification can also occur through iden-
tification tests, such as showups, photo arrays, and
live lineups. These identifications appear very persua-
sive and compelling to jurors.
Research on eyewitness identification has exam-
ined a large array of factors that are thought to influ-
ence identification accuracy. These factors include the
conditions under which the crime occurred, exposure
time to the perpetrator, stress experienced by the wit-
ness, the presence of a weapon, disguises worn by the
perpetrator, and the time between the crime and the
identification.
One such factor that has received a significant
amount of attention in the psychological literature is
the cross-race effect or own-race bias (ORB). That is,
the more an eyewitness’s race is congruent with the
race of the perpetrator the more likely the witness will
make an accurate identification. In contrast, when the
witness and perpetrator are from different races, iden-
tification accuracy is impaired. Although there are
some differences in false identifications (specifically,
White participants demonstrate a larger ORB effect
compared with Black participants), the results of
accurate identifications indicate no differences in the
ORB effect between participants. One theory of ORB
posits that the extent to which the ORB effect occurs
is dependent on how much interracial experience a
person has with the target race. This theory has been
supported in that those participants who live in areas
that allow for more interracial experience do notdemonstrate the typical ORB effect compared with
those who do not have this experience.Methods of Improving
Eyewitness Memory
The aforementioned distinction between eyewitness
recall and identification accuracy is useful for explain-
ing how psychological research has been used to
develop methods for improving eyewitness memory.
Practical recommendations from research on eyewit-
ness recall have focused on how to form questions that
do not mislead the eyewitness and how to avoid
implanting false memories. Research has also exam-
ined whether hypnosis can be used to improve eye-
witness recall, but the conclusions from this research
are pessimistic.
One of the great success stories from research on
improving eyewitness recall is the cognitive interview.
the cognitive interview was derived from three basic
processes: memory/cognition, social dynamics, and
communication. The process begins by directing the
eyewitness to close his or her eyes and mentally
reconstruct the event. Although not always feasible,
this can also be done by having the eyewitness revisit
the crime scene. The interviewer should not interrupt
the witness and should only ask open-ended ques-
tions. Witnesses should be encouraged to describe the
event from multiple perspectives and should be asked
to respond, “I don’t know” rather than guess when
unsure. The interviewer should establish a rapport
with the witness to balance issues of authority and
encourage active participation on the part of the wit-
ness. After the eyewitness describes the event, the
interviewer should use probing questions to exhaust
the memory. Research has demonstrated that careful
and thorough use of this procedure can lead to an
increase in memory for the event without causing
increases in incorrect information.
Research on improving eyewitness identification
has likewise yielded impressive gains. There are vari-
ous tests that are used to identify a suspect. Two of the
most common of these tests are the lineup and the
showup. A lineup can be conducted either live (the
witness views actual people) or by using a photo
spread (the witness views a series of photos). In gen-
eral, a lineup usually contains several fillers, people in
the lineup that are known to be innocent, and one sus-
pect. Lineups can contain more than one suspect, but
for a variety of reasons, it is not recommended.296 ———Eyewitness MemoryE-Cutler (Encyc)-45463.qxd 11/18/2007 12:42 PM Page 296