Question 1

Julie is very confident that she has correctly identified the suspect in a robbery. What should jurors conclude about the accuracy of her identification of the suspect?

Accepted Answer

Research has shown that a person's confidence in their identification is not a reliable indicator of accuracy. Therefore, jurors should not rely solely on Julie's confidence in her identification when making a decision.

Question 2

In lineups, witnesses often chose the person who most resembles the image they have stored in memory. This can yield inaccurate identifications, and suggests that the ________ stage of memory is affected by the typical lineup procedure.

Accepted Answer

The lineup process influences the retrieval process of memory, as witnesses are asked to choose the person who most resembles their stored memory of the culprit. This can lead to inaccuracies if the true culprit is not present in the lineup or if the witness's memory is not accurately stored. Acquisition refers to the initial process of perceiving and encoding information, storage refers to the process of retaining information over time, and reconstructive refers to the way in which memories are altered or constructed based on new information or experiences.

Question 3

According to your text, composite face programs are to be avoided. Why is this?

Accepted Answer

The answer of According to your text, composite face programs...

Question 4

You've just read Social Psychology and the Law and have been summoned for jury service. Assuming that you were assigned to the jury trying a rape case, unlike most other jurors, you would be most likely to trust the testimony of a witness who

Accepted Answer

The answer of You've just read Social Psychology and the...

Question 5

All things being equal, which of the following suspects is most likely to be falsely convicted based on lineup identifications?

Accepted Answer

Tim is most likely to be falsely convicted because the foils (the other individuals in the lineup who are not suspects) do not resemble the witnesses' descriptions. This makes Tim stand out more than he should, increasing the likelihood of a false identification.

Question 6

Which of the following procedures would lead to more accurate identification in a lineup?

Accepted Answer

Presenting the suspect and foils sequentially reduces the likelihood of the witness making a relative judgment, where they choose the person who looks most like the perpetrator rather than the actual perpetrator themselves. The other choices may not necessarily lead to more accurate identification. For example, insisting on silence may reduce potential biases that could arise from verbal cues, but it does not address the issue of relative judgments. Ensuring a big difference in appearance between the suspect and foils may reduce the chances of the witness making a false identification, but it also reduces the lineup's similarity to the crime scene. Assuring the witness that the suspect is in the lineup increases the witness's confidence, but it can also biases them towards choosing the suspect regardless of whether they were actually involved in the crime.

Question 7

To make lineups more accurate, why should police officers tell witnesses that the lineup may not include the suspect?

Accepted Answer

The answer of To make lineups more accurate, why should...

Question 8

A mechanic at a truck rental office described a muscular man with a baseball cap and black T?-shirt as the person who rented the truck that was eventually used in the bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City. However, Timothy McVeigh was convicted, most likely worked alone, and did not resemble that description at all. The mechanic realized he had been confused and instead had described an innocent man who was at the truck rental office the day before McVeigh appeared there. This is a real-world example of faulty

Accepted Answer

The answer of A mechanic at a truck rental office...

Question 9

Social psychological research has revealed a ________ relation between eyewitness confidence and accuracy.

Accepted Answer

Research in social psychology has consistently shown that there is a weak relation between eyewitness confidence and accuracy. This means that an eyewitness's confidence in their memory or testimony does not strongly predict how accurate that memory or testimony actually is.

Question 10

According to the authors of your text, the process whereby people try to identify the source of their memories is the best definition of

Accepted Answer

The authors of the text define source monitoring as the process of trying to identify the origin or source of one's memories. This is different from retrieval, which refers to the process of accessing stored memories, as well as from storage, which refers to the process of initially encoding and storing information into memory. Reconstructive memory refers to the way in which memories can be altered or influenced by various factors, such as schemas or other contextual cues, rather than simply retrieved or monitored.

Question 11

Lila explains to a police officer that she identified a suspect out of a lineup by taking her time, comparing their faces, and then using process of elimination. According to information from your text, Lila's identification

Accepted Answer

The answer of Lila explains to a police officer that...

Question 12

According to your text, why should a police officer who is unaware of who the suspect is conduct the lineup?

Accepted Answer

If a police officer is unaware of who the suspect is, they are less likely to unintentionally give cues to the witness about who the suspect might be, which could influence their identification decision.

Question 13

Your friend was just arrested for robbing a drug store downtown. Based on a failure of source monitoring, why might the cashier think your friend was the robber?

Accepted Answer

The failure of source monitoring refers to the brain's inability to correctly remember the source of a piece of information. In this case, the cashier may falsely attribute the memory of seeing the robber to the friend because they have seen him frequently at the coffee store next door. This mistaken attribution is an example of source monitoring error.

Question 14

Austin is a social psychologist working for the police department. As he advises department detectives about procedures for a police lineup, what is he least likely to advise?

Accepted Answer

Austin is least likely to advise to include a wide variety of people who look quite different from each other in the lineup. This is because research has shown that when lineup members look very different from each other, witnesses may focus on the differences between the lineup members rather than on their memory of the perpetrator. This can lead to false identifications. Therefore, it is generally recommended to use lineup members who match the witness's description of the perpetrator and who resemble each other as closely as possible.

Question 15

When a witness chooses someone from a lineup because he or she looks the most like the suspect compared to the others in the lineup, the witness is exemplifying the ________ problem.

Accepted Answer

The "best guess" problem occurs when a witness selects a person from a lineup based on who looks most like the suspect relative to others, rather than identifying the actual suspect.

Question 16

You are an assistant district attorney trying to decide which suspect to try for a burglary case. Each of four eyewitnesses picked a different suspect from a photo lineup. Based on research conducted by Dunning and Stern (1994), which eyewitness would you find most credible?

Accepted Answer

Dunning and Stern (1994) found that witnesses who report a suspect's face "popping out" at them tend to be more accurate than those who use other methods, such as careful comparison or taking a long time to decide.

Question 17

When police officers perform lineups with witnesses, they should consider witnesses who are ________ and ________ to be more likely to be accurate.

Accepted Answer

Witnesses who are quick and confident in their identification are more likely to accurately identify the culprit in a lineup. Being slow or using process of elimination can lead to inaccurate identifications. Being methodical may not necessarily lead to accurate identifications.

Question 18

Which of the following is an error in eyewitness testimony that occurs in the storage phase of memory?

Accepted Answer

Source monitoring errors occur during the storage phase of memory, where the individual has difficulty remembering the source of a memory. This can lead to inaccuracies in eyewitness testimony, as the witness might confuse details between different events or sources.

Question 19

What should police officers do to prevent false identifications during lineups?

Accepted Answer

The answer of What should police officers do to prevent...

Question 20

The authors of your text present evidence that suggest that witnesses who can identify a suspect in a lineup in under ________ are probably more likely to correctly identify the suspect.

Accepted Answer

The text states that witnesses who can identify a suspect in a lineup in under ten seconds are probably more likely to correctly identify the suspect.

Quiz 16: Social Psychology in Action 3: Social Psychology and the Law