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Verbal descriptions can sometimes impair (or “overshadow”) and other times facilitate subsequent attempts at perceptual identification of faces; however, understanding the relationship between these two tasks and the theoretical mechanisms that bridge this relationship has often proven difficult. Furthermore, studies that have attempted to assess the description-identification relationship have varied considerably in demonstrating significant and null results, often across a variety of paradigms and design parameters. In the present paper we review the relevant literatures and theoretical positions proposed to explain this relationship, and we present the first meta-analysis of this effect across 33 research papers and a total of 4278 participants. Our results suggest that there does appear to be a small, but significant, relationship between the description measures of accuracy, number of incorrect descriptors, and congruence with that of subsequent identification accuracy. Furthermore, certain conditions were found to strengthen the magnitude of this relationship, including the use of face recognition versus eyewitness identification paradigms and the length of delays between relevant tasks. We discuss both the theoretical and practical implications of this relationship for understanding memory for faces.
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... 9,10 Furthermore, researchers have repeatedly raised concerns surrounding the risks of solely relying upon eyewitness identification evidence to aid in the search and accurate identification of offenders, as it has been determined to be easily susceptible to suggestibility, bias and error. [11][12][13][14] Moreover, facial identification information recalled by witnesses may be particularly unreliable because of a frequently reported lack of specificity of facial descriptors 15,16 and a poor similarity of facial composites to intended target faces 8 . Nonetheless, evidence obtained from eyewitnesses is essential to criminal investigations, specifically in the absence of other incriminating evidence and in time-sensitive cases, where retrieving camera imagery may take too long. ...
... These include the use of person-feature checklists 21 , the Cognitive Interview 22,23 and its variations such as the Holistic-Cognitive Interview 24 for facial-composite construction, the Person Description Interview 25 , Self-Administered Interview 26 and free-recall descriptions 11 . Despite recalled descriptors achieving accuracy rates of over 80% 15,[27][28][29] , person descriptions are still frequently perceived as vague and incomplete in terms of portraying an offender's appearance 1,8,15,16 . This is because witnesses tend to provide information regarding basic physical attributes (e.g. ...
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Facial identification evidence obtained from eyewitnesses, such as person descriptions and facial composites, plays a fundamental role in criminal investigations and is regularly regarded as valuable evidence for apprehending and prosecuting perpetrators. However, the reliability of such facial identification information is often queried. Person descriptions are frequently reported in the research literature as being vague and generalisable, whilst facial composites often exhibit a poor likeness to an intended target face. This raises questions regarding the accuracy of eyewitness facial identification information and its ability to facilitate efficient searches for unknown perpetrators of crimes. More specifically, it questions whether individuals, blind to the appearance of a perpetrator of a crime (i.e. the public), can correctly identify the intended target face conveyed by facial identification information recalled from eyewitness memory, and which of the two traditional facial identification formats would be better relied upon by law enforcement to enable such searches. To investigate this, in the current study (N=167) we employed two metrics – identification accuracy and identification precision – to assess the utility of different formats of eyewitness facial identification information in enabling participants to correctly identify an unknown target face across three different formats: facial descriptions, facial composites and computer-generated description-based synthetic faces. A statistically significant main effect for the format of facial identification information on identification accuracy (p
... Consistent with this component of the TIPS account, a few researchers have reported positive correlations between recall quantity and recognition performance in their studies (e.g. Meissner et al., 2008;Schooler & Engstler-Schooler, 1990). ...
... Researchers have recently reported similar concerns regarding the pitfalls of the RBI and RCS theories, and we believe that our findings contribute to the current consensus in the literature that those theories do not sufficiently explain the VOE (e.g. Clare & Lewandowsky, 2004;Meissner et al., 2008). It is our opinion that the results in the present study show support for the TIPS account. ...
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A major assumption of the transfer inappropriate processing shift account of verbal overshadowing is that poor recognition performance is due to competing and inappropriate processes used during the encoding, recall, and recognition stages. The present study tested the TIPS account. Participants watched a video of a burglary during an encoding task and attempted to identify the burglar from a photo lineup during a recognition task. Encoding and recall instructions were varied between participants to encourage featural or configural processes at the encoding and recall stages. Prior to the encoding task, some participants were given intentional encoding instructions to focus on the face of the person in the video. Other participants were given incidental encoding instructions or not told anything. Prior to the recall task, some participants were given instructions to recall the description of the burglar, and other participants were not. Results revealed an interaction between encoding and recall instructions on recognition performance.
... However, when salient details were described, such as gender, ethnicity, age, built, hair colour, hairstyle and height, the descriptions might be fairly precise and accuracy climbed up to 80% (e.g. Farrington & Lambert, 1997;Meissner, Sporer, & Susa, 2008). Furthermore, when considering such features of perpetrators, research typically finds that an eyewitness provides 7-10 personal descriptors (e.g. ...
... van Koppen & Lochun, 1997). However, unlike the study conducted by Meissner et al. (2008), who found such details to be very accurate, the present study found that the accuracy of personal descriptions was at a lower accuracy rate at around 50%. In sum, it was found that there was an own-gender bias in the accuracy of memory recall. ...
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The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether there are any differences between male and female police officers when performing a job-related fitness test, as well as to determine the individual level of specific strengths and motor abilities (hereinafter: SSMAs) as an indicator of work ability. The research was conducted in Serbia on a sample of 111 respondents (40 female and 71 male). In order to determine the SSMAs, this research applied the Obstacle Course test for assessing specific abilities of police officers (OCSAPO1). Three variables were observed during the test: time needed for the completion of the test (tSAPO1), maximum heart rate and capillary blood lactate concentration. On average, men completed the test statistically significantly more efficiently than women, i.e. by 10.3%. According to the percentile distribution of tSAPO1, 5% of women and 14.1% of men proved to be significantly above the average level of all tested respondents. However, based on test results, 11.3% of men and 47.5% of women needed to improve their SSMAs in order to meet occupational requirements. The OCSAPO1 test could be further used as one of the criteria that could help to further classify police officers for various types of police work according to their physical abilities. It could be used to assess the SSMAs relevant for a particular job position according to individual merits and regardless of gender, which would provide the conditions necessary for achieving “equal opportunities” for women and thus do away with the system of binary logic and gender dualism of the police organisation as a context of masculine culture, which, a priori, excludes women by using physical abilities as the strongest argument in favour of maintaining the existing gender practice. Keywords: police organisation, gender dualism, physical abilities, job-related fitness test
... However, when salient details were described, such as gender, ethnicity, age, built, hair colour, hairstyle and height, the descriptions might be fairly precise and accuracy climbed up to 80% (e.g. Farrington and Lambert, 1997;Meissner, Sporer, & Susa, 2008). Furthermore, when considering such features of perpetrators, research typically finds that an eyewitness provides 7-10 personal descriptors (e.g. ...
... van Koppen & Lochun, 1997). However, unlike the study conducted by Meissner et al. (2008), who found such details to be very accurate, the present study found that the accuracy of personal descriptions was at a lower accuracy rate at around 50%. In sum, it was found that there was an own-gender bias in the accuracy of memory recall. ...
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Journal of Criminal Investigation and Criminology, 71(4), 247-256. -------------------- Eyewitness testimony remains an important element in resolving criminal investigations. Despite a great deal of research on the subject, the understanding of the effects that witness gender might have on their testimony remains rather limited. The aim of the present study was to examine own-gender bias in recalling personal descriptions of perpetrators. Participants, who were invited to take part in the study, were told they were providing real-life assistance to criminal investigators and potentially helping them to verify hypotheses concerning an actual crime. The participants comprised 256 undergraduate volunteers, who were placed in one of the four groups. Each group observed one of the four crime scenarios that were varied only in terms of gender of either the victim or the perpetrator. All scenarios were designed as footage taken by a CCTV surveillance camera and involved two-minute videos of a staged assault and robbery. After seven days, participants completed a survey on the basis of which the accuracy and quantity of perpetrators’ personal descriptions were checked. Results revealed that participants’ accuracy of memory recall was modest. It was found that gender had a significant main effect on the accuracy of personal descriptions in all four research conditions, while an own-gender bias was also established. The highest accuracy of perpetrators’ personal descriptions was found when male participants reported details of a male perpetrator attacking a female victim, and when female participants described a female perpetrator attacking a female victim. The lowest accuracy was established when female participants described the male perpetrator molesting the male victim. However, no effect of gender on the amount of reported personal descriptions was found.
... between the description measures of accuracy, number of incorrect descriptors, and congruence with that of subsequent identi…cation accuracy. Furthermore, author [4] found certain conditions to strengthen the magnitude of this relationship, including the use of face recognition versus eyewitness identi…cation paradigms and the length of delays between relevant tasks. The [5] presented a review focusing on the evidence, available from experimental investigations of how people recognize faces. ...
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Image processing is a technique to apply mathematical operation on a digital image in order to get a better image or to understand other useful information from image data. A methodological study on the signi…cance of image processing and its application in daily life is carried out here. This study paper describes various image processes with techniques and applications such as gender identi…cation, biometric attendance, face detection, feature detection like nose, mouth, eyes, etc. with the help of MATLAB. This paper also deals with some of the face detection techniques, models and feature analysis.
... This is explained by an increase in the volume of incorrect descriptors when the overall volume of descriptors increases. And yet, it is the volume of errors within a description that impairs the subsequent recognition of the described target (Meissner, Sporer, & Susa, 2008) because this poor description leads to a recoding of the visual facial trace in memory. One can expect that the CI favors the recall of more correct descriptors and also more incorrect ones, which could then increase the risk of a verbal overshadowing effect compared to a standard interview, as observed by Finger and Pezdek (1999). ...
Article
Résumé L’entretien cognitif est une méthode d’audition des témoins et victimes de crimes et délits qui permet d’obtenir des témoignages plus exhaustifs et aussi exacts que ceux obtenus à partir d’un questionnement classique de type questions/réponses. L’ancrage scientifique de son élaboration, faisant référence à plusieurs modèles du fonctionnement de la mémoire, est probablement la raison majeure de son succès auprès de la communauté scientifique. Du côté des utilisateurs potentiels, à savoir majoritairement des professionnels de la justice, son utilisation n’est pas systématique, même pour ceux qui ont été intensivement formés. Emerge alors la question de l’adéquation de l’entretien cognitif aux caractéristiques d’une audition réelle de terrain. Dans un premier temps, nous présenterons les études ayant montré l’utilité de l’entretien cognitif tout en testant sa fiabilité en fonction de diverses caractéristiques de la situation d’audition, et en fonction des caractéristiques des témoins. Ensuite, nous questionnerons les coûts et la compatibilité de l’entretien cognitif avec les différentes phases et les différents objectifs de l’enquête. Suite à cela, nous questionnerons l’utilisabilité de l’entretien cognitif, à travers son apprentissage, puis en présentant les solutions jusqu’alors proposées pour améliorer son utilisabilité. Enfin notre conclusion portera sur l’acceptabilité sociale de cette technique d’entretien par les professionnels de la justice.
... For example, in the classical study by Schooler and Engstler-Schooler (1990), worse memory for a face was observed when participants were requested to describe the stimulus during the retention interval. Several studies have observed costs of labeling, although facilitation has been observed in some conditions (for a meta-analysis and overview of the verbal overshadowing effect see Meissner et al., 2008). Lupyan (2008) proposed the shift-to-prototype hypothesis which states that labeling causes visual representations to more strongly drift towards the category prototype activated by the label. ...
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Describing our visual experiences improves their retention in visual working memory, yielding a labeling benefit. Labels vary, however, in categorical distinctiveness: they can be applied broadly or narrowly to categorize stimuli. Does categorical distinctiveness constrain the labeling benefit? Here, we varied the number of terms used to label continuously varying colors (Experiment 1) and shapes (Experiment 2). Participants memorized four items, and later recalled them using a continuous color or shape wheel. During study, participants articulated “bababa” or labeled the items with two, four, or their preferred term. Recall error decreased with increases in the number of labels. Mixture modeling showed that labeling increased the probability of recall. Memory precision, however, varied with categorical distinctiveness: broad labels reduced precision, whereas categorically distinct labels increased precision compared to no-labels. In sum, in-the-moment labeling activates categorical knowledge that facilitates the storage of visual details. Data and analysis scripts are available at: https://osf.io/mqg4k/
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When Face Recognition Goes Wrong explores the myriad ways that humans and machines make mistakes in facial recognition. Adopting a critical stance throughout, the book explores why and how humans and machines make mistakes, covering topics including racial and gender biases, neuropsychological disorders, and widespread algorithm problems. The book features personal anecdotes alongside real-world examples to showcase the often life-changing consequences of facial recognition going wrong. These range from problems with everyday social interactions through to eyewitness identification leading to miscarriages of justice and border control passport verification. Concluding with a look to the future of facial recognition, the author asks the world’s leading experts what are the big questions that still need to be answered, and can we train humans and machines to be super recognisers? This book is a must-read for anyone interested in facial recognition, or in psychology, criminal justice and law.
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To test the hypothesis that the quality of an eyewitness's description of a face is useful for predicting the accuracy of a subsequent identification, 176 undergraduates were presented with pictures of 88 target faces. Ss were asked to rate the personality characteristics and to provide a description of the target; Ss were later required to identify the target from a set of 21 photographs. A significant point-biserial correlation between description accuracy and identification accuracy was found. This relationship was not due to a process wherein good describers were good identifiers, but to the fact that faces that were better described were better identified, a relationship that could not be tested in the designs of previous studies. The quality of an S's description of a given face did no better than did a 2nd S's description of that face in terms of predicting the former S's identification accuracy. Because the description–identification relationship was mediated by target factors rather than S characteristics, it is suggested that different assessments (e.g., of target-face uniqueness) could better predict identification accuracy. (19 ref)
Book
This is the first volume that directly compares the practices of adversarial and inquisitorial systems of law from a psychological perspective. It aims at understanding why American and European continental systems differ so much, while both systems entertain much support in their communities. In the chapters it is demonstrated how the different systems chose different solutions for many of the same problems and how the solutions are related to the typical characteristics of the adversarial and the inquisitorial systems of criminal law. Particular emphasis is placed on problems addressed by psychological researchers and practitioners in the two systems. Chapters cover topics including: police investigative techniques, risk assessment, the death penalty, recovered memories, child witnesses, line-up practices, expert witnesses, trial procedures, and lay versus judge decision making. The book is written for advanced audiences in psychology and law.