Juries and Eyewitnesses

Laypeople's Intuitions about Eyewitness Memory

Psychological research has used various methods to evaluate potential jurors' intuitions concerning eyewitness memory. For example, some studies have used multiple-choice questions that ask potential jurors about the factors that have been found to influence the accuracy of an eyewitness's performance. Another method that has previously been used by researchers is to ask mock jurors whether they agree or disagree with statements concerning eyewitness performance—for example, “Do you agree or disagree that confidence is a poor predictor of an eyewitness's identification accuracy?” The final method researchers use to assess juror knowledge of the factors that influence eyewitness identification testimony is trial simulations. In these simulations, researchers have participants play the role of jurors in a trial, and the researchers manipulate various factors. The goal of these studies is to test either how sensitive the mock jurors are to the factors or how the factors influence perceptions of eyewitness identification accuracy. Certain factors have a significant impact on eyewitness accuracy, while others, such as an eyewitness's confidence rating, are weak predictors of accuracy.

Researchers who began studying mock juries in the late 1970s quickly discovered that participants were unable to distinguish between accurate and inaccurate witnesses. No matter which method was used, the studies indicate that potential jurors' intuitions are correct about some factors that affect eyewitness accuracy but are often incorrect concerning other factors. This unpredictability of jurors' knowledge means that prospective jurors vary widely in their responses when assessing an eyewitness's credibility and rendering a verdict in cases involving eyewitness testimony.