Local Processing BIAS Impairs Lineup Performance

Evidence suggests that lineup performance by witnesses can be influenced by inducing a prior local or global processing bias. In this study, 90 witnesses attempted to identify a perpetrator from a lineup. Prior to the lineup, 30 participants completed a global processing task followed by a local processing task; 30 did the same tasks in reverse order; and 30 acted as controls. Analysis indicated that the last task completed influenced subsequent lineup performance.