Default values in eyewitness descriptions: A problem for the match-to-description lineup foil selection strategy.

Study 1 (N=205) reveals that witnesses often provide vague descriptions. Witnesses leave out information such as sex and race that they certainly noticed (default values). Study 2 (N=89) weakly supports the claim (Luus & Wells, 1991) that correct identification rates from lineups are enhanced by selecting foils who fit the description of the criminal rather than foils who are highly similar to the suspect. Study 3 (N=210) indicates that false identification rates can be inflated by selecting lineup foils who fit vague descriptions of the criminal but otherwise differ from the suspect on default values.