A DDITIONAL I NFORMATION : P OINTLESS OR N ECESSARY ? Grace Desjardins The Academy of Notre Dame de Namur Grade 9

P ROBLEM Will added information lead to a more accurate accusation of a criminal?

R ESEARCH Photo line-ups must contain 6 or more images Same size, color, etc. People must look similar, but only one can be involved in the crime Looking at pictures from a photo line-up one by one can allow people to make more accurate judgments. Must decide whether or not the photo is of the criminal each time Don’t know what the next picture looks like What is said before showing the line-up can affect the choices Confidence level changes Details can’t always be remembered exactly, so new images are formed.

H YPOTHESIS If a summary of information about the criminal is given to the people choosing the criminal, then the results of the accusations picked from the line-up will improve.

R EQUIRED M ATERIALS Camera (that can take both pictures and videos) Computer Summary of information about the “suspect” Papers Permission Slips Voting Papers Subjects Which Can Be Tested 2 volunteers to participate in filming and preparing the summary 2 classes of students to pick the “criminal” from the photo line-up

P ROCEDURE A video was created of the “crime scene”. A picture were taken of the “suspect”. “Filler” pictures were created on a computer. The “suspect” photo was shown to two volunteers. The volunteers wrote a description of the “suspect”. A short summary of the information collected was written. One group of students was shown the video of the “crime scene”, which was followed by the photo line-up. The students were asked to pick the “suspect”. Votes were written down. The second group was shown the video and photo line-up after the summary was read to them twice. They were asked to pick the “suspect”. Votes were written down. The results were recorded and compared.

V ARIABLES Control Group that was shown only the video and photo line- up Independent Group that heard the summary and was shown the video and photo line-up Dependent Accuracy of the votes Constants Video Photo Line-up Order of the pictures within the line-up The day the experiment was performed

D ATA C OMPARISONS A Look at Correct vs. Incorrect

P HOTO 1 VS. P HOTO 3 Group 1Group 2 Number of Votes Per Photo

P HOTO 2 VS. P HOTO 3 Group 1Group 2 Number of Votes Per Photo

P HOTO 4 VS. P HOTO 3 Group 1Group 2 Number of Votes Per Photo

P HOTO 5 VS. P HOTO 3 Group 1Group 2 Number of Votes Per Photo

P HOTO 6 VS. P HOTO 3 Group 1Group 2 Number of Votes Per Photo

U NDECIDED VS. P HOTO 3 Group 1Group 2 Number of Votes Per Photo

C ONCLUSION Hypothesis : “If a summary of information about the criminal is given to the people choosing the criminal, then the results of the accusations picked from the line-up will improve.” Not supported for the following possible reasons: Looked for details vs. whole picture Overwhelmed by number of details given Perception of information differs from person to person What Went Wrong, Improvements & Advancements: Pictures should not be so similar Create a longer video or shorter summary No one should be given the option of “undecided” unless informed beforehand

A CKNOWLEDGEMENTS Sources: Barker, Barry M. "Photo Line-Up." Becoming a Police Officer: An Insider's Guide for a Career in Law Enforcement. Web. Oct Dittmann, Melissa. "Psychological Sleuths--Accuracy and the Accused." American Psychological Association (APA). Web. Oct EasyBib: Free Bibliography Maker - MLA, APA, Chicago Citation Styles. Web. 31 Oct Malpass, Roy S. "A Lineup Evaluation "Do-It-Yourself Kit" for Attorneys and Law Enforcement." Web. Oct Science Fair Project Ideas, Answers, & Tools. Web. Oct SpringerLink. Web. 31 Oct Steblay, Nancy, Jennifer Dysart, Solomon Fulero, and R.C.L. Lindsay. "Eyewitness Accuracy Rates in Sequential and Simultaneous Lineup Presentations: A Meta- Analytic Comparison." Law and Human Behavior 25.5 (2001). Web. Oct Thank you to everyone in attendance for listening to my presentation. I would love to answer any questions that you may have.