Impact of disguise on identification decisions and confidence with simultaneous and sequential lineups.

Objective: Prior research indicates disguise negatively affects lineup identifications but the mechanisms by which disguise works have not been explored and different disguises have not been compared. We investigated how two different types of disguise, four levels of varying degrees of coverage, and lineup type influence eyewitnesses' identification decisions, accuracy, and confidence.

Hypotheses: We predicted that identification accuracy would decrease as the disguise covered more of a perpetrator's face.

Impact of disguise on identification decisions and confidence with simultaneous and sequential lineups.

Prior research indicates that disguise negatively affects lineup identifications, but the mechanisms by which disguise works have not been explored, and different disguises have not been compared. In two experiments (Ns = 87 and 91) we manipulated degree of coverage by two different types of disguise: a stocking mask or sunglasses and toque (i.e.