Ten experiments are conducted that compare eyewitness testimony in young adulthood and old age, exploring the person- and task- characteristics that might affect performance of the older eyewitness. Parts I and 11 further examine findings that false identifications in lineups are increased in old age, and that exposing the eyewitness to a post- event narrative is a factor involved in producing this effect. Modifying the procedures of earlier researchers Experiment 1 addresses the possibility that verbal recall of the crime-event prior to the lineup task (a) increases rates of false choosing in elderly (and/or young) adults, and (b) magnifies the deleterious effects of previously exposed narrative. Extending recent work on the `verbal overshadowing effect`, Experiment 2 tests the possibility that high choosing rates among older eyewitnesses reflect a non-optimal mode of face processing (verbal encoding of facial features) that is reinforced by verbal recall of facial information, and can be prevented in at least some eyewitnesses by eliminating the task of verbal recall prior to a lineup. Considering prior evidence that context reinstatement prior to a lineup can either help or hurt lineup identification, in Experiment 3 participants are exposed to a highly salient event involving physical interaction with an actor, comparing the cognitive interview to both a standard structured interview and a control (non-structured) interview to assess its effects on both (a) completeness and accuracy of recall as well as (b) accuracy and choosing in lineups. Experiment 4_ is based on the `mugshot effect` of increased rates of false identifications of faces not seen at a crime but viewed in another context The hypothesis tested that the mugshot effect will be even stronger among elderly persons but that it can be reduced by instructions and testing materials that discourage eyewitnesses from basing their judgments on perceived familiarity. Experiment 5 addresses a similar hypothesis as applied to the `bystander effect` of increased rates of false identification due to the presence in a lineup of a bystander (instead of the perpetrator) in a prior a crime event). Although the bystander effect is known to be ephemeral it was found that older eyewitnesses show the effect more strongly. A replication of this potentially important finding is undertaken, examining whether older persons can overcome the effect if the instructions and materials discourage familiarity-based responding. The next three proposed studies (Part lil) depart from prior work in exploring how socio-cogntive variables of stereotypes and person-schemata affect recall of crime-events and lineup identification. Experiments 6 and 7 assess this possibility. In addition, both studies examine how positive and negative biographical information about the perpetrator and/or victim can moderate the effect. The key question is whether the tendency to pick a guilty-looking suspect reflects a simple response bias or a more complex appraisal of the appearance of the suspect relative to the story being told about the crime. Experiment 8 returns to the `bystander effect,` assessing whether the selection of a bystander is linked not merely to perceived familiarity, but to the congruence between the bystander's appearance (guilty vs. innocent) and the nature of the event (a crime vs. a charitable act). The final two experiments (Part IV) reflect a change of focus from lineup identification to verbal recall about a crime. Experiments 9 and 10 both address the well known observation that repeated questioning of witnesses can increase the frequency or erroneous intrusions and confabulations, particularly if the questioning entails presentation of misleading information. First, Experiment 9 examines the conditions under which repeated questioning can have positive, `hypermnesia` effects which heretofore have not been examined in old age. Experiment 10 examine the phenomenon that misleading information implanted in the questioning will be incorporated in later recalls, testing a prediction based on cognitive-aging theories that this effect will be increased in old age. An important component of all the experiments will be the inclusion of neuropsychological and/or personality tests to reveal individual-difference factors that might moderate age differences.
