The Influence of Prior Suspect Familiarity on the Cross-Race Effect
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Start Date
7-5-2022 1:00 PM
End Date
7-5-2022 1:50 PM
Description
This study examines whether the typical cross-race effect (CRE) could be extended to conditions where the suspect is casually familiar. To test this, participants studied a series of faces of white and Black males to create familiarity. Later, participants (N = 1170) took part in a multiple-block eyewitness paradigm in which they encoded a target face, followed by a distractor task, and then received a lineup where the suspect was Black or white, familiar or unfamiliar, and either guilty or innocent. Our results confirmed the CRE, but only in cases when the suspect was familiar. Furthermore, the relationship was strong in all conditions except for the familiar Black suspect lineup. Follow-up research is underway to examine why the typical unfamiliar CRE was not found and to address other limitations.
The Influence of Prior Suspect Familiarity on the Cross-Race Effect
This study examines whether the typical cross-race effect (CRE) could be extended to conditions where the suspect is casually familiar. To test this, participants studied a series of faces of white and Black males to create familiarity. Later, participants (N = 1170) took part in a multiple-block eyewitness paradigm in which they encoded a target face, followed by a distractor task, and then received a lineup where the suspect was Black or white, familiar or unfamiliar, and either guilty or innocent. Our results confirmed the CRE, but only in cases when the suspect was familiar. Furthermore, the relationship was strong in all conditions except for the familiar Black suspect lineup. Follow-up research is underway to examine why the typical unfamiliar CRE was not found and to address other limitations.