The effect of pre-event instructions on eyewitness identification

Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications

Table 1 Instruction Types by Source

	White paper
Source	(N = 102)		2019 (N = 42)		Total (N = 142)
Source	n	%	n	%	n	%
Instructions and information before the witnessed event
Study details	7	6.86	6	14.29	13	9.15
Event details	13	12.75	3	7.14	16	11.27
Event instructions	28	27.45	18	42.86	46	32.39
Not reported	65	63.73	21	50.00	86a	60.56
Attention instructions before witnessed event
Event	12	11.76	18	42.86	30	21.13
Crime	1	0.98	0	0.00	1	0.70
People	6	5.88	2	4.76	8	5.63
Target person	2	1.96	0	0.00	2	1.41
Other*	4	3.92	2	4.76	6	4.23
Not reported	83	81.37	24	57.14	105^a	73.94
Future task information before witnessed event
Asked questions	15	14.71	12	28.57	27	19.01
Memory task	1	0.98	1	2.38	2	1.41
Lineup task	2	1.96	0	0.00	2	1.41
Other*	5	4.90	1	2.38	6	4.23
Explicitly stated this was withheld	39	38.24	16	38.10	55	38.73
Not reported	40	39.22	11	26.19	49a	34.51
Study description at recruitment
Eyewitness/forensic	3	2.94	6	14.29	9	6.34
Memory	7	6.86	3	7.14	10	7.04
Other*	30	29.41	5	11.90	53a	37.32
Not reported	66	64.71	30	71.43	96	67.61

^aTotal column does not double-count the 1 paper that appears in both sets
Some studies used more than one instruction type and are counted more than once, percentages are based on actual total number of papers
^*“Other” category in Attention Instructions included instructions to watch for suspicious behavior or to focus on conversations and non-verbal behavior. “Other” category in Pre-Crime Future Task Information included telling participants that they would later give a verbal description of the perpetrator, that they would later work with a sketch artist to create a composite, that they would later “give evidence,” that they would give their impressions and reactions to the film, that they would give their impressions of the people in the film, or that researchers would examine the effects of exposing the participant to the film. “Other” category in Study Description at Recruitment included telling participants the study was about: Impressions of People, Perception, Personality, Personality and Perception, Perceptions of a Speech, Impressions after viewing people, Group Interactions, quality of campus security video, Subliminal Perception, Psychology and Education, Artistic Quality of Film, Information Processing, Video Game Performance, Biofeedback Demonstration, and Alcohol on Cognitive and Motor Functions