SIMULTANEOUS LINEUPS, SEQUENTIAL LINEUPS, AND SHOWUPS - EYEWITNESS IDENTIFICATION DECISIONS OF ADULTS AND CHILDREN

Two experiments were conducted comparing the identification accuracy o f children aged 3-15 years (N = 307) and undergraduates (N = 384) usin g target-present and target-absent simultaneous and sequential lineups and showups. Correct identification rates tended nor to vary across e ither age of subject or identification procedure. However children sho w a significant tendency to guess as indicated by their lower rate of correct rejection when the target is absent. The tendency for children to make false positive choices was particularly evident with showups.