EARWITNESS VOICE RECOGNITION - FACTORS AFFECTING ACCURACY AND IMPACT ON JURORS

Two studies were conducted examining voice recognition testimony and i ts impact on jurors. In the first experiment, subjects listened to a t ape recording of a brief sales pitch. After a retention interval of ei ther 0, 7 or 14 days, subjects were unexpectedly asked to pick the sal esperson's voice out of a five-voice taped lineup. Retention interval did not have a significant effect on hit rates or false alarms. Accura cy and pre-lineup confidence were not significantly correlated, althou gh accuracy was related to post-lineup willingness to testify. In the second experiment, undergraduate subjects were asked to read a summary of a trial, describing a situation similar to that studied in experim ent 1; the independent variables were the presence of an earwitness, t he gender and confidence of the earwitness, and the retention interval . Only the presence of an earwitness had a significant main effect upo n mock jurors' verdicts. However, there was a significant interaction between witness confidence and witness gender when an earwitness ident ification was presented.