IDENTIFICATION OF COMPUTER-GENERATED FACIAL COMPOSITES

Two studies examined the effectiveness of the Mac-a-Mug Pro, a compute rized facial composite production system. In the first study, college freshmen prepared from memory composites of other students and faculty from their former high schools. Other students who had attended the s ame high schools could not recognize the composites of either students or faculty members when the composites of individuals known to them ( n = 10) were mixed with composites of a large number (n = 40) of stran gers. Neither preparer familiarity with the target, preparer-assessed composite quality, nor viewer familiarity predicted composite recognit ion. Study 2 indicated that naive witnesses who viewed the composites could not select the people depicted in the composites from photo line ups (1 target and 4 foils). The results raise questions about the effi cacy of composite systems as tools to promote recognition of suspects in criminal contexts.