Department or Program
Psychology
Abstract
Four studies examined multiple exposures to criminal suspects as a social inference problem. Studies 1 (N = 128) and 2 (N = 715) found that participants endorsed competence-based explanations for police decisions to show suspect photos before a formal identification procedure. Participants assumed that officers had prior knowledge, evidence, or strong grounds for showing a suspect photo, while rejecting explanations that police behavior was random or incompetent. Study 3 (N = 162) demonstrated that participants evaluated police behavior as more competent when the photo was a reasonable proxy for the culprit and more incompetent when it was not. Finally, Study 4 (N = 75) used an in-person experiment in which participants believed the lineup administrator had selected the intervening suspect photo (single-blind) or that the photo was generated without administrator input (double-blind). Participants in the single-blind condition were less likely to identify the culprit than in the double-blind condition. Together, these studies suggest that repeated exposure may bias eyewitness judgment not only by increasing familiarity, but also through witnesses’ inferences about what police know and why they are showing a specific suspect to the witness. This research has implications for understanding eyewitness error and ensuring the appropriate safeguards are implemented.
Level of Access
Restricted: Embargoed [Open Access After Expiration]
First Advisor
Douglass, Amy
Date of Graduation
5-2026
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Recommended Citation
Rasol, Sophie G., "Multiple Exposures to Criminal Suspects: What are Witnesses Thinking?" (2026). Honors Theses. 549.
https://scarab.bates.edu/honorstheses/549
Number of Pages
84
Components of Thesis
1 pdf