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social science subjects > psychology > social psychology > social cognition > accuracy of eyewitness descriptions

Preferred term

accuracy of eyewitness descriptions  

Definition

  • Police investigators will frequently request that a witness to a crime provide a verbal description of the alleged perpetrator. Such descriptions provide critical information that the police use throughout an investigation, from the identification of possible suspects in the vicinity of the crime, to the selection of photographs for mug books or lineup identification arrays, to the construction of sketches or composites that may be distributed to the general public. [Source: Encyclopedia of Psychology and Law; Eyewitness Descriptions, Accuracy of]

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https://concepts.sagepub.com/social-science/concept/accuracy_of_eyewitness_descriptions

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