ERIC Number: EJ1356649
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2022
Pages: 14
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0888-4080
EISSN: EISSN-1099-0720
Information Loss, Contextual Information, and Distinctiveness Influence How Well Novice Analysts Discriminate Fingerprints
Applied Cognitive Psychology, v36 n6 p1325-1338 Nov-Dec 2022
Across two experimental studies, we investigated the role of information loss, contextual information, and distinctive features of fingerprints on novice's ability to judge whether two fingerprints came from the same source. Distinctive fingerprints resulted in more accurate decisions. Information loss diminished performance on the comparison task, likely due to the loss of distinctive features. When people received contextual information from a fingerprint matching software (Automated Fingerprint Identification System or AFIS) suggesting that the two fingerprints were from the same source, they were less accurate and more biased to render a "same source" decision. These findings suggest that analysts should evaluate the characteristics of a fingerprint prior to engaging in a comparison task, and that fingerprints lacking information, particularly distinctive characteristics, should be more cautiously evaluated.
Descriptors: Crime, Evidence, Human Body, Court Litigation, Identification, Novices, Criminal Law, Context Effect, Accuracy
Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2191/en-us
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A