WHAT DO WE NOT KNOW ABOUT EYEWITNESS IDENTIFICATION

Wells (1993, this issue) suggests that recent advances in psychological knowledge may lead to improvements in the procedures used by the police in conducting lineups and photospreads. This optimistic appraisal of what psychologists can tell the police prompted a brief reappraisal of a more pessimistic review (McCloskey & Egeth, 1983) of what psychologists can tell a jury. Although research on eyewitness testimony continues to accumulate and to improve in quality, there seems to be little reason to think that psychologists can help juries understand the effects on eyewitness identification of such factors as arousal, weapon focus, unconscious transference, prior exposure to mugshots, or cross-racial identification.