Author(s)

Mattias Per Sjöberg^*

Department of Psychology, Queen’s University, Kingston, Canada.

A show-up is an identification procedure that only presents the witness with one suspect in contrast to a lineup where the suspect is presented among a number of fillers (i.e., known innocent people). This feature makes the show-up procedure very suggestive. In this literature review, an overview of the current research about this identification procedure is presented. The different factors that influence the accuracy in show-up procedures are separated into system (e.g., clothing bias, instruction bias, and the impact of multiple show-ups) and estimator variables (e.g., age, cross-race effects, and alcohol) in line with Wells [1]. The implications of the research are discussed together with suggestions for future research.

Show-Up, Identification Accuracy, Eyewitness Identification, System Variables, Estimator Variables

Sjöberg, M. (2016) The Show-Up Identification Procedure: A Literature Review. Open Journal of Social Sciences, 4, 86-95. doi: 10.4236/jss.2016.41012.