Police lineups are notoriously difficult to get right, and a huge part of that is your brain’s fault. When you’re presented with a lineup that shows someone similar, but not the same, as the suspect, your brain tends to fill in the gaps. It basically selects the next best option to the truth, but it feels to you like it *is* the truth. And by the time that similar choice comes up again, you’ve conditioned yourself to believe that this replacement is the real suspect.
Witnesses often make accurate identifications, but it’s not hard to see how they can very easily get it exactly wrong.
#education #vsauce #truecrime