Which practice helps avoid misidentifications in lineups?

• A. Simultaneous presentation
• B. Sequential presentation
• C. No fillers
• D. Biased instructions

Answer: (B)

Presenting lineup members one at a time ensures the witness judge each person against their memory of the culprit, not against the other lineup members. When the whole lineup is shown at once, people tend to make a relative judgment—that is, they pick the person who looks most like the perpetrator within the group. That side-by-side comparison increases the chance of misidentification. By evaluating each person in sequence, the witness is more likely to identify only the true match (or correctly reject all), reducing false identifications. Biased instructions would skew responses, and lineup practices like removing fillers or presenting all suspects together would undermine accuracy.