Information loss, contextual information, and distinctiveness influence how well novice analysts discriminate fingerprints

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.