Psychology of Eyewitness Identification

This clear and accessible volume provides a tutorial review and evaluation of scientific research on eyewitness identification accuracy and reliability. The book examines conceptual and empirical problems with eyewitness identification as forensic evidence, comparable to challenges with other forensic evidence forms. It explores key findings in eyewitness memory research and their implications for psychological theory and social and legal policy.
The book covers topics including measurement of eyewitness performance, eyewitness theory, social media's impact on identification, and technological approaches to investigating eyewitness reliability. The volume presents research on eyewitness identification as an exemplary case of psychological science successfully applied to real-world problems.
Featuring real-life case studies, this comprehensive text is essential reading for scholars and advanced students of forensic psychology, cognitive psychology and memory studies who seek to understand the complex relationship between memory processes and the criminal justice system.

James Michael Lampinen, Ph.D. is a Distinguished Professor of Psychological Science at the University of Arkansas. His research explores eyewitness identification, false memories, dual process models, and prospective person memory. He has published over 90 works and co-authored Memory 101.

Jeffrey S. Neuschatz, Ph.D. is Core Faculty at Fielding Graduate University and Professor of Psychology. His research centers on eyewitness memory, lineup procedures, secondary confessions, and jury decision-making, with major contributions on showup reliability and jailhouse informants. He has published 65 works and co-authored Jailhouse Informants: Psychological and Legal Perspectives.

Stacy A. Wetmore, Ph.D. is Associate Professor of Psychology at Butler University. Her research examines cognitive psychology in legal contexts, with a focus on wrongful convictions, eyewitness memory, informant reliability, and jury decision-making. She earned her Ph.D. at the University of Oklahoma and has published more than 35 scholarly articles and chapters.

William Blake Erickson, Ph.D. is Associate Professor of Psychology at Texas A&M University–San Antonio. His research applies face recognition to law enforcement and national security, focusing on eyewitness memory, forensic imaging, and older witnesses. He also writes for the Popular Culture Psychology series, analyzing franchises such as Star Trek, Handmaid’s Tale, and Stranger Things.