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Seminars

Eyewitness testimony


Dr. Amina Memon


There is no doubt that eyewitness testimony is among the most important forms of evidence that can be presented in a criminal case. Justice often depends on its reliability and its scientific study has been one of the most successful applied research topics in psychology over the last two years. The significance of eyewitness research is also highlighted by recent cases where identification errors have resulted in miscarriages of justice. In this lecture, Dr. Memon examines factors that are likely to result in an inaccurate witness memory and the conditions under which an eyewitness is more likely to produce a reliable identification. The first part of the talk will discuss the way in which memory can be distorted and will consider those witnesses who are most likely to be vulnerable. Some of the problems that can arise with eyewitness identification procedures will be highlighted. The final part of the talk will examine the extent to which eyewitness recall can be improved through the use of appropriate investigative procedures.

Dr. Amina Memon is a Senior Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Aberdeen. She has a first class degree in Psychology and a PhD in Psychology. She is an associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society. Memon has published widely on topics such as false memory, police interviewing, face recognition, eyewitness testimony, child witness memory and jury decision making. Dr. Memon holds several research grants and is involved in several international projects, including links with the University of Texas (Dallas), University of Washington (Seattle) and Queen's University (Canada). Her current research projects include memory of elderly witnesses, jury decision making and false memories. Dr. Memon has received awards to support her research from the ESRC, the National Science Foundation, the British Academy and the Royal Society. Among her many publications are: (with Wark, L., Holley, A., Bull, R. & Koehnken, G) "Eyewitness Performance in Cognitive and Structured Interviews." Memory, 5, 639-55 (1997); (with Wright, D.) "The search for John Doe 2: Eyewitness Testimony and the Oklahoma Bombing." The Psychologist, 12, 292-295 (1999); (with Wright, D.) "Eyewitness Testimony: Theoretical and Practical Issues." In J. McGuire et al. Behaviour, Crime and Legal Process. John Wiley & Sons (2000); (with Vrij, A. and Bull, R.) Psychology & Law:Truthfulness, Accuracy and Credibility of Victims, Witnesses and Suspects. McGraw Hill (1998).