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Dr Melanie Sauerland (M.)

Research projects
  • Effects of Stress on Eyewitnesses Memory 

Police rely on eyewitnesses for investigating crimes. Because eyewitnesses often experience stress, it is important to understand how stress during a crime affects memory. While eyewitness memory researchers report memory impairing effects of stress, fundamental memory researchers report the opposite: stress enhances memory. This NWO-funded project (NWO Open Competition M) bridges the gap between the eyewitness and fundamental memory fields by combining standardized stressors and naturalistic eyewitness paradigms in a project that investigates the effects of stress during a crime on eyewitness event memory and identification performance.

Research Team and Collaborators:

Stephanie Ashton, Conny Quaedflieg, Grant Shields, Tom Smeets

Related Key Publications:

Marr, C., Sauerland, M., Otgaar, H., Quaedflieg, C. W. E. M., & Hope, L. (2021). The effects of acute stress on eyewitness memory: an integrative review for eyewitness researchers. Memory, 29(8), 1091–1100. https://doi.org/10.1080/09658211.2021.1955935 

Marr, C., Otgaar, H., Sauerland, M., Quaedflieg, C., & Hope, L. (2021). The effects of stress on eyewitness memory: A survey of memory experts and laypeople. Memory and Cognition, 49(3), 401-421. https://link.springer.com/article/10.3758/s13421-020-01115-4 

Sauerland, M., Raymaekers, L. H. C., Otgaar, H., Memon, A., Waltjen, T. T., Nivo, M., Slegers, C., Broers, N. J., & Smeets, T. (2016). Stress, stress-induced cortisol responses, and 
eyewitness identification performance. Behavioral Sciences and the Law, 34, 580-594. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/bsl.2249 

  • An Alternative to Lineups: Diagnosing Face Recognition in Eyewitnesses with the Concealed Information Test

Traditional lineup procedures are widely used to establish the identity of a perpetrator. However, lineups can be prone to biases and errors, highlighting the need for alternative diagnostic tools. This research line investigates the Concealed Information Test (CIT) as an indirect test of recognition that avoids the social demands of explicit identification in traditional lineups.

Collaborator:

Bruno Verschuere

Previous Collaborators:

Astrid Bastiaens, Linda Geven, Dave Koller, Sera Wiechert

Key Publications:

Sauerland, M., Wiechert, S., Czarnojan, E., Deiman, E., Dorr, L., Broers, N. J., & Verschuere, B. (2025). Identification performance across the life span: Lineups and the reaction time-based Concealed Information Test. Cognition, 254, Article 105996. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2024.105996

Sauerland, M., Wolfs, A.C.F., Crans, S., & Verschuere, B. (2029). Testing a potential alternative to traditional identification procedures: Reaction time-based concealed information test does not work for lineups with cooperative witnesses. Psychological Research, 83, 1210–1222. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00426-017-0948-5 

  • Defendants’ use of the Right to Remain Silent

The recognition of defendants' rights to legal assistance and silence (in Belgium) was catalyzed by the European Court of Human Rights' landmark 2008 verdict in Salduz v. Turkey. This ruling prompted legislative changes in countries such as the Netherlands and Belgium, but its implementation sparked mixed reactions. Some police investigators and legal practitioners voiced concerns that the so-called 'Salduz-Law' would reduce defendants' cooperation, particularly by diminishing confessions.

Despite these early debates, the actual impact of legal assistance on defendants' decision-making processes—especially the choice to remain silent—remains insufficiently understood. Critical questions persist: How do defendants perceive the risks and benefits of staying silent? What role does legal assistance play in shaping these complex decisions? This research line, funded by SWOL, seeks to illuminate defendants' perspectives, aiming to bridge the gap between theoretical rights and their practical application in the justice system.

Collaborator:

Miet Vanderhallen

Key Publications:

Sauerland, M., & Vanderhallen, M. (2024). Remaining silent during investigative interviews: A perspective of prisoners convicted for a serious crime. Psychology Crime & Law. https://doi.org/10.1080/1068316X.2024.2376242. 

Vanderhallen, M., & Sauerland, M. (2023). Het gebruik van het zwijgrecht tijdens het politieverhoor: opvattingen en ervaringen van gedetineerden [The use of the right to remain silent during police interviews: Perception and experiences of prisoners]. Boom Strafblad, 5, 206-215. https://doi.org/10.5553/BSb/266669012023004005004 

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