Psychology of Eyewitnesses Testimony

Full course description

This course provides contemporary insights into the psychology of eyewitness testimony. For example, students will learn about how well eyewitnesses are able to recall the offence they experienced, and whether they are subsequently able to identify the culprit from a line-up. Students will also learn about human face recognition, the principles underlying composite construction, and the best practices in constructing and administering line-ups. Other issues that are addressed in this course relate to whether claims of repression and subsequent recovery of traumatic experiences can be valid or whether they (sometimes) reflect false memories, whether the testimonies provided by young children are as reliable as those of adults are, and what all of the studied topics imply for the courtroom. By the end of the course students will: be familiar with current issues and controversies in eyewitness research; be able to give descriptions of typical methods and experimental work in these disciplines; and have insight into the problems that arise from court decisions which hinge upon testimonies from eyewitness.