ABSTRACT

This volume provides a tutorial review and evaluation of scientific research on the accuracy and reliability of eyewitness identification. The book starts with the perspective that there are a variety of conceptual and empirical problems with eyewitness identification as a form of forensic evidence, just as there are a variety of problems with other forms of forensic evidence. There is then an examination of the important results in the study of eyewitness memory and the implications of this research for psychological theory and for social and legal policy. The volume takes the perspective that research on eyewitness identification can be seen as the paradigmatic example of how psychological science can be successfully applied to real-world problems.

chapter 1|9 pages

Twenty-Seven Years

chapter 3|64 pages

Estimator Variables

chapter 4|53 pages

System Variables

chapter 5|37 pages

Indicia of Reliability

chapter 6|26 pages

Field Studies of Eyewitness Identification

chapter 7|24 pages

Expert Testimony

chapter 8|7 pages

Conclusions and Thoughts

chapter 9|23 pages

Philosophical Afterword

Memory and Reasonable Belief