Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-xbtfd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-10T15:43:13.818Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Impact on the legal system of the generalizability crisis in psychology

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 February 2022

Chris R. Brewin Open the ORCID record for Chris R. Brewin [Opens in a new window]
Chris R. Brewin*
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical, Educational & Heatlh Psychology, University College London, LondonWC1E 6BT, UKc.brewin@ucl.ac.uk
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Overgeneralizations by psychologists of the research evidence on memory and eyewitness testimony, such as “memory decays with time” or “memories are fluid and malleable,” are beginning to appear in legal judgements and guidance documents, accompanied by unwarranted disparagement of lay beliefs about memory. These overgeneralizations could have significant adverse consequences for the conduct of civil and criminal law.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 45 , 2022 , e7
Check for updates
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Berkowitz, S. R., & Frenda, S. J. (2018). Rethinking the confident eyewitness: A reply to Wixted, Mickes, and Fisher. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 13(3), 336–338. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691617751883CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Brewin, C. R., & Andrews, B. (2017). Creating memories for false autobiographical events in childhood: A systematic review. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 31, 2–23. https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.3220CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Brewin, C. R., Andrews, B., & Mickes, L. (2020). Regaining consensus on the reliability of memory. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 29(2), 121–125, Article 0963721419898122. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721419898122CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brewin, C. R., Li, H., Ntarantana, V., Unsworth, C., & McNeilis, J. (2019). Is the public understanding of memory prone to widespread “myths”? Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 148, 2245–2257. https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0000610CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Clifasefi, S. L., Garry, M., & Loftus, E. F. (2007). Setting the record (or video camera) straight on memory: The video camera model of memory and other memory myths. In Della Sala, S. (Ed.), Tall tales about the mind and brain: Separating fact from fiction (pp. 60–75). Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Conway, M. A. (2012). Ten things the law and others should know about human memory. In Nadel, L. & Sinnott-Armstrong, W. P. (Eds.), Memory and law (pp. 359–371). Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Diamond, N. B., Armson, M. J., & Levine, B. (2020). The truth is out there: Accuracy in recall of verifiable real-world events. Psychological Science, 31(12), 1544–1556. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797620954812CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hirst, W., Phelps, E. A., Meksin, R., Vaidya, C. J., Johnson, M. K., Mitchell, K. J., … Olsson, A. (2015). A ten-year follow-up of a study of memory for the attack of September 11, 2001: Flashbulb memories and memories for flashbulb events. Journal of Experimental Psychology-General, 144(3), 604–623. https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0000055CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Howe, M. L. (2013). Memory lessons from the courtroom: Reflections on being a memory expert on the witness stand. Memory (Hove, England), 21(5), 576–583. https://doi.org/10.1080/09658211.2012.725735CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
International Chamber of Commerce. (2020). The accuracy of fact witness memory in international arbitration. Retrieved from https://iccwbo.org/content/uploads/sites/3/2020/11/icc-arbitration-adr-commission-report-on-accuracy-fact-witness-memory-international-arbitration-english-version.pdfGoogle Scholar
Lacy, J. W., & Stark, C. E. L. (2013). The neuroscience of memory: Implications for the courtroom. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 14(9), 649–658. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn3563CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lilienfeld, S. O., Lynn, S. J., Ruscio, J., & Beyerstein, B. L. (2010). 50 Great myths of popular psychology: Shattering widespread misconceptions about human behavior. Wiley-Blackwell.Google Scholar
Lynn, S. J., Evans, J., Laurence, J. R., & Lilienfeld, S. O. (2015). What do people believe about memory? Implications for the science and pseudoscience of clinical practice. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 60(12), 541–547. https://doi.org/10.1177/070674371506001204CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lynn, S. J., & Payne, D. G. (1997). Memory as the theater of the past: The psychology of false memories. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 6(3), 55–55. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8721.ep11512651CrossRefGoogle Scholar
New Jersey Courts (2020). Model Criminal Jury Charges. Identification: In-court and out-of-court identifications. Retrieved 20 December 2021 from https://www.njcourts.gov/attorneys/assets/criminalcharges/idinout.pdfGoogle Scholar
Roediger, H. L. (2008). Relativity of remembering: Why the laws of memory vanished. Annual Review of Psychology, 59, 225–254. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.57.102904.190139CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Simons, D. J., & Chabris, C. F. (2011). What people believe about how memory works: A representative survey of the US population. PLoS ONE, 6. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0022757CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wade, K. A., Nash, R. A., & Lindsay, D. S. (2018). Reasons to doubt the reliability of eyewitness memory: Commentary on Wixted, Mickes, and Fisher (2018). Perspectives on Psychological Science, 13(3), 339–342. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691618758261CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wixted, J. T., Mickes, L., & Fisher, R. P. (2018). Rethinking the reliability of eyewitness memory. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 13(3), 324–335. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691617734878CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wixted, J. T., & Wells, G. L. (2017). The relationship between eyewitness confidence and identification accuracy: A new synthesis. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 18(1), 10–65. https://doi.org/10.1177/1529100616686966CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zajac, R., Garry, M., London, K., Goodyear-Smith, F., & Hayne, H. (2013). Misconceptions about childhood sexual abuse and child witnesses: Implications for psychological experts in the courtroom. Memory, 21(5), 608–617. https://doi.org/10.1080/09658211.2013.778287CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed