Main description:

The Handbook of Eyewitness Psychology presents a survey of research and legal opinions from international experts on the rapidly expanding scientific literature addressing the accuracy and limitations of eyewitnesses as a source of evidence for the courts. For the first time, extensive reviews of factors influencing witnesses of all ages-children, adults, and the elderly-are compiled in a single pair of volumes. The disparate research currently being conducted in eyewitness memory in psychology, criminal justice, and legal studies is coherently presented in this work.

Controversial topics such as the use of hypnosis, false and recovered memories, the impact of stress, and the accuracy of psychologically impaired witnesses are expertly examined. Leading eyewitness researchers also discuss the subjects of conversational memory, alibi evidence, witness credibility, facial memory, earwitness testimony, lineup theory, and expert testimony. The impact of witness testimony in court is considered, and each volume concludes with a legal commentary chapter.

The Handbook of Eyewitness Psychology is an invaluable aid to researchers, legal scholars, and practicing lawyers who need access to the most recent research in the field, accompanied by the interpretations and commentary of many of the world's leading authorities on these topics.

Contents:

Part 1. Forensic Adult Memory of Witnesses and Suspects. Memory for Conversation: The Orphan Child of Witness Memory Researchers. Interviewing Protocols to Improve Eyewitness Memory. The Influence of Emotion on Memory in Forensic Settings. The Effects of Delay on Long-term Memory for Witnessed Events.
Alibis in Criminal Investigations and Trials. Internalized False Confession. Part 2. Potential Sources of Distorted Eyewitness Statements and Postdictors of Statement Accuracy. Internal and External Sources of Misinformation in Adult Witness Memory. False Memories: History, Theory, and Implications. Physcological Impairment, Eyewitness Testimony, and False Memories: Individual Differences. Recovered Memories. Using Hypnosis in Eyewitness Memory: Past and Current Issues. Credibility Assessment in Eyewitness Memory. Eyewitness Confidence from the Witnessed Event Through Trial. Part 3. Lifespan Eyewitness Issues: Children. The Suggestibility of Children's Memory. Enhancing Performance: Factors Affecting the Informativeness of Young Witnesses. The Development of Event Memory: Implications for Child Witness Testimony. False Memory in Children: Data, Theory, and Legal Implications. A Review of Factors Affecting Jurors' Decisions in Child Sexual Abuse Cases. Children's Eyewitness Memory: Balancing Children's Needs and Defendants' Rights When Seeking the Truth. Part 4. Lifespan Eyewitness Issues: Older Adults. The Elderly Eyewitness: A Review and Prospectus. False Memory Susceptibility in Older Adults: Implications for the Elderly Eyewitness. Eyewitness Memory in Older Adults. Part 5. Conclusion. The Relevance of Eyewitness Research: A Trial Lawyer's Perspective.