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Biopsychosocial Perspectives on Memory Variability in Eyewitnesses

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Applied Issues in Investigative Interviewing, Eyewitness Memory, and Credibility Assessment

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Abstract

Eyewitness memory has evolved into an umbrella term to account for the memory of criminal actions witnessed by victims, bystanders, and committed by perpetrators. Encompassed by the narrative memory of a crime as well as recognition memory for the perpetrator, eyewitness memory plays an important role in the criminal justice process—from the initial investigative interview by law enforcement to the assessment of credibility by the triers of fact. In an effort to assist criminal justice system professionals, researchers—mostly psychologists—have empirically investigated the variables associated with eyewitness memory for over 100 years (e.g., Stern, 1904). In fact, thousands of studies have been conducted in the area, making the study of eyewitness memory one of the largest subfields in the area of forensic psychology. The impressive quantity of literature is, however, daunting in nature when one attempts to make sense of the discrepant empirical findings. Indeed, consistent with clinical-forensic experience, the results from eyewitness research indicate that different witnesses to the same criminal event can produce widely variable memory patterns. Without a unifying evidence-informed model to explain the different memory patterns observed, criminal justice professionals are faced with a difficult task when attempting to makes sense out of the variable nature of eyewitness memory.

The authors are grateful to Kristin Kendrick, Dr. Dorothee Griesel, Dr. Marguerite Ternes, Dr. Caroline Greaves, and Dr. Sven Christianson for their helpful comments on earlier drafts of this chapter. Separate parts of this chapter were presented at the Canadian Psychological Association’s 2002 Annual Convention, the Society for Applied Research on Memory and Cognition’s 2003 Conference, and the Society for the Scientific Study of Psychopathy’s 2005 Conference. This chapter is a partial reproduction of a previous chapter (Hervé, Cooper, & Yuille, 2007), and permission to reprint the tables and figures has been received. Please address all correspondence concerning this chapter to: Hugues Hervé, Ph.D. at hherve@theforensicalliance.com.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    For the purposes of the present chapter, we accept, in part, the following definition of trauma provided by the American Psychiatric Association (APA, 2000): “actual or threatened death or serious injury, or a threat to the physical integrity of self and others” (p. 467). In our view, trauma is related not only to the nature of the event (e.g., threat to life or limb) but to the traits and states of the eyewitness as well.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Forensic Alliance, Port Moody, BC, Canada

    Hugues F. Hervé

  2. The Forensic Alliance, Vancouver, BC, Canada

    Barry S. Cooper

  3. University of British Columbia-Okanagan, Kelowna, BC, Canada

    Barry S. Cooper

  4. University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada

    Barry S. Cooper & John C. Yuille

  5. Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada

    Barry S. Cooper

  6. Forensic Psychiatric Hospital, Port Coquitlam, BC, Canada

    Barry S. Cooper

  7. The Forensic Alliance, Salt Spring Island, BC, Canada

    John C. Yuille

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  1. Hugues F. Hervé
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Correspondence to Hugues F. Hervé .

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  1. The Forensic Alliance, Main Street, Suite #503 2818, Vancouver, V5T 0C1, British Columbia, Canada

    Barry S. Cooper

  2. Gerichts- und Rechtspsychologie, Gesellschaft für Wissenschaftliche, Rablstraße 45, München, 81669, Germany

    Dorothee Griesel

  3. , Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, West Mall 2329, Vancouver, V6T 1Z4, British Columbia, Canada

    Marguerite Ternes

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Hervé, H.F., Cooper, B.S., Yuille, J.C. (2013). Biopsychosocial Perspectives on Memory Variability in Eyewitnesses. In: Cooper, B., Griesel, D., Ternes, M. (eds) Applied Issues in Investigative Interviewing, Eyewitness Memory, and Credibility Assessment. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5547-9_5

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