Associate ProfessorCeline Van Golde

Project Opportunities

Title: The Psychology of Wrongful Convictions

Summary of opportunity:

Forensic Psychology plays a major role within our criminal justice process. From police procedures (such as interviewing witnesses); legal and court procedures; to wrongful convictions, psychological research can make a difference.  This project investigates issues such as eyewitness memory, identification evidence and legal procedures with the aim to not only further theoretical knowledge but also improve procedures within the legal system

Opportunity synopsis:

This project contains multiple streams of research looking at both eyewitness recall memory (i.e. testimonies) and recognition memory (i.e. identifications) in both children and adults.  The project further focuses on memories for both one off and repeated events (e.g. crimes, domestic violence, CSA).

Various factors such as Memory Blindness, Retrieval Induced Forgetting, Face Matching Taks and Line Up Tasks can be investigated.  Additionally, the influence of modern technology (e.g. smart phones) and the media on memory are of interest.  Various methodologies will be used include online testing and virtual reality.  This project also works with industry partners such as the police force and legal practitioners.