Faculty and Staff Directory

Research and/or Educational Specialty
Cognitive psychology; psychology and law; memory, judgment, and decision-making; eyewitness memory and identification; evidence-based investigative practices

Introduction

My work lies at the intersection of cognitive psychology and psychology and law, with a particular focus on how memory, judgment, and decision-making influence the collection and evaluation of evidence within the legal system. Much of my research has focused on eyewitness memory and identification, including the procedures used to collect identification evidence and the factors that influence how that evidence should be evaluated.
A central theme of my work is translating psychological science into practice. I am interested not only in what research tells us about memory and decision-making, but also in how those findings can inform investigative procedures, policy, professional training, and the evaluation of evidence in individual cases.

Current Research

My research examines how psychological science can improve the collection and evaluation of evidence and inform practice within the legal system. I am particularly interested in how memory, judgment, and decision-making affect eyewitness evidence, how research-based practices are implemented in real-world settings, and how scientific findings can be communicated effectively to the people who must use them.
 

Current projects include:

• Assessing memory for perpetrator roles and identity in cross-race, multiple-perpetrator crimes.
• Evaluating Washington State law enforcement agency policies for the collection of eyewitness evidence.
• Comparing the effectiveness of judicial instructions for helping people evaluate eyewitness evidence.

• A Youth Participatory Action Research project examining community-police collaboration in the development of a police race and equity plan.

  Across these projects, I am interested in three related questions: How can psychological science improve the evidence collected during investigations? How should that evidence be evaluated in light of what we know about memory and decision-making? And how can research findings be translated effectively into policy and practice?

   

  Scholarly Interests
  Investigative interviewing and interrogation; credibility assessment and deception detection; wrongful convictions and actual innocence; juror and judicial decision-making

Teaching

My teaching focuses primarily on cognitive psychology and the application of psychological science to the legal system. I regularly teach Human Cognition (TPSYCH 250), Human Memory (TPSYCH 350), Judgment and Decision Making (TPSYCH 352), Social Psychology, Law, and Society (TPSYCH 421), and Psychology and the Legal System (TPSYCH 422).
Across these courses, I emphasize that understanding psychological concepts and processes is only part of the goal. Students are also encouraged to recognize how those principles operate in everyday life and to use psychological research to analyze real-world situations. Application is therefore a central part of my courses, through discussions, assignments, applied modules, and larger projects that connect psychological science with problems and decisions outside.

Affiliations

• American Psychology-Law Society (Div. 41 of APA)
• Association for Psychological Science
• American Society of Evidence-Based Policing
• Society for Applied Research in Memory and Cognition