Table Of ContentThe Elderly Eyewitness in Court
T he majority of research on eyewitness memory has traditionally studied
children and young adults. By contrast, this volume is designed to provide
an overview of empirical research on the cognitive, social, and health related
factors that impact the accuracy of eyewitness testimony given by the elderly.
T he book takes a life span developmental perspective that incorporates
research on witnesses of all ages but uses the fi ndings to focus on issues unique
to the elderly. This includes research on recognition memory with lineup iden-
tifi cations and recall memory that occurs when an elderly witness is asked to
describe an event in court. T he Elderly Eyewitness in Court also examines jurors’
reactions to the testimony of an elderly witness and the legal and social policy
issues that emerge when the elderly witness participates in legal proceedings.
While reviewing what is known about the elderly witness, the book also pro-
vides a direction for future research into this new frontier of scientifi c inquiry.
I ts audience spans researchers in cognitive and developmental psychology
and professionals working in the growing area of psychology and law.
Michael P. Toglia, PhD, is a professor and chair of psychology at the Uni-
versity of North Florida. From 2003 to 2011, he was executive director of the
Society for Applied Research in Memory and Cognition. He has published
extensively on eyewitness memory issues, has peer-reviewed nearly 500 arti-
cles and chapters, and has frequently testifi ed in court. A former Fulbright grant
recipient, he is a fellow in the Association for Psychological Science, the
Midwestern Psychological Association, and two divisions of the American
Psychological Association.
David F. Ross, PhD, is UC Foundation Professor of Psychology at the Univer-
sity of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Dr. Ross is interested in factors that infl uence
the accuracy of lineup identifi cation accuracy and how jurors perceive eyewit-
ness testimony. Dr. Ross has received funding for his research from the National
Institute of Science and the Department of Justice. He has also published fi ve
edited volumes on the psychology of eyewitness testimony, has written numer-
ous articles in top-tier journals in psychology including several law reviews,
provides training to law enforcement on how to collect identifi cation evidence,
and is an instructor at the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. Dr. Ross has also
served as a trial consultant for nearly 25 years, assisting attorneys with jury
selection, mock trials, witness preparation, and trial strategy.
Joanna Pozzulo, PhD, is a professor in the Department of Psychology at Car-
leton University, Ontario, Canada. Borrowing from developmental, social, and
cognitive psychology, her research focuses on the identifi cation abilities of
child eyewitnesses. Dr. Pozzulo is interested in understanding the identifi ca-
tion processes eyewitnesses engage and the best identifi cation procedures to be
used by police in order to obtain the most accurate identifi cation evidence. Both
Dr. Pozzulo’s research and teaching have received numerous awards. She has
coauthored textbooks in forensic psychology for both the Canadian and Ameri-
can student. In addition, Dr. Pozzulo has written more than 50 peer-reviewed
articles and chapters.
Emily Pica, MS, is a PhD student in the Department of Psychology at Carleton
University with a concentration in forensic psychology. In 2012, Ms. Pica was
one of only four PhD candidates at Carleton University to be awarded the
highly prestigious Trillium Scholarship. She also received a highly prestigious
award for teaching from the Council of Canadian Departments of Psychol-
ogy. Ms. Pica graduated with her MS from the University of Tennessee at
Chattanooga, where she conducted research on factors that impact eyewitness
memory in adults with a special emphasis on the cross-race effect in lineup
identifi cation.
The Elderly Eyewitness
in Court
Edited by Michael P. Toglia,
David F. Ross, Joanna Pozzulo,
and Emily Pica
First published 2014
by Psychology Press
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
and by Psychology Press
27 Church Road, Hove, East Sussex BN3 2FA
Psychology Press is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2014 Taylor & Francis
The right of the editors to be identified as the authors of the editorial
material, and of the authors for their individual chapters, has been
asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical,
or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval
system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark Notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks
or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
The Elderly Eyewitness in Court / edited by Michael P. Toglia,
David F. Ross, Joanna Pozzulo, and Emily Pica.
pages cm
BJ1533.R42H825 2013
179—dc23
2013016485
ISBN: 978-1-84872-613-0 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-84872-538-6 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-81393-6 (ebk)
Typeset in Times New Roman
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
Contents
List of Contributors ix
Preface xi
DAVID F. ROSS, JOANNA POZZULO, AND EMILY PICA
PART I
Memory for People 1
1 The Reliability of Eyewitness Identifications by the Elderly:
An Evidence-Based Review 3
SIEGFRIED L. SPORER AND NATALIE MARTSCHUK
2 Misinformation Effect in Older Versus Younger Adults:
A Meta-Analysis and Review 38
LINDSEY E. WYLIE, LAWRENCE PATIHIS, LESLIE L. McCULLER,
DEBORAH DAVIS, EVE M. BRANK, ELIZABETH F. LOFTUS,
AND BRIAN H. BORNSTEIN
3 True and False Recognition of Faces by Young
and Old Adults 67
JAMES C. BARTLETT
4 Eyewitness Identifications: The Interaction Between
Witness Age and Estimator Variables 93
JENNIFER L. BEAUDRY AND CHRISTINA L. BULLARD
5 Improving the Performance of Older Witnesses
on Identification Procedures 118
RACHEL WILCOCK AND RAY BULL
vi Contents
PART II
Memory for Events 135
6 Aging and False Memory: Fuzzy-Trace Theory and
the Elderly Eyewitness 137
CARLOS F. A. GOMES, BRITTANY R. COHEN, ALISHA DESAI,
CHARLES J. BRAINERD, AND VALERIE F. REYNA
7 Eyewitness Memory and Metamemory in Older Adults 167
JODI PRICE, MICHAEL L. MUELLER, STACY WETMORE,
AND JEFFREY NEUSCHATZ
8 Associative Memory Deficits: Implications for
the Elderly Eyewitness 192
DONNA J. LAVOIE AND KETHERA FOGLER
9 Accuracy of Eyewitness Memory for Events in Young
and Older Adults 210
ALAITZ AIZPURUA, MALEN MIGUELES, AND
ELVIRA GARCÍA-BAJOS
10 Memory Trust and Distrust in Elderly Eyewitnesses:
To What Extent Do Older Adults Doubt Their Memories? 232
L INDA A. HENKEL
11 Interviewing the Elderly Eyewitness 263
TAMMY A. MARCHE, JENNIFER L. BRIERE, TERRI L. CORDWELL,
AND ROBYN E. HOLLIDAY
PART III
Special Topics in Elderly Eyewitness Memory 287
12 A Credible Crime Report? Communication and Perceived
Credibility of Elderly Eyewitnesses 289
M EREDITH ALLISON AND C. A. ELIZABETH BRIMACOMBE
13 Uniting Theory to Empirical Evidence: How to Understand
Memory of the Elderly Witness 308
AYANNA K. THOMAS, LEAMARIE T. GORDON, AND
JOHN B. BULEVICH
Contents vii
14 The Older Witness in Court: An International Perspective 336
GRAHAM DAVIES AND NOELLE ROBERTSON
15 Testimony by the Elderly in the Eyes of the Jury: The Impact
of Juror Characteristics 363
ANNA E. PITTMAN, MICHAEL P. TOGLIA, CHRISTOPHER T. LEONE,
AND KATRIN U. MUELLER-JOHNSON
Index 383
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Contributors
Alaitz Aizpurua, University of the Basque Country
Meredith Allison, Elon University
James C. Bartlett, University of Texas–Dallas
Jennifer L. Beaudry, Swinburne University of Technology
Brian H. Bornstein, University of Nebraska
Charles J. Brainerd, Cornell University
Eve M. Brank, University of Nebraska
Jennifer L. Briere, University of Saskatchewan
C. A. Elizabeth Brimacombe, University of Victoria
John B. Bulevich, Richard Stockton College of New Jersey
Ray Bull, University of Leicester
Christina L. Bullard, Swinburne University of Technology
Brittany R. Cohen, Cornell University
Terri L. Cordwell, University of Saskatchewan
Graham Davies, University of Leicester
Deborah Davis, University of Nevada–Reno
Alisha Desai, Cornell University
Kethera Fogler, James Madison University
Elvira García-Bajos, University of the Basque Country
Carlos F. A. Gomes, Cornell University
Leamarie T. Gordon, Tufts University
Linda A. Henkel, Fairfi eld University
