Suggestibility is one of the most important psychological concepts to capture the imagination of scientists, both past and present. The internationally known contributors to this volume tackle this concept with scientific astuteness and balance, and with an eye towards its importance for the legal field. It is a must read for researchers and practitioners alike.―Elizabeth F. Loftus, PhD, Distinguished Professor, University of California, Irvine
Suggestibility in Legal Contexts is a comprehensive guide to the theory, research and forensic implications related to suggestibility in legal contexts. It traces the history of the topic from the early twentieth century to the present, including its post-1970s resurgence after the publication of the seminal research of Elizabeth Loftus.
The text engages with the investigative and theoretical controversies that have attended the subject, including controversial topics such as recovered memories of childhood sexual abuse in adulthood, and coerced or false confessions.
Core chapters are structured thematically and cover salient aspects of the field such as research on ‘immediate’ versus ‘delayed’ suggestibility; memory conformity and the relationship between suggestibility and vulnerability factors including age, intellectual disabilities, personality and memory. The text also outlines witness interview techniques that can reduce the effect of suggested evidence in legal cases.
From the Back Cover
Suggestibility in Legal Contexts is a comprehensive guide to the theory, research and forensic implications related to suggestibility in legal contexts. It traces the history of the topic from the early twentieth century to the present, including its post-1970s resurgence after the publication of the seminal research of Elizabeth Loftus.
The text engages with the investigative and theoretical controversies that have attended the subject, including controversial topics such as recovered memories of childhood sexual abuse in adulthood, and coerced or false confessions.
Core chapters are structured thematically and cover salient aspects of the field such as research on ‘immediate’ versus ‘delayed’ suggestibility; memory conformity and the relationship between suggestibility and vulnerability factors including age, intellectual disabilities, personality and memory. The text also outlines witness interview techniques that can reduce the effect of suggested evidence in legal cases.
About the Author
Anne Ridley is Principal Lecturer in Psychology at London South Bank University, UK, with particular interest in individual differences in witness suggestibility as well as strategies for supporting vulnerable witnesses in the legal system. In 2008 she was awarded a National Teaching Fellowship by the Higher Education Academy.
Fiona Gabbert is a Reader in Psychology at the University of Abertay Dundee, UK. She is an expert in the area of social influences on memory, and has published widely on this topic, including a chapter on ‘memory conformity’ in the current book. Another of Fiona’s interests is developing methods to obtain reliable evidence from eyewitnesses. She received an Academic Excellence Award for ‘Outstanding Achievements in the Area of Investigative Interviewing’ in 2011.
David La Rooy is a Reader in Psychology at the University of Abertay Dundee, UK. He is also a Scottish Institute for Policing Research Lecturer and his research focuses on issues surrounding the forensic interviewing of children. He teaches evidence-based investigative-interviewing and oversees the university’s degree course in Forensic Psychobiology.
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