The challenge for forensic memory research: Methodolotry

Abstract

The aim of this chapter is to describe a major challenge facing contemporary forensic psychology: the reliance on laboratory-based research at the expense of field research. I argue that the reliance on laboratory research has had a profound negative effect on the discipline, retarding our understanding of many psychological phenomena in the forensic field. My focus is on the area of eyewitness memory, although I believe that the arguments presented here are valid for a number of forensic areas of enquiry. This chapter begins with a review of some of the historical roots for the reliance on the laboratory. This is followed by an examination of the consequences of the reliance on the laboratory as the appropriate venue for the study of eyewitness memory. I conclude with some thoughts on how we can meet this challenge; how we can overcome our belief in the ultimate value of the laboratory and develop more appropriate methodologies for the study of eyewitness memory, as well as other aspects of forensic psychology.