Neil Brewer's Eyewitness Memory Research

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Seven Network, Witness Interviewing

Below is a summary of our group's major research activity since 2000, and a description of our laboratory facilities. The research summary includes research grants, publications, and PhD completions. For undergraduate students interested in these areas, I teach a third-year topic, Psyc 3226 Experimental Psychology and the Law. Our research projects involve a variety of interesting collaborations with:

• recent PhD graduates: Nathan Weber, Carolyn Semmler, James Sauer & Matt Palmer
• current PhD students: Tick Zweck, Tiffany Lavis & Ambika Nagesh
• researchers from other Australian and overseas universities: Gary Wells (Iowa State), Kip Williams (Purdue), Rod Lindsay (Queen's - Canada), Fiona Gabbert (Abertay), Lorraine Hope (Portsmouth), Amy Bradfield Douglass (Bates), & Lynne ForsterLee (Central Queensland)

Recent visitors to the Eyewitness Laboratory Prof Gary L. Wells, Iowa State University (USA): 2001, 2004 Prof Amina Memon, University of Aberdeen (Scotland): 2004 Prof Rod & Marilyn Lindsay, Queen's University (Canada): 2005 Prof Ron Fisher, Florida International University (USA): 2005 Prof Siegfried Sporer, University of Geissen (Germany): 2005 Prof Martine Powell, Deakin University (Australia): 2006 Prof D. Stephen Lindsay, University of Victoria (Canada): 2006 Prof Harlene Hayne, University of Otago (NZ): 2007 Dr. Fiona Gabbert, University of Abertay (Scotland): 2008 Dr. Lorraine Hope, University of Portsmouth (England): 2008 Dr. Amy Bradfield Douglass, Bates College (USA): 2008

The Office

Editorial Board Memberships

Psychology, Public Policy and Law (2007 - )
Applied Cognitive Psychology (2006 - )
Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied (2005 - )
Law and Human Behavior (2005 - )
Legal and Criminological Psychology (2005 - )
Encyclopedia of Psychology and Law (2006 - 2008)

Publications (2000 - )

Brewer, N., & Palmer, M. (2010). Eyewitness identification tests. Legal and Criminological Psychology, 15, 77-96.

Palmer, M. A., Brewer, N., McKinnon, A. C., & Weber, N. (2010). Phenomenological reports diagnose accuracy of eyewitness identification decisions. Acta Psychologica, 133, 137-145.

Semmler, C., & Brewer, N. (2010). Eyewitness memory. In J. Brown & E. Campbell (Eds.), The Cambridge handbook of forensic psychology (pp. 49-57). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Brewer, N., Keast, A., & Sauer, J. D. (2009). Children’s eyewitness identification performance: Effects of a Not Sure response option and accuracy motivation. Legal and Criminological Psychology. DOI: 10.1348/135532509X474822

Brewer, N., & Wells, G. L. (2009). Obtaining and interpreting eyewitness identification test evidence: The influence of police-citizen interactions. In R. Bull, T. Valentine, & T. Williamson, (Eds.), Handbook of psychology of investigative interviewing: Current developments and future directions (pp. 205-220). Chichester, UK: John Wiley.

Douglass, A. B., Brewer, N., & Semmler, C. (2009). Moderators of post-identification feedback effects on eyewitnesses’ memory reports. Legal and Criminological Psychology. DOI: 10.1348/135532509X446337

Fisher, R., Brewer, N., & Mitchell, G. (2009). The relation between consistency and accuracy of witness testimony: Legal versus cognitive explanations. In T. Williamson, R. Bull, & T. Valentine (Eds.), Handbook of psychology of investigative interviewing: Current developments and future directions (pp. 121-136). Chichester, UK: John Wiley.

Mansour, J., Lindsay, R. C. L., Brewer, N., & Munhall, K. (2009). Characterizing visual behavior in a lineup task. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 23, 1012-1026.

Powell, M. B., Garry, M., & Brewer, N. (2009). Eyewitness testimony. In I. Freckelton & H. Selby (Eds.), Expert evidence (pp. 65-1 to 65-13072). Pyrmont, NSW: Thomson Reuters.

Sauer, J., Brewer, N., Zweck, T., & Weber, N. (2009). The effect of retention interval on the confidence-accuracy relationship for eyewitness identification. Law and Human Behavior. DOI 10.1007/s10979-009-9192-x

Brewer, N. (2008). Confidence in identifications. In B. L. Cutler (Ed.), Encyclopedia of psychology and law (pp.138-142). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Brewer, N., & Weber, N. (2008). Eyewitness confidence and latency: Indices of memory processes not just markers of accuracy. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 22, 827-840.

Brewer, N., & Weber, N., Clark, A., & Wells, G. L. (2008). Distinguishing accurate from inaccurate eyewitness identifications with an optional deadline procedure. Psychology, Crime and Law, 14, 397-414.

Goodman-Delahunty, J., Brewer, N., Clough, J., Ogloff, J. R. P., & Tait, D. (2008). Practices, policies and procedures that influence juror satisfaction in Australia. Research and Public Policy Series No. 87. Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology. (ISSN 1326-6004).

Jones, E. E., Williams, K. D., & Brewer, N. (2008). “I had a confidence epiphany!” Obstacles to combating post-identification confidence inflation. Law and Human Behavior, 32, 164-176.

Lindsay, R. C. L., Semmler, C., Weber, N., Brewer, N., & Lindsay, M. R. (2008). How variations in distance affect eyewitness reports and identification accuracy. Law and Human Behavior, 32, 526-535.

McKinnon, A. C., Nixon, R. D. V., & Brewer, N. (2008). The influence of data-driven processing on perceptions of memory quality and intrusive symptoms in children following traumatic events. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 46, 766-775.

Sauer, J. D., Brewer, N., & Weber, N. (2008). Multiple confidence estimates as indices of eyewitness memory. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 137, 528-547.

Sauer, J. D., Brewer, N., & Wells, G. L. (2008). Is there a magical time boundary for diagnosing eyewitness identification accuracy in sequential lineups? Legal and Criminological Psychology, 13, 123-135.

Semmler, C., & Brewer, N. (2008). Pop-out effect in eyewitness identification. In B. L. Cutler (Ed.), Encyclopedia of psychology and law (pp. 600-601). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Weber, N., & Brewer, N. (2008). Eyewitness recall: Regulation of grain size and the role of confidence. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 14, 50-60.

Weber, N., & Brewer, N. (2008). Response latency and eyewitness identification. In B. L. Cutler (Ed.), Encyclopedia of psychology and law (pp. 692-693). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Weber, N., Brewer, N., & Margitich, S. (2008). The confidence-accuracy relation in eyewitness identification: Effects of verbal versus numeric confidence scales. In K. H. Kiefer (Ed.), Applied psychology research trends. (pp. 103-118). Hauppauge, NY: Nova Science Publishers.

Brewer, N., Weber, N., & Semmler, C. (2007). A role for theory in eyewitness identification research. In R. C. L. Lindsay, D. F. Ross, J. D. Read, & M. Toglia (Eds.), Handbook of eyewitness psychology: Volume 2: Memory for people (pp. 201-218). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Keast, A., Brewer, N., & Wells, G. L. (2007). Children’s metacognitive judgments in an eyewitness identification task. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 97, 286-314.

Semmler, C., & Brewer, N. (2006). Postidentification feedback effects on face recognition confidence: Evidence for metacognitive influences. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 20, 895-916.

Young, R., Williamson, P., Brewer, N., Ettridge, K., & Goren, T. (2006). The early detection of pre-verbal autistic characteristics. Psicología Iberoamericana, 14, 11-20.

Tuckey, M. R., Brewer, N., & Barnes, K. (2006). Source attributes and feedback seeking: A field study. International Journal of Organisational Behaviour, 11, 20-30.

Howard, M. V. A., Brewer, N., & Williams, K. D. (2006). How processing resources shape the influence of stealing thunder on mock-juror verdicts. Psychiatry, Psychology and Law, 13, 60-66.

Brewer, N., Caon, A., Todd, C., & Weber, N. (2006). Eyewitness identification accuracy and response latency. Law and Human Behavior, 30, 31-50.

Brewer, N., & Wells, G. L. (2006). The confidence-accuracy relationship in eyewitness identification: Effects of lineup instructions, foil similarity and target-absent base rates. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 12, 11-30.

Brewer, N. (2006). Uses and abuses of eyewitness identification confidence. Legal and Criminological Psychology, 11, 3-24.

Weber, N., & Brewer, N. (2006). Positive versus negative face recognition decisions: Confidence, accuracy, and response latency. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 20, 17-31.

Brewer, N., & Williams, K. D. (2005). Psychology and law: An empirical perspective. New York: Guilford.

Brewer, N., Weber, N., & Semmler, C. (2005). Eyewitness identification. In N. Brewer & K. D. Williams (Eds.), Psychology and law: An empirical perspective (pp. 177-221). New York: Guilford.

Brewer, N., Williams, K. D., & Semmler, C. (2005). Psychology and law research: An overview. In N. Brewer & K. D. Williams (Eds.), Psychology and law: An empirical perspective (pp. 1-10). New York: Guilford.

Brewer, N., & Day, K. (2005). The confidence-accuracy and decision latency-accuracy relationships in children's eyewitness identification. Psychiatry, Psychology and Law, 12, 119-128.

Weber, N., Brewer, N., & Wells, G. L. (2004). Is there a "magical" decision latency that discriminates correct from incorrect eyewitness identifications? In A. Czerederecka, T. Jaskiewicz-Obydzinska, R. Roesch, & J. Wójcikiewicz (Eds.), Forensic psychology and law (pp. 115-124). Kraków, Pl: Institute of Forensic Research Publishers.

Brewer N., Weber, N., & Wells, G. L. (2004). Does a 10-12 second decision latency optimally discriminate correct from incorrect eyewitness identifications? In M. Katsikitis (Ed.), Proceedings of the 39th APS Annual Conference (pp. 39-42). Melbourne, Vic: The Australian Psychological Society Ltd.

Brewer, N., Harvey, S., & Semmler, C. (2004). Improving comprehension of jury instructions with audio-visual presentation. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 18, 765-776.

Weber, N., Brewer, N., Wells, G. L., Semmler, C., & Keast, A. (2004). Eyewitness identification accuracy and response latency: The unruly 10-12 second rule. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 10, 139-147.

Weber, N., & Brewer, N. (2004). Confidence-accuracy calibration in absolute and relative face recognition judgments. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 10, 156-172.

Semmler, C., Brewer, N., & Wells, G. L. (2004). Effects of postidentification feedback on eyewitness identification and nonidentification confidence. Journal of Applied Psychology, 89, 334-346.

Brewer, N., & Hupfeld, R. M. (2004). Effects of testimonial inconsistencies and witness group identity on mock-juror judgments. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 34, 493-513.

Skinner, N., & Brewer, N. (2004). Adaptive approaches to competition. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology.

Brewer, N., & Skinner, N. (2003). Work motivation. In M. O'Driscoll, P. Taylor, & T. Kalliath (Eds.) Organizational psychology in New Zealand and Australia (pp. 150-168). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Weber, N., & Brewer, N. (2003). The effect of judgment type and confidence scale on confidence-accuracy calibration in face recognition. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88, 490-499.

Tuckey, M. R., & Brewer, N. (2003). The influence of schemas, stimulus ambiguity, and interview schedule on eyewitness memory over time. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 9, 101-118.

Tuckey, M., & Brewer, N. (2003). How schemas affect eyewitness memory over repeated retrieval attempts. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 17, 785-800.

Weber, N., & Brewer, N. (2003). Expert memory: The interaction of stimulus structure, attention and expertise. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 16, 295-308.

Weber, N., & Brewer, N. (2003). Confidence-accuracy calibration for absolute and relative judgements. In M. Vanderhallen, G. Vervaeke, P. J. Van Koppen, & J. Goethals (Eds.), Much ado about crime: Chapters on psychology and law (pp.151-160). Brussel, Belgium: Uitgeverij Politeia N.V.

Young, R., Brewer, N., & Pattison, C. (2003). Parental identification of early behavioural abnormalities in children with Autistic Disorder. Autism, 7, 125-143.

Brewer, N., Keast, A., & Rishworth, A. (2002). The confidence-accuracy relationship in eyewitness identification: The effects of reflection and disconfirmation on correlation and calibration. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 8, 46-58.

Brewer, N., & Burke, A. (2002). Effects of testimonial inconsistencies and eyewitness confidence on mock-juror judgments. Law and Human Behavior, 26, 353-364.

Young, R., & Brewer, N. (2002). Diagnosis of autistic disorder: Problems and new directions. In L. M. Glidden (Ed.), International Review of Research in Mental Retardation (Vol. 25, pp. 107-134). San Diego, CA: Academic Press.

Tuckey, M., Brewer, N., & Williamson, P. (2002). The influence of motives and goal orientation on feedback seeking. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 75, 195-216.

Semmler, C., & Brewer, N. (2002). The effects of mood and emotion on juror processing and judgments. Behavioral Sciences and the Law, 20, 423-436.

Skinner, N., & Brewer, N. (2002). The dynamics of threat and challenge appraisals prior to stressful achievement events. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 83, 678-692.

Brewer, N., Mitchell, P., & Weber, N. (2002). Gender role, organizational status and conflict resolution style. International Journal of Conflict Resolution, 13, 78-94.

Semmler, C. A., & Brewer, N. (2002). Using a flow-chart to improve comprehension of jury instructions. Psychiatry, Psychology and Law, 9, 262-270.

Dandy, J., Brewer, N., & Tottman, R. (2001). Self-consciousness and performance decrements in a sporting context. Journal of Social Psychology, 141, 150-152.

Wilson, C., & Brewer, N. (2001). Working in teams: Negative effects on organisational performance in policing. Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies and Management, 24, 115-127.

Brewer, N., Gordon, M., & Bond, N. (2000). Effect of photoarray exposure duration on eyewitness identification accuracy and processing strategy. Psychology, Crime, and Law, 6, 21-32.

Brewer, N., Hupfeld, R. M., & Schmidt, C. (2000). How evidence and social identity interact to affect jurors' judgements. Law in Context, 17, 130-147.

Some oldies, but....

Brewer, N., et al. (1999). Beliefs and data on the relationship between consistency and accuracy of eyewitness testimony. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 13, 297-313.

Brewer, N., & Ridgway, T. (1998). Effects of supervisory monitoring on productivity and quality of performance. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 4, 211-227.

Braithwaite, H., Brewer, N., & Strelan, P. (1998). Conflict management in police-citizen interactions. Sydney: McGraw-Hill.

Brewer, N., & Wilson, C. (Eds.) (1995). Psychology and policing. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Smith, G. A., & Brewer, N. (1995). Slowness and age: Speed-accuracy mechanisms. Psychology and Aging, 10, 238-247.

Brewer, N., Wilson, C., & Beck, K. (1994). Supervisory behaviour and team performance amongst police patrol sergeants. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 67, 69-78.

White, J. M., & Brewer, N. (1992). Teaching basic skills: The principles of instruction. Melbourne: Macmillan.

Brewer, N., & Smith G. A. (1990). Processing speed and mental retardation: Deadline procedures indicate fixed and adjustable limitations. Memory and Cognition, 18, 443-450.

Brewer, N., & Smith, G. A. (1989). Developmental changes in processing speed: Influence of speed-accuracy regulation. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 118, 298-310.

Brewer, N. (1987). Processing speed, efficiency and intelligence. In J.G. Borkowski & J.D. Day (Eds.), Cognition in special children: Comparative approaches to retardation, learning disabilities and giftedness (pp. 15-48). Norwood, NJ.: Ablex.

Brewer, N., & Smith, G. A. (1984). How normal and retarded individuals monitor and regulate speed and accuracy of responding in serial choice tasks. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 113, 71-93.

Brewer, N., & Smith, G. A. (1982) Cognitive processes for monitoring and regulating speed and accuracy of responding in mental retardation: A methodology. American Journal of Mental Deficiency, 87, 211-222.

Nettelbeck, T., & Brewer, N. (1981). Studies of mild mental retardation and timed performance. In N.R. Ellis (Ed.), International review of research in mental retardation (Vol. 10, pp. 61-106). New York: Academic Press.

Brewer, N., & Sandow, B. (1980). Alcohol effects on driver performance under conditions of divided attention. Ergonomics, 23, 185-190.

PhD completions (2000 - )

Palmer, M. (2008). Eyewitness identification from multiple lineups.

Sauer, J. (2008). Using multiple confidence assessments to discriminate studied from unstudied faces.

Barnes, J. (2006). The influence of persuasive message factors in client presentation.

Keast, A. (2005). Children's eyewitness identification performance.

Weber, N. (2004). Confidence-accuracy calibration in face recognition.

Semmler, C. (2004). The effects of post-identification feedback on eyewitness confidence.

Tuckey, M. (2003). Schema influences on eyewitness memory.

Skinner, N. (2002). The dynamics of threat and challenge appraisals.

Research Grants (2000 - )

Brewer, N. Multiple confidence estimates as indices of eyewitness memory: Effects of retention interval. 2009, $13,478, Flinders Research Grant.

Brewer, N., Gabbert, F., & Hope, L. Interviewing eyewitnesses: Enhancing output quantity and diagnosing accuracy. 2009-11, $152,000, Australian Research Council, £81,281 (UK) ESRC Linkage International Collaboration Grant.

Brewer, N,. Weber, N., & Lindsay, D. S. Identifying the bad guy with deadlined confidence judgments. 2010-13, Australian Research Council Discovery Project, $424,000.

Brewer, N., Wells, G. L., & Weber, N. Eyewitness identification: Metacognitive influences on choosing behaviour. 2005-09, $371,000, Australian Research Council Discovery Project.

Douglass, A. B., Brewer, N., & Semmler, C. The dynamic interaction between investigator and eyewitness: Effects on memory reports and interviewer behavior. 2009-11, $200,000, National Science Foundation (USA).

Gerrie, M., & Brewer, N. The role of eyemovements in eyewitness identification. 2009-11, $300,000, Fast-Start Marsden Grant (through Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand.

Hope, L., Gabbert, F., & Brewer, N. Interviewing eyewitnesses: Enhancing output quantity and diagnosing accuracy. 2009-10, $162,360, ESRC (UK) Bilateral Australia.

Nixon, R. D. V., & Brewer, N. Children's memory for traumatic events. 2007-09, $201,189, Australian Research Council Discovery Project.

Semmler, C., Brewer, N., & Bradfield Douglass, A. The distortion of eyewitness identification testimony. 2010-12, $230,000, Australian Research Council Discovery Project.

Young, R., & Brewer, N. Dimensions of Autism Spectrum Disorder. 2009, $2,214, Faculty of Social Sciences Research Support grant.

Brewer, N., Young, R., Weber, N., Ma-Wyatt, A., Semmler, C., & McKinnon, R. A multi-function eyetracker facility. 2008, $120,000, Australian Research Council - LIEF.

Nixon, R., & Brewer, N. Children’s memory for traumatic events. 2007-09, $201,189, ARC Discovery Grant.

Zajac, R., Brewer, N., Powell, M., & Henaghan, M. “That’s him!” Reducing mistaken identifications from photographic lineups. 2007-08, $170,000, Fast-Start Marsden Grant (through University of Otago, New Zealand).

Brewer, N., Wells, G. L., & Weber, N. Eyewitness identification: Metacognitive influences on choosing behaviour. 2005-09, $371,000, ARC Discovery Grant.

Brewer, N. Bias in eyewitness identification tests. 2007, $13,000, Flinders Research Grant.

Brewer, N., & Williams, J. Determinants of tribunal outcomes for Indigenous footballers. 2006-07, $27,560, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies.

Brewer, N. Distinguishing guilty from innocent suspects in eyewitness identification using multiple confidence judgments. 2005, $11,000, Flinders University Research Grant

Brewer, N., Williams, K. D., & ForsterLee, L. The dynamics of witness confidence effects on juror judgments. 2003-04, $138,000, ARC Large Grant.

Brewer, N. Does eyewitness identification decision time reliably indicate identification accuracy? 2004, $1,950, Flinders University Research Budget.

Brewer, N. The strategic regulation of grain size in eyewitness testimony reports. 2003, $6,044, Flinders University Small Grant.

Brewer, N., & Wells, G. L. When does confidence predict eyewitness identification accuracy? 2001-03, $112,700, ARC Large Grant.

Brewer, N., & Williams, K. D. Witness confidence and juror decision making. 2002, $15,238, Flinders University Small Grant.

Brewer, N., & Semmler, C. Improving juror comprehension with a flowchart. 2001, $10,000, Law Foundation of South Australia.

Brewer, N. Confidence-accuracy calibration in eyewitness identification. 2000, $9,691, ARC Small Grant.

Young, R., & Brewer, N. The detection of autism in young, pre-verbal children. 2002, $3,546, Flinders Medical Centre Foundation Project Grant.

Young, R., & Brewer, N. The detection of autism in young, pre-verbal children. 1999-2001, $37,500, Channel 7 Children's Medical Research Foundation of South Australia.

Brewer, N., Fisher, R., Luszcz, M., & Bond, N. The relationship between consistency and accuracy of eyewitness testimony. 1998-2000, $142,000, ARC Large Grant.

Recent Conference Presentations

Young, R., Williamson, P., Brewer, N., & Bradshaw, G. (2009, August). When does typical development become atypical? Asia Pacific Autism Conference, Sydney, Australia.

Nagesh, A., Brewer, N., & Young, R. (2009, August). Face recognition and metacognitive monitoring in individuals with Asperger’s Disorder. Asia Pacific Autism Conference, Sydney, Australia.

Brewer, N., Weber, N., & Wootton, D. (2009, July). Eyewitness identification: An alternative approach to accessing eyewitness memory. Invited Plenary for Developments in applied memory research: New techniques for extracting information from eyewitnesses. Eighth Biennial Conference of the Society for Applied Research in Memory and Cognition, Kyoto, Japan.

Brewer, N. (2009, July). Some things about confidence and eyewitness memory. Symposium Convener, Eighth Biennial Conference of the Society for Applied Research in Memory and Cognition, Kyoto, Japan.

Sauer, J., Brewer, N., Zweck, T., & Weber, N. (2009, July). The effects of varied retention interval on the confidence-accuracy relationship for eyewitness recognition memory: A field study. Eighth Biennial Conference of the Society for Applied Research in Memory and Cognition, Kyoto, Japan.

Nagesh, A., Brewer, N., & Young, R. (2009, July). Interviewing child witnesses: Regulating output quantity and accuracy. Eighth Biennial Conference of the Society for Applied Research in Memory and Cognition, Kyoto, Japan.

Brewer, N. (2009, July). Assessing the validity of memory reports. Symposium Convener, 31st International Congress on Law and Mental Health, New York, USA.

Brewer, N. (2009, July). What can witness confidence tell us about the accuracy of their memory reports? 31st International Congress on Law and Mental Health, New York, USA.

Young, R. L., Williamson, P., Brewer, N., & Bradshaw, G., (2009, May). Early detection of Autism in pre-verbal children (ADEC). 8th Annual International Meeting for Autism Research, Chicago, Chicago, USA.

Brewer, N. (2009, February). Busting myths about eyewitness testimony. Symposium Convener, Australian Psychological Society College of Forensic Psychologists Conference, Melbourne, Aust.

Brewer, N. (2009, February). Assessing the credibility of reports from cooperative witnesses. Australian Psychological Society College of Forensic Psychologists Conference, Melbourne, Aust.

Brewer, N. (2009, February). Witness confidence as an index of accuracy of memory reports. Australian Psychological Society College of Forensic Psychologists Conference, Melbourne, Aust.

Nagesh, A., & Brewer, N. (2009, February). Interviewing techniques for assessing credibility of witnesses. Australian Psychological Society College of Forensic Psychologists Conference, Melbourne, Aust.

McKinnon, A. C., Nixon, R. D. V., & Brewer, N. (2008, November). The influence of memory processes on the development and maintenance of posttraumatic stress symptoms in children. 24th Annual Meeting of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, Chicago, USA.

Sauer, J., & Brewer, N. (2008, November). What can eyewitness confidence tell us about the accuracy of memory reports. Invited Plenary, Jury Research and Practice Conference. University of Queensland & The Justice Environs Network, Qld.

Palmer, M. A., Brewer, N., & Weber, N. (2008, August). Should eyewitnesses view multiple lineups. 12th Biennial Conference of the International Society for Justice Research. Adelaide, South Australia.

Palmer, M. A., & Brewer, N. (2008, August). Should eyewitnesses view multiple lineups. 12th Biennial Conference of the International Society for Justice Research. Adelaide, South Australia.

Lavis, T., & Brewer, N. (2008, August). Demonstrated testimonial inaccuracy and the reliability of witness testimony. 12th Biennial Conference of the International Society for Justice Research. Adelaide, South Australia.

Brewer, N., Sauer, J., & Wootton, D. (2008, July). Multiple confidence estimates as indices of eyewitness memory. 18th Conference of the European Association of Psychology and Law. Maastricht, The Netherlands.

Brewer, N., Keast, A., & Sauer, J. (2008, July). Manipulating children’s eyewitness identification performance. 18th Conference of the European Association of Psychology and Law. Maastricht, The Netherlands.

Palmer, M. A., Brewer, N., & Weber, N. (2008, March). Eyewitness identification responses to multiple lineups. 35th Australasian Experimental Psychology Conference, Perth, Western Australia.

Semmler, C., & Brewer, N. (2008, March). The effects of distinctiveness, difficulty and feedback on the confidence-accuracy relationship in face recognition. 35th Australasian Experimental Psychology Conference, Perth, Western Australia.

Brewer, N. (2007, December). Eyewitness identification. Invited address, The Innocence Project New Zealand Conference, Wellington, New Zealand.

Brewer, N., Sauer, J., & Palmer, M. (2007, June). Exploring new directions in eyewitness identification tests. 30th International Congress on Law and Mental Health, Padua, Italy.

Brewer, N., & Semmler, C. (2007, July). Assessing the accuracy of eyewitness identification evidence: The role of metacognitive factors. 3rd International Congress of Psychology and Law, Adelaide, Australia.

Brewer, N., & Wootton, D. (2007, July). Identifying the culprit using patterns of confidence judgments across sequentially presented stimuli under response-signal deadlines. Seventh Biennial Conference of the Society for Applied Research in Memory and Cognition, Lewiston ME, USA.

Conduit, T., & Brewer, N. (2007, April). How a demonstrated testimonial inaccuracy affects the credibility of other testimonial elements. 36th Annual Meeting of the Society of Australasian Social Psychologists, Brisbane, Quennsland.

Conduit, T., & Brewer, N. (2007, July). The impact of a single testimonial inaccuracy on evaluations of the credibility of all testimonial elements. Third International Psychology-Law Conference, Adelaide, Australia.

Gabbert, F., Brewer, N., & Hope, L. (2007, July). Effects of co-witness confidence on identification decisions. Seventh Biennial Conference of the Society for Applied Research in Memory and Cognition, Lewiston ME, USA.

Jones, E. E., Williams, K. D., & Brewer, N. (2007, May). Juror response to confidence inflation: Introducing initial confidence is insufficient. Annual meeting of the Midwestern Psychological Association, Chicago, IL.

Jones, E. E., Williams, K. D., & Brewer, N. (2007, January). Juror judgments concerning witness confidence inflation: The role of attributions and time. Annual meeting of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Memphis, TN.

Mansour, J., Lindsay, R. C. L., Brewer, N., & Munhall, K. (2007, March). Using visual behavior to understand eyewitness decision-making on simultaneous lineups. Off the Witness Stand: Using Psychology in the Practice of Justice, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, CUNY, New York.

Muller, R., & Brewer, N. (2007, July). Lineup administrator influences on eyewitnesses’ choosing patterns under double-blind testing conditions. Third International Psychology-Law Conference, Adelaide, Australia.

Palmer, M., Brewer, N., & Weber, N. (2007, July). Using confidence and latency to discriminate correct from incorrect eyewitness identification decisions in a multiple-lineup task. Seventh Biennial Conference of the Society for Applied Research in Memory and Cognition, Lewiston ME, USA.

Sauer, J., Brewer, N., & Weber, N. (2007, July). Identifying the culprit using patterns of confidence judgments across simultaneous lineup members. Seventh Biennial Conference of the Society for Applied Research in Memory and Cognition, Lewiston ME, USA.

Brewer, N. (2006, December). Can eyewitness confidence tell us anything about identification accuracy? Invited Keynote, Memory on Trial Symposium, University of Otago, New Zealand.

Sauer, J., Brewer, N., & Weber, N. (2006, July). The diagnosticity of multiple eyewitness confidence assessments. The 4th International Conference on Memory, University of New South Wales, Australia.

Palmer, M., Brewer, N., & Weber, N. (2006, July). How do eyewitnesses respond when presented with both target-present and target-absent lineups? The 4th International Conference on Memory, University of New South Wales, Australia.

Brewer, N. (2006, July). Eyewitness identification: Obtaining and interpreting witnesses’ confidence estimates. Second International Investigative Interviewing Conference, University of Portsmouth, UK.

Fisher, R., & Brewer, N. (2006, July). The relationship between consistency and accuracy of witness testimony. Second International Investigative Interviewing Conference, University of Portsmouth, UK.

Brewer, N., & Keast, A. (2006, June). Diagnosing accuracy of children’s eyewitness identifications. 16th European Conference of Psychology and Law, Liverpool, UK.

Weber, N., Coleman, B., & Brewer, N. (2006, June). Quantity and accuracy in face recognition: Positive versus negative decisions. 16th European Conference of Psychology and Law, Liverpool, UK.

Jones, E. E., Williams, K. D., & Brewer, N. (2006, May). Juror judgments concerning witness confidence inflation: Another form of inconsistency? Midwestern Psychological Association Conference, Chicago, IL.

Palmer, M., Brewer, N., & Weber, N. (2006, April). One crime, one suspect, two decisions: Eyewitness identifications from target-present and target-absent lineups. 33rd Australasian Experimental Psychology Conference, Brisbane, Queensland.

Sauer, J., Brewer, N., & Weber, N. (2006, April). Using multiple confidence estimates to discriminate seen from unseen faces. 33rd Australasian Experimental Psychology Conference, Brisbane, Queensland.

Weber, N., Coleman, B., & Brewer, N. (2006, April). Monitoring and control processes in face recognition memory. 33rd Australasian Experimental Psychology Conference, Brisbane, Queensland.

Lindsay, R. C. L., Semmler, C., Weber, N., Brewer, N., & Lindsay, M. R. (2006, March). Distance and eyewitness identification accuracy: Opposition to the 15 meter rule. American Psychology-Law Society, St. Petersburg, USA.

Barnes, J., & Brewer, N. (2005, October). Peripheral message factors in clinical decision making. 40th Annual Conference of the Australian Psychological Society, Melbourne, Australia.

Young, R., Williamson, P., Brewer, N., Ettridge, K., & Goren (2005, September). The early detection of pre-verbal autistic characteristics. Mexico City, Mexico.

Brewer, N., McKinnon, A., Palmer, M., & Weber, N. (2005, July). Exploring eyewitness identification decision processes. 15th European Conference of Psychology and Law, Vilnius, Lithuania.

Weber, N., & Brewer, N. (2005, May). Regulation of grain size in eyewitness memory. 32nd Australasian Experimental Psychology Conference, Melbourne, Australia.

Brewer, N., Palmer, M., McKinnon, A., & Weber, N. (2005, March). Decision processes underlying eyewitness identifications. American Psychology-Law Society, La Jolla, USA.

Weber, N., & Brewer, N. (2005, March). Regulation of grain size in eyewitness memory. American Psychology-Law Society, La Jolla, USA.

Brewer, N., Caon, C., Todd, C., & Weber, N. (2005, January). Moving the optimum time boundary for accurate identifications. Sixth Biennial Conference of the Society for Applied Research in Memory and Cognition, Wellington, New Zealand.

Zweck, T., Brewer, N., Weber, N., & Wells, G. L. (2005, January). Meta-cognitive variables as determinants of eyewitness choosing behaviour. Sixth Biennial Conference of the Society for Applied Research in Memory and Cognition, Wellington, New Zealand.

Weber, N., & Brewer, N. (2005, January). Confidence-accuracy calibration in positive and negative face recognition judgments. Sixth Biennial Conference of the Society for Applied Research in Memory and Cognition, Wellington, New Zealand.

Sauer, J. D., & Brewer, N. (2005, January). Using multiple confidence assessments to discriminate studied from unstudied faces. Sixth Biennial Conference of the Society for Applied Research in Memory and Cognition, Wellington, New Zealand.

Sauer, J., Brewer, N., & Wells, G. L. (2005, January). Diagnosing eyewitness identification accuracy in sequential lineups. Sixth Biennial Conference of the Society for Applied Research in Memory and Cognition, Wellington, New Zealand.

Barnes, J., & Brewer, N. (2004, November). Clinician cognitions: The influence of peripheral message factors in patient presentation. Australian Psychological Society’s College of Clinical Psychology National Conference, Sydney, Australia.

Brewer, N., Weber, N., & Wells, G. L. (2004, September). Does a 10-12 second decision latency optimally discriminate correct from incorrect eyewitness identifications? 39th Annual Conference of the Australian Psychological Society, Sydney Australia.

Brewer, N., Williams, K. D., ForsterLee, L., & Hargreaves, D. (2004, July). The dynamics of witness confidence effects on juror judgments. 14th European Conference of Psychology and Law, Kraków, Poland.

Brewer, N., Weber, N., & Wells, G. L. (2004, July). Is there a ‘magical’ decision latency that discriminates correct from incorrect eyewitness identifications? 14th European Conference of Psychology and Law, Kraków, Poland.

Recent Talks

Brewer, N. (2009, March). Psychological indications of witness credibility. Invited address, Phoenix Judges’ Conference, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia.

Brewer, N. (2008, May). Psychological indications of witness credibility. Invited address, Phoenix Judges' Conference, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia.

Brewer, N. (2008, August). The pursuit of a crazy idea. School of Psychology, Flinders University.

Brewer, N. (2008, August). Psychological indicators of witness credibility. Invited address, Queensland District Court Judges’ Conference. Marcoola Beach, Qld.

Brewer, N. (2007, October). Mistaken identity: How the innocent get convicted and how to prevent it. Invited Public Lecture, University of Tasmania.

Brewer, N. (2007, October). Uses and abuses of eyewitness identification confidence. Invited Colloquium, School of Psychology, University of Tasmania.

Brewer, N. (2007, August). Eyewitness identification. Queensland District Court Judges' Conference, Noosa, Queensland. 

Brewer, N. (2007, April). Eyewitness identification evidence. Victorian Magistrates’ Conference, Flemington, Victoria.

Brewer, N. (2007, March). How do we judge testimonial accuracy? - Badly. South Australian District Court Judges’ Conference, Victor Harbor, South Australia.

Brewer, N. (2007, March). Witnesses with no idea. School of Psychology, Flinders University.

Brewer, N. (2006, November). Psychological indications of witness credibility. West Australian Magistrates' Conference, Perth, Australia.

Brewer, N. (2006, October). Changes in research productivity in the School of Psychology. School of Law, Flinders University.

Brewer, N. (2006, September). A meander through the world of police identification tests. Department of Sociology, Flinders University.

May, 2006. Eyewitness identification evidence. Invited Keynote, Queensland Magistrates’ Conference.

March, 2006. Psychological indicators of witness credibility. Phoenix Judges’ Program. Australian National University, Canberra.

March, 2006. Eyewitness identification evidence. West Australian District Court Judges Conference.

October, 2005. Eyewitness identification evidence. Invited Keynote, South Australian Police Criminal Investigation Branch Conference.

October, 2005. Eyewitness identification. Invited Keynote, South Australian Magistrates’ Conference.

August, 2005. Eyewitness identification. Invited Keynote, Northern Territory Magistrates’ Conference.

April, 2005. Improving comprehension of judicial instructions. Invited address, Judges of the District Court of South Australia.

November, 2004. Eyewitness identification. Invited address. West Australian Magistrates’ Conference.

October, 2004. Eyewitness testimony. Invited address, Skeptics Society of South Australia, Adelaide.

October, 2004. Eyewitness testimony. Invited address, University of the Third Age, Aldinga (S. Aust.).

October, 2004. Quick picks. School of Psychology, Flinders University.

April, 2004. Eyewitness identification. Invited address, Judges of the District Court of South Australia.

Laboratory facilities

We have excellent laboratory facilities for on-line experimentation. They comprise a suite of 20 cubicles, each with a PC for stimulus presentation and data recording, plus a larger room for researchers. Three of the cubicles also have a wall-mounted video camera, VCR and monitor. We are supported by the School's excellent computing, electronic and mechanical support staff. PhD students have beautifully appointed offices with the occasional beanbag (in purple) and relatively new PCs. We have digital video recorders and cameras, scanner, access to a video-editing suite, etc.