Eye tracking and eyewitness memory

Abstract

For more than a century psychologists have utilized eye tracking as a window into how we think and how we feel, and to test theories of the mind and its mental processes. A range of forensic topics has been investigated with eye tracking, such as the effect of weapon exposure (e.g., Hope & Wright, 2008), visual attention in anti-social personality disorder (e.g., Ceballos & Bauer, 2004), and the role of expertise in deception detection (Bond, 2008). Recently, researchers have begun to use eye tracking to study eyewitness decision processes in criminal lineup identification (e.g., Mansour, Lindsay, Brewer, & Munhall, 2009). This paper reviews the application of eye tracking technology in criminal identification lineup research and discusses issues that arise in translating eye movements to reveal eyewitness decision processes.