Reconstructive Memory and Eyewitness Error: Cognitive Neuroscience Insights for Police Investigative Practice

Abstract

The general public and the legal system often assume that human memory is mostly accurate. However, decades of psychology research reveal that eyewitness memory, which is often critical during criminal investigations, can be easily contaminated after the event occurs and is far from infallible. Instead, memory retrieval is a reconstructive process influenced by neural activity in the hippocampus, amygdala, and the prefrontal cortex, rendering it vulnerable to suggestion, stress, and other sources of bias during police interviews. Incorporating scientific insights into the vulnerabilities of eyewitness testimony can help minimize the harmful and often fatal consequences of mistaken eyewitness identification in wrongful convictions and meaningfully advance both procedural and substantive due process. This article explores (1) the neural mechanisms of memory, including an overview of memory encoding, storage, and retrieval, as well as the roles the hippocampus, prefrontal cortex, and amygdala play; and (2) how and when false memories tend to form, focusing on the misinformation effect, stereotypic memory errors, the weapon focus effect, and stress. The article concludes by providing evidence-based recommendations, such as the cognitive interview, that reduce memory distortion and improve the reliability of eyewitness testimony.