Joanna Pozzulo

Research Interests

The goal of Dr. Pozzulo’s research is to understand how memory in the applied context of witnessing crime differs developmentally and the cognitive/social processes eyewitnesses engage to recall the event and recognize the culprit. On an applied level, Dr. Pozzulo is interested in developing age-appropriate identification procedures that police can use with eyewitnesses. Dr. Pozzulo is focused on evidence-based, best practices for child eyewitness identification with the aim of reducing wrongful conviction.

As a secondary line of research, Dr. Pozzulo is interested in the factors that influence perceptions of historical cases of sexual misconduct within a juror-decision-making paradigm.

Dr. Pozzulo is the Director of the Mental Health and Well-being Research and Training Hub.

PUBLICATIONS

Books

Pozzulo, J.D., Sheahan, C., & Pica, E. (2019). “Have I seen you Before?”: How “familiarity” influences conviction. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. (144pp)

Pozzulo, J.D. (2016). Describing and Identifying Perpetrators: The Young Eyewitness. Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association. (232pp)

Books edited:

Pozzulo, J.D., Pica, E., & Sheahan, C. (Eds.). (2020). Memory and Sexual Misconduct: Psychological Research for Criminal Justice. New York, NY: Taylor & Francis Group. (360pp)

 Pozzulo, J.D., & Bennell, C. (Eds.). (2018). Working with Trauma-Exposed Children and Adolescents: Evidence-Based and Age-Appropriate Practices. New York, NY: Taylor & Francis Group. (340pp)

Toglia, M., Ross, D., Pozzulo, J.D., & Pica, E. (Eds.). (2014). The Elderly Eyewitness in Court. New York, NY: Taylor & Francis Group. (390pp)

Chapters in edited books:

Pozzulo, J.D., Pica, E., & Sheahan C. (in press). Methodological Considerations for Lifespan Focused Identification Research. In A.M. Smith, M.P. Toglia, & J.M. Lampinen, Methods, Measures, and Theories in Eyewitness Recognition Tasks. New York, NY: Taylor & Francis Group. (200pp)

Articles in refereed journals:

Thompson, L. E., Pozzulo, J., Pratt, K. J., Sheahan, C. L., Fraser, B. M., & Deweyert, C. E.(2020). Testing a new lineup procedure with children: The elimination with wildcard. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology.

Pica, E., Sheahan, C.L., Pozzulo, J., & Bennell, C. (2020). Guns, gloves, and tasers: Perceptions of police officers and their use of weapon as a function of race and gender. Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11896-020-09365-3

Smith, A., Mackovichova, S., Jalava, S., & Pozzulo, J. (2020). Fair forensic-object lineups are superior to forensic-object showups. Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition, 9(1), 68-82. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jarmac.2019.11.001

Pica, E., Thompson, L.E., Pozzulo, J., & Sheahan, C.L. (2019). Perceptions of police conduct when race and gender are considered. Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11896-019-09346-1

Pica, E., Pozzulo, J., & Sheahan, C. (2019). Examining mock jurors’ perceptions of intimate partner violence factors. Partner Abuse, 10(4), 391-408. https://doi.org/10.1891/1946-6560.10.4.391

Thompson, L.E., Sheahan, C., Pica, E., & Pozzulo, J. (2019). The influence of familiarity recency and eyewitness age on mock jurors’ judgement. Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology 34(4), 362-372. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11896-018-9311-z

Pica, E., Pozzulo, J., Sheahan, C.L., & Pratt, K. (2019). “I know him!”: Does witness-defendant familiarity impact mock jurors across different aged witnesses and types of crime? Applied Psychology in Criminal Justice, 15(2), 171-184.

Vallano, J.P., Slapinski, K.A., Steele, L.J., Briggs, A.P., & Pozzulo, J.D. (2019). Familiar eyewitness identifications: The current state of affairs. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 25(3), 128-146. https://doi.org/10.1037/law0000204

Pica, E., Sheahan, C.L., Pozzulo, J., (2019). Prior allegations of harassment impact mock jurors’ perceptions of sexual harassment in a criminal trial. Sex Roles, 82, 541-549. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-019-01076-2

Pica, E., Sheahan, C.L., Pozzulo, J., Vallano, J., & Pettalia, J. (2019). The influence of familiar and confident eyewitnesses on mock jurors’ judgments. Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology, 34(4), 351-361. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11896-018-9306-9

Sheahan, C.L., Pratt, E., Pica, E., & Pozzulo, J. (2019). One PERP, two PERP: Examining children’s and adults’ description and identification of single versus multiple perpetrator crimes. American Journal of Forensic Psychology, 36(4), 7-33.

Vallano, J., Pettalia, J., Pica, E., & Pozzulo, J. (2019). An examining of mock jurors’ judgments in familiar identification cases. Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology, 34(2), 121-133. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11896-018-9266-0

Pica, E., Pozzulo, J., & Sheahan, C.L. (2019). Dance like no one’s watching: The influence of demand characteristics when examining lineups via computer or in-person. Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology, 34(1), 23-33. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11896-018-9270-4