Photo of Joanna Pozzulo (Sabbatical)

Joanna Pozzulo (Sabbatical)

Chancellor's Professor

Degrees:Ph.D. (Queen's)
Phone:613-520-2600 x 1412
Email:joanna.pozzulo@carleton.ca
Office:A529 Loeb Building
Website:The Laboratory for Child Forensic Psychology

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.

You can read more about Dr. Pozzulo’s research in her blog, “On the Witness Stand” (https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/on-the-witness-stand) published in Psychology Today.

PUBLICATIONS

Books:

Pozzulo, J.D., Sheahan, C., & Pica, E. (2019). Familiarity and conviction in the criminal justice system: Definitions, theory, and eyewitness research. Oxford University Press. (144pp)

Pozzulo, J.D. (2016). The young eyewitness: How well do children and adolescents describe and identify perpetrators? American Psychological Association. (232pp)

 

Books edited:

Pica, E., Ross, D., & Pozzulo, J. (Eds.). (2023). The impact of technological advances on the legal system: Psychological implications for eyewitness accuracy. Routledge/Taylor and Francis.

Pozzulo, J.D., Pica, E., & Sheahan, C. (Eds.). (2020). Memory and sexual misconduct: Psychological research for criminal justice. Taylor & Francis Group. (360pp)

Pozzulo, J.D., & Bennell, C. (Eds.). (2018). Working with trauma-exposed children and adolescents: Evidence-based and age-appropriate practices. Taylor & Francis Group. (340pp)

Toglia, M., Ross, D., Pozzulo, J.D., & Pica, E. (Eds.). (2014). The elderly eyewitness in court. Taylor & Francis Group. (390pp)

Articles in refereed journals:

Thompson, L. E., & Pozzulo, J. (in press). How length of and reason for delayed reporting influence mock-jurors’ judgments in a sexual assault trial. Journal of Interpersonal Violence.

Fraser, B. M., Pica, E., & Pozzulo, J. (2023). Mock-Jurors’ Judgements in a Sexual Assault Case: The Influence of Defendant Race and Occupational Status, Delayed Reporting, and Multiple Allegations. Journal of Interpersonal Violence. Advance Online Publication  https://doi.org/10.1177/08862605231153873

Pica, E., Hildenbrand, A., Fraser, L., & Pozzulo, J. (2023). Juror decision making in a child trafficking case: The impact of defendant and victim gender, defendant age, and defendant status. Journal of Interpersonal Violence. Advance Online Publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/08862605231169760

Pica, E., Hildenbrand, A., Vettese, A., Stone, A., Pozzulo, J., & Fraser, L. (2022). Abuse in sports: The influence of victim gender, defendant gender, and type of abuse. Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology. Advance Online Publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11896-022-09553-3

Ross, D.F, Pica, E., Pozzulo, J., Clark, M., Swanson, S., Warren, A., Metzger, R., Silver, C., & Sinclair, H. (2022). The impact of disguise on identification of familiar faces. Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology. Advance Online Publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11896-022-09552-4

Ellingwood, H., Pica, E., Pozzulo, J., & Schultheis, E. (2022). The influence of victim sexual orientation, gender, and gender identity on mock jurors’ judgments. Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology. Advance Online Publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11896-022-09533-7

Thompson, L. E., Pozzulo, J., Fraser, B. M., Sheahan, C. L., Mackovichova, S., & Pratt, K. J. (2022). The impact of procedure and filler similarity on adolescent eyewitness lineup performance. Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11896-022-09531-9

Sheahan, C. L., Pica, E., Thompson, L.E., Vettese, A., & Pozzulo, J. (2022). The influence of Indigenous identity and gender in perceptions of behaviour in response to racialized police communication. Race and Social Problems. Advance Online Publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12552-022-09363-6

Pica, E., Sheahan, C.L., & Pozzulo, J. (2022) University students’ perceptions of the wrongfully convicted post-exoneration. American Journal of Forensic Psychology, 40, 35-61.

Pica, E., Sheahan, C.L., & Pozzulo, J. (2022). The impact of delayed reporting, assault type, victim gender, and victim-defendant familiarity on mock-jurors’ judgments. Applied Psychology in Criminal Justice, 16(2), 258-271.

Fraser, B. M., Mackovichova, S., Thompson, L. E., Pozzulo, J., Hanna, H. R., & Furat, H. (2022). The influence of inconsistency in eyewitness reports, eyewitness age, and crime type on mock juror decision-making. Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology, 37(2), 351–364. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11896-021-09464-9

Knowledge Mobilization:

Pozzulo, J. (in press). It’s number 5: I’ll never forget that face! Psychology Review. 

Pozzulo, J. & Stone, A. (2023, May 8). Taking mental wellness education beyond the campus: How universities can help respond to the mental health care crisis. The Conversation.  https://theconversation.com/taking-mental-wellness-education-beyond-the-campus-how-universities-can-help-respond-to-the-mental-health-care-crisis-205006

Pozzulo, J. & Pica, E. (2023, Jan. 12). The youth of girls charged in the swarming death of Toronto man may affect trial outcomes. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/the-youth-of-girls-charged-in-the-swarming-death-of-toronto-man-may-affect-trial-outcomes-197657

Pozzulo, J. & Pica, E. (2022, Nov. 23). Eyewitness misidentification is the leading cause of known wrongful convictions. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/eyewitness-misidentification-is-the-leading-cause-of-known-wrongful-convictions-194708

Pozzulo, J. & Pica, E. (2022, Nov. 13). Abuse is widely accepted as part of children and youth sports culture but it should not be tolerated. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/abuse-is-widely-accepted-as-part-of-organized-sports-culture-but-it-should-not-be-tolerated-194164

Pozzulo, J. & Pica, E. (2022, Nov. 7). Jacob Hogard’s celebrity did not protect him from the consequences of sexual assault. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/jacob-hoggards-celebrity-did-not-protect-him-from-the-consequences-of-sexual-assault-193191