• The Open University

Forensic Psychology: Witness Investigation

Discover how psychology can help obtain evidence from eyewitnesses in police investigations and prevent miscarriages of justice.

203,811 enrolled on this course

Witness investigation – a suspect in a police lineup

Forensic Psychology: Witness Investigation

203,811 enrolled on this course

  • 8 weeks

  • 3 hours per week

  • Digital certificate when eligible

  • Open level

Find out more about how to join this course

  • Duration

    8 weeks
  • Weekly study

    3 hours
  • 100% online

    How it works
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    $244.99 for a whole yearLearn more

Try to solve a crime using nothing but eyewitness evidence

Despite advances in forensic science, eyewitness testimony remains a critical component of criminal investigations. But psychological research has revealed the dangers of relying on this testimony and how careful the police must be when questioning witnesses.

Using videos of real witnesses, from behind the scenes of a police investigation, this course explores the psychology of eyewitness testimony.

You will get the chance to test your own cognitive skills and see if your investigative powers are as good as police officers’, as you try to solve a crime using nothing but eyewitness evidence.

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Skip to 0 minutes and 7 seconds This course examines the psychology of eyewitnesses and its impact on police investigations– revealing the limitations of the human mind and the dangers for criminal justice. Witnesses often only identify somebody about 40% of the time from a line up. Sometimes the suspect that’s been identified isn’t actually the culprit. The journey begins by exploring some serious miscarriages of justice. Featuring a real eyewitness whose testimony sent the wrong man to prison. I knew there had been misidentification– I mean I knew that. It wasn’t malicious intent, it wasn’t racially motivated– but it didn’t matter, because the end result was Ronald Cotton spent a third of his life in prison for something he didn’t do.

Skip to 0 minutes and 58 seconds The course also gives you a chance to follow two investigations of a fictitious crime. And use your cognitive and investigative skills to evaluate the evidence. The course was created by professor Graham Pike, who specialises in eyewitness identification, including E-Fit technology. There are new generation of facial composting systems that are beginning to be used by the police. Graham Pike was also behind a BBC Open University co-production, which is incorporated into the course, and which puts eyewitnesses to the test. By working solely from eyewitness accounts and positive identifications, how close to the truth have they got? Giving you the chance to use what you have learned to solve a crime and compare how you did against a team of real police officers.

Skip to 1 minute and 47 seconds By completing the eight week course, you will have gained some basic knowledge about forensic psychology, gained insights into how your own mind works, and understood the vital role of psychology in police investigations.

Syllabus

  • Week 1

    Introduction to eyewitness psychology

    • Introduction

      Understanding how the mind works, particularly how we remember, is a crucial component in helping to evaluate and improve eyewitness evidence.

    • Eyewitness psychology

      Miscarriages of justice are one of the most significant legal issues that have acted as a catalyst for psychological research.

    • The investigation

      Follow the investigation of an armed robbery and try to work out which pieces of information are reliable and which contain flaws or are wrong.

  • Week 2

    Initial statements

    • Witness characteristics and the crime

      Explore psychological knowledge concerning how accurately eyewitnesses provide different types of information.

    • DI Bullet takes witness statements

      Observe how DI Bullet gathers information and evaluate the conclusions he comes to.

    • DS Sund takes witness statements

      Observe how DC Sund gathers information and evaluate the conclusions she comes to.

  • Week 3

    Seeing and not seeing

    • Inattentional blindness

      What do witnesses tend to notice? Is it possible for a witness to completely miss a significant event that happens right in front of them?

    • Change blindness

      Examine how a witness can fail to notice a key element of their surroundings change. It could mean that they confuse the identities of those involved.

    • Questioning witnesses

      Questioning, in the context of an investigative interview, is designed to elicit an account or evidence from a person about an event they have witnessed.

  • Week 4

    Interviewing witnesses

    • DI Bullet interviews the witnesses

      Analyse the questions used by DI Bullet in his interviews with the witnesses. Evaluate the information he gathered and the conclusions he reached.

    • The cognitive interview

      It is easy to alter a memory, by asking leading questions. Techniques like context reinstatement and cognitive interviewing aid accurate memory.

    • DS Sund interviews the witnesses

      Analyse the questions used by DS Sund in her interviews with the witnesses. Evaluate the information she gathered and the conclusions she reached.

  • Week 5

    Making and recognising faces

    • Verbal and visual descriptions

      Explore why it is so difficult to describe a face and consider the best ways to obtain the image the witness has in their memory of the perpetrator.

    • Seeing the whole face

      Explore the psychology of face recognition, and find out how this knowledge is being incorporated into the latest composite systems being used by the police.

    • When face recognition goes wrong

      Eyewitness misidentification seems to be the most common cause of miscarriages of justice so it’s important to understand face recognition.

  • Week 6

    Visual identification

    • Identification evidence

      What other factors do the police need to take into account in the identification procedure? Do DI Bullet and DS Sund incorporate these factors?

    • DI Bullet conducts an identity parade

      DI Bullet was fairly certain of who the armed robbers were and has collected evidence to support his conclusions.

    • DS Sund conducts an identity parade

      DS Sund collected a great deal of information and was able to piece together a description of what happened and what the perpetrators looked like.

  • Week 7

    Whodunnit?

    • DI Bullet’s investigation

      You will work for the defence to evaluate the way evidence was collected and use your eyewitness memory knowledge to show that the prosecution’s case is flawed.

    • DS Sund’s investigation

      DS Sund conducted her investigation using a very different approach to DI Bullet. Will her investigation stand up to your expert scrutiny?

    • Solving the crime

      Piece together your version of what happened in the armed robbery and kidnapping and apply your psychological knowledge.

  • Week 8

    Conclusion

    • Testing your forensic psychological knowledge

      During the course you have learned a lot about how memory and other mental processes, such as attention, work. Test your knowledge in the end-of-course assessment.

    • Looking to the future

      Research is a never-ending cycle of inquiry, with new studies generating new insights which lead to new questions that can only be answered by new studies.

    • Learning more about forensic psychology

      Look at forensic psychology more broadly, the work that forensic psychologists do and the courses in psychology available from The Open University.

When would you like to start?

Start straight away and join a global classroom of learners. If the course hasn’t started yet you’ll see the future date listed below.

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Learning on this course

On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.

What will you achieve?

By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...

  • Investigate and understand the psychology of eyewitness testimony
  • Develop your own investigative skills
  • Explore human cognition and discover the mistakes your own brain can make
  • Discuss concepts of criminal investigation
  • Explore and consider the relationship between limitations of the human brain and miscarriages of justice

Who is the course for?

This course is intended for those with an interest in psychology and/or criminal investigation, and does not require any previous experience of studying either subject.

What do people say about this course?

"This course has given me a more comprehensive understanding of the psychology of the human mind and what makes us the people we are. In my role as a Specialist Support Worker, I will be able to effectively put into practice what I have learnt. Thank you."

Who will you learn with?

Graham Pike

Graham is a psychologist & Professor of Forensic Cognition at the OU, with an interest in applied cognition, particularly how psychological knowledge can be used to obtain evidence from eyewitnesses

Zoë Walkington

Zoë is a psychologist with an interest in how psychology relates to police investigations. She is a senior lecturer in the School of Psychology and Counselling at the Open University

Who developed the course?

The Open University

The Open University

As the UK’s largest university, The Open University (OU) supports thousands of students to achieve their goals and ambitions via supported distance learning, helping to fit learning around professional and personal life commitments.

  • Established

    1969
  • Location

    Milton Keynes, UK
  • World ranking

    Top 510Source: Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2020

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Choose the best way to learn for you!

Subscribe & save

$244.99 for a whole year

Automatically renews

Develop skills to further your career

  • Access to this course
  • Access to 1,000+ courses
  • Learn at your own pace
  • Discuss your learning in comments
  • Tests to boost your learning
  • Digital certificate when you're eligible

Cancel for free anytime

Buy this course

$109/one-off payment

Fulfill your current learning need

  • Access to this course
  • Learn at your own pace
  • Discuss your learning in comments
  • Tests to boost your learning
  • Printed and digital certificate when you’re eligible

Limited access

Free

Sample the course materials

  • Access expires 2 Apr 2025

Find out more about certificates, Unlimited or buying a course (Upgrades)

Sale price available until 3 March 2025 at 23:59 (UTC). T&Cs apply.

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Sale price available until 3 March 2025 at 23:59 (UTC). T&Cs apply.

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