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Laura Smalarz

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Laura Smalarz is a psychologist researching psychology as it is related to the law. Smalarz focuses her work on forensic evidence, eyewitness identification, and the wrongfully convicted.[1] She is an Associate Professor of psychology and director of the psychology and law lab at Arizona State University.[1]

Education

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Laura Smalarz received a Bachelor's degree in Psychology from the University of San Diego in 2008.[2] She proceeded to receive a PhD in Social Psychology from Iowa State University in 2015 under the mentorship of both Gary Wells and Stephanie Madon.[1] Smalarz focused her dissertation, entitled Pre Feedback Eyewitness Statements: Proposed Safeguard Against Feedback Effects on Evaluations of Eyewitness Testimony, on how eyewitness testimony is used to implement convictions in the United States, more specifically wrongful convictions.[3] Majority of her graduate work and published papers are focused eyewitness identification and eyewitness testimony.[4]

Career

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Freshly out of graduate school, Laura took a position as an assistant professor of psychology at Williams College in Massachusetts where she worked until July 2019.[5] During her time at Williams College, she published a number of papers and journal articles focusing on stereotype bias,[6] eyewitness lineups and identification,[7] memory performance during lineups,[8] and an analysis of Miranda following its 50 year anniversary.[9]

After leaving Williams College in 2019, Laura took a position as an associate professor of psychology in the School of Interdisciplinary Forensics at Arizona State University.[1] At Arizona State University, Smalarz teaches a number of psychological research classes as well as psychology of criminal investigation.[10]

Smalarz is also the director of the Psychology and Law Lab at Arizona State University.[11] Her lab studies all types of eyewitness factors including identification, confidence, and testimony especially in regards to social influence and stereotyping.[11] The main focus of her research lab includes evaluating eyewitness identification evidence in regards to legal professionals and how it can influence wrongful convictions.[1] Along with teaching and running a research lab, Smalarz is an Editorial Board member for multiple psychological journals including Law and Human Behavior; Psychology, Public Policy, and Law; and Psychology Crime and Law.[1] She also has associations with the Innocence Project, serving on the Research Advisory Board.[1]

Research

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Smalarz began her research at Iowa State University under the direction ofGary Wells and Stephanie Madon.[1] Beginning in 2011, she was first featured as an author in two different journals: Oxford Bibliographies and The Journal of Clinical and Social Psychology.[1] Both of these journal articles focused on eyewitness identification and testimony, as well as stereotyping within these categories.[12][13] However, the article published in The Journal of Clinical and Social Psychology regarding the negative implications of racial bias in eyewitness identification is her most cited article to date, with a total of 440 citations as of October 2024.[4]

In 2012, Laura published a paper with the American Psychological Association about the effects of eyewitness certainty in an identification process.[14] In this specific paper, she was featured as the first author for the first time.[14] Throughout her time at Iowa State University, she continued to publish multiple papers in various journal articles about the problems with eyewitness identification.[1] Smalarz received a grant from the National Institute of Justice Graduate Research Fellowship Program to complete her dissertation which focused on the relationship between eyewitness identification and how it leads to wrongful convictions.[3]

During her time at Williams College, she published numerous papers regarding eyewitness testimony and identification.[15][1] These papers each had unique takes on eyewitness testimony and identification including: stereotyping,[6][16] memory performance,[17] wrongfully convicted exonerations through the use of DNA,[18] police interrogations,[19] lineups,[20][21] and mobilization and resistance[22] to name a few. Also during this time, she conducted a 50 year anniversary psychological analysis on Miranda rights which has been cited a number of time.[9]

Throughout her short career at Arizona State University, Laura has been busy publishing a wide range of papers with a primary focus specifically regarding wrongful convictions in relation to eyewitness identification.[1] Her early work at Arizona State University offers various takes on disclosing feedback to eyewitness identification,[23][24][25] confidence and reliability,[26][27][28] and line ups.[29][30] In 2023, she published three different papers discussing the effects race and social stereotypes in a legal setting,[31][32] as well as how race influences wrongful convictions.[33] In 2024, Smalarz has published a paper evaluating the confidence of eyewitness testifiers in their identifications of a suspect who experienced sub-optimal witnessing conditions.[34] She is currently in the process of researching the phenomena of assuming a suspect is guilty when they choose to remain silent.[1]

Community outreach and advocacy

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Laura Smalarz dedicates a lot of her time doing work for the National Innocence Project, including making multiple appearances in media speaking on and defending the wrongfully convicted.[1] In these appearances, she specifically focuses and speaks on wrongfully convicted Lydell Grant.[1] In this specific case, Smalarz worked to determine issues in a lineup that wrongfully identified Grant to a lifetime in prison.[35] In her article, she discusses how many lineups are conducted with previous bias and a suspect already in mind.[35] She states, "The police did not use scientific best practices for collecting the eyewitness identification evidence" and continues on to explain the bias choices that led to Grant's conviction.[35]

Smalarz has also made an appearance on the One Minute Remaining Podcast where she spoke about the implications eyewitness testimony has on wrongful convictions.[36] In another interview, she emphasizes the import of research and how impactful it can be for not only the students and researchers, but specifically in her case, the wrongfully incarcerated.[37] Smalarz says, "Having research experience can be make-or-break for students who are applying to graduate school. Experience cannot be overstated".[37]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o "PSYCHOLOGY & LAW LAB". sites.google.com. Retrieved 2024-09-30.
  2. ^ Smalarz, Laura. "LinkedIn".
  3. ^ a b "Pre-Feedback Eyewitness Statements: Proposed Safeguard against Feedback Effects on Evaluations of Eyewitness Testimony | Office of Justice Programs". www.ojp.gov. Retrieved 2024-10-01.
  4. ^ a b "Laura Smalarz". scholar.google.com. Retrieved 2024-10-01.
  5. ^ Smalarz, Laura. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Laura-Smalarz. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  6. ^ a b Smalarz, Laura; Madon, Stephanie; Yang, Yueran; Guyll, Max; Buck, Sarah (August 2016). "The perfect match: Do criminal stereotypes bias forensic evidence analysis?". Law and Human Behavior. 40 (4): 420–429. doi:10.1037/lhb0000190. ISSN 1573-661X. PMID 27149288.
  7. ^ Smalarz, Laura; Kornell, Nate; Vaughn, Kalif E.; Palmer, Matthew A. (June 2019). "Identification performance from multiple lineups: Should eyewitnesses who pick fillers be burned?". Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition. 8 (2): 221–232. doi:10.1016/j.jarmac.2019.03.001. ISSN 2211-369X.
  8. ^ Smith, Andrew M.; Wells, Gary L.; Smalarz, Laura; Lampinen, James Michael (September 2018). "Increasing the Similarity of Lineup Fillers to the Suspect Improves the Applied Value of Lineups Without Improving Memory Performance: Commentary on Colloff, Wade, and Strange (2016)". Psychological Science. 29 (9): 1548–1551. doi:10.1177/0956797617698528. ISSN 0956-7976.
  9. ^ a b Smalarz, Laura; Scherr, Kyle C.; Kassin, Saul M. (December 2016). "Miranda at 50: A Psychological Analysis". Current Directions in Psychological Science. 25 (6): 455–460. doi:10.1177/0963721416665097. ISSN 0963-7214.
  10. ^ "Laura Smalarz | ASU Search". search.asu.edu. Retrieved 2024-10-02.
  11. ^ a b "Laura Smalarz | Media Relations and Strategic Communications". newsroom.asu.edu. Retrieved 2024-10-02.
  12. ^ "Eyewitness Testimony". obo. Retrieved 2024-10-03.
  13. ^ Huynh, Que-Lam; Devos, Thierry; Smalarz, Laura (February 2011). "Perpetual Foreigner in One's Own Land: Potential Implications for Identity and Psychological Adjustment". Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology. 30 (2): 133–162. doi:10.1521/jscp.2011.30.2.133. ISSN 0736-7236. PMC 3092701. PMID 21572896.
  14. ^ a b Smalarz, Laura; Wells, Gary L. (2013), Cutler, Brian L. (ed.), "Eyewitness certainty as a system variable.", Reform of eyewitness identification procedures., Washington: American Psychological Association, pp. 161–177, doi:10.1037/14094-008, ISBN 978-1-4338-1283-5, retrieved 2024-10-03
  15. ^ Quigley-Mcbride, Adele; Smalarz, Laura; Wells, Gary; Quigley-Mcbride, Adele; Smalarz, Laura; Wells, Gary (2011). "Eyewitness Testimony". obo. doi:10.1093/obo/9780199828340-0026. Retrieved 2024-10-03.
  16. ^ Smalarz, Laura; Madon, Stephanie; Turosak, Anna (August 2018). "Defendant stereotypicality moderates the effect of confession evidence on judgments of guilt". Law and Human Behavior. 42 (4): 355–368. doi:10.1037/lhb0000286. ISSN 1573-661X. PMID 29939062.
  17. ^ Smith, Andrew M.; Wells, Gary L.; Smalarz, Laura; Lampinen, James Michael (September 2018). "Increasing the Similarity of Lineup Fillers to the Suspect Improves the Applied Value of Lineups Without Improving Memory Performance: Commentary on Colloff, Wade, and Strange (2016)". Psychological Science. 29 (9): 1548–1551. doi:10.1177/0956797617698528. ISSN 0956-7976. PMID 30074845.
  18. ^ Smalarz, Laura; Greathouse, Sarah M.; Wells, Gary L.; Newirth, Karen A. (2016), Willis-Esqueda, Cynthia; Bornstein, Brian H. (eds.), "Psychological Science on Eyewitness Identification and the U.S. Supreme Court: Reconsiderations in Light of DNA-Exonerations and the Science of Eyewitness Identification", The Witness Stand and Lawrence S. Wrightsman, Jr., New York, NY: Springer, pp. 17–39, doi:10.1007/978-1-4939-2077-8_3, ISBN 978-1-4939-2077-8, retrieved 2024-10-03
  19. ^ Madon, Stephanie; Guyll, Max; Yang, Yueran; Smalarz, Laura; Marschall, Justin; Lannin, Daniel G. (April 2017). "A biphasic process of resistance among suspects: The mobilization and decline of self-regulatory resources". Law and Human Behavior. 41 (2): 159–172. doi:10.1037/lhb0000221. ISSN 1573-661X.
  20. ^ Smith, Andrew M.; Wells, Gary L.; Smalarz, Laura; Lampinen, James Michael (September 2018). "Increasing the Similarity of Lineup Fillers to the Suspect Improves the Applied Value of Lineups Without Improving Memory Performance: Commentary on Colloff, Wade, and Strange (2016)". Psychological Science. 29 (9): 1548–1551. doi:10.1177/0956797617698528. ISSN 0956-7976. PMID 30074845.
  21. ^ Smith, Andrew M.; Wells, Gary L.; Smalarz, Laura; Lampinen, James Michael (September 2018). "Increasing the Similarity of Lineup Fillers to the Suspect Improves the Applied Value of Lineups Without Improving Memory Performance: Commentary on Colloff, Wade, and Strange (2016)". Psychological Science. 29 (9): 1548–1551. doi:10.1177/0956797617698528. ISSN 0956-7976. PMID 30074845.
  22. ^ Guyll, Max; Yang, Yueran; Madon, Stephanie; Smalarz, Laura; Lannin, Daniel G. (August 2019). "Mobilization and resistance in response to interrogation threat". Law and Human Behavior. 43 (4): 307–318. doi:10.1037/lhb0000337. ISSN 1573-661X.
  23. ^ Smalarz, Laura; Douglass, Amy Bradfield; Chang, Angela (February 2020). "Eyewitness-identification decisions as Brady material: Disclosing information about prior decisions affects evaluations of eyewitnesses". Psychology, Public Policy, and Law. 26 (1): 10–21. doi:10.1037/law0000213. ISSN 1939-1528.
  24. ^ Smalarz, Laura; Wells, Gary L. (December 2020). "Do Multiple Doses of Feedback Have Cumulative Effects on Eyewitness Confidence?". Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition. 9 (4): 508–518. doi:10.1016/j.jarmac.2020.06.003.
  25. ^ Lebensfeld, Taylor; Smalarz, Laura (2022). "Cross-Examination Fails to Safeguard Against Feedback Effects on Eyewitness Testimony". The Wrongful Conviction Law Review. 3 (3): 240–269. doi:10.29173/wclawr80. ISSN 2563-2574.
  26. ^ Smalarz, Laura (September 2021). "Suspect bias: A neglected threat to the reliability of eyewitness identification evidence". Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition. 10 (3): 356–362. doi:10.1016/j.jarmac.2021.06.005. ISSN 2211-369X.
  27. ^ Smith, Andrew M.; Smalarz, Laura; Ditchfield, Ryan; Ayala, Nydia T. (November 2021). "Evaluating the claim that high confidence implies high accuracy in eyewitness identification". Psychology, Public Policy, and Law. 27 (4): 479–491. doi:10.1037/law0000324. ISSN 1939-1528.
  28. ^ Wells, Gary L.; Smalarz, Laura (December 2022). "Lives destroyed by distorted recollections of fluency, attention, view, and confidence: A sin of bias in eyewitness identification". Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition. 11 (4): 461–464. doi:10.1037/mac0000087. ISSN 2211-369X.
  29. ^ Smith, Andrew M.; Smalarz, Laura; Wells, Gary L.; Lampinen, James Michael; Mackovichova, Simona (December 2022). "Fair lineups improve outside observers' discriminability, not eyewitnesses' discriminability: Evidence for differential filler-siphoning using empirical data and the WITNESS computer-simulation architecture". Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition. 11 (4): 534–544. doi:10.1037/mac0000021. ISSN 2211-369X.
  30. ^ Smalarz, Laura; Ireri, Hussein; Fink, Jacob A. (November 2021). "Presumed-blind lineup administrators can influence eyewitnesses' identification decisions and confidence". Psychology, Public Policy, and Law. 27 (4): 466–478. doi:10.1037/law0000317. ISSN 1939-1528.
  31. ^ Smalarz, Laura; Eerdmans, Rose E.; Lawrence, Megan L.; Kulak, Kylie; Salerno, Jessica M. (February 2023). "Counterintuitive race effects in legal and nonlegal contexts". Law and Human Behavior. 47 (1): 119–136. doi:10.1037/lhb0000515. ISSN 1573-661X.
  32. ^ Salerno, Jessica M.; Kulak, Kylie; Smalarz, Laura; Eerdmans, Rose E.; Lawrence, Megan L.; Dao, Tramanh (February 2023). "The role of social desirability and establishing nonracist credentials on mock juror decisions about Black defendants". Law and Human Behavior. 47 (1): 100–118. doi:10.1037/lhb0000496. ISSN 1573-661X. PMID 36931852.
  33. ^ Faison, Lakia; Smalarz, Laura; Madon, Stephanie; Clow, Kimberley A. (February 2023). "The stigma of wrongful conviction differs for White and Black exonerees". Law and Human Behavior. 47 (1): 137–152. doi:10.1037/lhb0000522. ISSN 1573-661X. PMID 36931854.
  34. ^ Lebensfeld, Taylor C.; Smalarz, Laura (2024-09-01). "Witnessing-condition information differentially affects evaluations of high- and moderate-confidence eyewitness identifications". Cognition. 250: 105841. doi:10.1016/j.cognition.2024.105841. ISSN 0010-0277. PMID 38852371.
  35. ^ a b c Smalarz, Laura (2020-07-04). "6 eyewitnesses misidentified a murderer – here's what went wrong in the lineup". The Conversation. Retrieved 2024-10-02.
  36. ^ "One Minute Remaining".
  37. ^ a b "NCUIRE gives undergrads opportunity to conduct research on West campus | ASU News". news.asu.edu. Retrieved 2024-10-02.
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