However, recent psychological and neuroscientific research claims that eyewitness testimony, which relies on human recollection of memories encoded in the brain, is a “reconstructive process that is susceptible to distortion” (Lacy and Stark 2). According to Dr. Jonah Lehrer, “More than 75,000 prosecutions every year are based entirely on the recollections of others,” which could lead to the introduction of motives these witnesses may have (Lehrer). To analyze this potential bias, we must ask the question: how do psychological phenomena explain the unreliability of eyewitness testimony?
Before diving into the psychological justifications that explain the inaccuracies eyewitness testimonies cause, it