Heather Flowe, PhD  (Heather's CV) joined the School of Psychology in September 2008 as a Lecturer. She teaches on the Forensic and Legal Psychology MSc, Applied Forensic Psychology MSc, and is the Course Leader for the Assessment and Treatment of Sex Offenders MSc.

She completed her PhD in Experimental Psychology at the University of California, San Diego.

One line of Heather's research focuses on face processing in criminal identification lineups. The goal is to develop strategies for constructing lineups that minimize the rate of erroneous eyewitness identifications. She has held research grants from the British Academy (with Dr's. Lorraine Hope and Anne Hillstrom), and the Nuffield Foundation to support this program of research. In addition to laboratory research on lineups, Heather has conducted field and archival research studying the behavior of actual eyewitnesses in criminal cases prosecuted in the United States. 

More recently, Heather, along with Dr's. Melanie Takarangi and Robyn Holliday, were awarded a grant from the Economic and Social Research Council to investigate the effects of alcohol on memory for sexual assault. Preliminary research for the project was supported by the Alcohol Education and Research Council.

Eyewitness Identification

• Ward, C., Flowe, H. D., & Humphries, J. E. (In press). The effects of masculinity and suspect gender on perceptions of guilt. Applied Cognitive Psychology. 

  Humphries, J. E., Holliday, R., & Flowe, H. D. (In press). Faces in motion: Age related changes in eyewitness identification performance in simultaneous, sequential, and elimination video lineups. Applied Cognitive Psychology. doi: 10.1002/acp.1808

• Flowe, H. D., & Cottrell, G. (2011). An examination of simultaneous lineup decision processes using eye tracking. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 25, 443-451. doi: 10.1002/acp.1711

  Flowe, H. D., Mehta, A., & Ebbesen, E. B. (2011). The role of eyewitness identification evidence in felony case  processing. Psychology, Public Policy and Law, 17, 140-159. doi: 10.1037/a0021311

• Flowe, H. D. & Humphries, J. E. (2011). An examination of criminal face bias in a random sample of  police lineups. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 25: 265-273. doi: 10.1002/acp.1673

• Flowe, H. D. (2011). An exploration of visual processing strategies in eyewitness identification tests. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 25: 244-254. doi: 10.1002/acp.1670

• Flowe, H. D., & Besemer, A. N. (2011). The effect of target-foil discriminability on criterion placement in sequential and simultaneous lineups. Psychology Crime and Law, 17, 587-610. doi: 10.1080/10683160903397540

• Flowe, H. D., VanNess, N., & Ebbesen, E. B. (2010). Testing the Reflection Assumption: An examination of the external validity of published studies on lineup identification accuracy. Under review.

• Takarangi, M. K., & Flowe, H. D. (2010). Robbery and assault. Forthcoming chapter to appear in A psychologist's casebook of crime: From Arson to Voyeurism.

• Mansour, J. K., & Flowe, H. D. (2010). Eyetracking and eyewitness memory. Forensic Update No. 101, Autumn, 2010.

• Flowe, H., Finklea, K., & Ebbesen, E. (2009). Limitations of expert psychology testimony on eyewitness identification. Expert testimony on the psychology of eyewitness identification (pp. 201-221). New York, NY US: Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195331974.003.009.

• Flowe, H., & Ebbesen, E. (2007). The effect of lineup member similarity on recognition accuracy in simultaneous and sequential lineups. Law and Human Behavior, 31(1), 33-52. doi:10.1007/s10979-006-9045-9.

  Ebbesen, E. B., & Flowe, H. D. (2002). Simultaneous v. sequential lineups: What do we really know? Unpublished manuscript. 

Aggression

• Flowe, H. D., Stewart, J. S., Sleath, E. R., & Palmer, F. (2011). Public House Patrons’ Engagement in Hypothetical Sexual Assault: A Test of Alcohol Myopia Theory in a Field Setting. Aggressive Behavior, 37, 547-558. doi: 10.1002/ab.20410
• Flowe, H. D., Shaw, S. E., Nye, E., & Jamel, J. (2009). Rape stereotyping and public delusion. British Journalism Review, 20(4), 21-25.
• Shaw, S. E., Nye, E., Jamel, J., & Flowe, H. (2009). The print media and rape. The Psychologist, 22(10).
• Flowe, H., Ebbesen, E., & Putcha-Bhagavatula, A. (2007). Rape shield laws and sexual behavior evidence: Effects of consent level and women's sexual history on rape allegations. Law and Human Behavior, 31(2), 159-175. doi: 10.1007/s10979-006-9050-z.

• Flowe, H. D., Swords, E., & Rockey, J. C. (In press). Women's behavioural engagement with a masculine male: Evidence for the Cycle Shift Hypothesis. Evolution and Human Behavior. 

Recent Presentations

2011

Flowe, H. D. (2011). Systematic Studies of Sexual Coercion Using the Participant Choice Method. Invited Talk, University of Surrey.

Flowe, H. D. & Cable, N. (2011). Alcohol and memory for sexual assault: Encoding failure depends on the emotional salience of the the to-be-remembered information. Sexual Violence Conference, Middlesex, UK.

Flowe, H. D. & Ward, C. (2011). The effects of masculinity and suspect gender on perceptions of guilt. American Psychology and Law Society, Miami, US.

Flowe, H. D. & Merry, R. (2011). Is the negative effect of stress on face memory moderated by stressor onset? American Psychology and Law Society, Miami, US.

Flowe, H. D. (2011). An examination of criminal face bias in a random sample of photographic police line-ups. Invited paper presented at the British Psychological Society, Glasgow, UK.

2010

Flowe, H. D. (2010). Eyewitness visual behaviour. Invited paper presented at the British Psychological Society, Division of Forensic Psychology Conference, Canterbury, UK.

Flowe, H. D. (2010). Between deep breaths: The relationship between stressor onset and eyewitness memory for faces. European Association of Psychology and Law, Gothenburg, Sweden.

Flowe, H. D., & Shaw, S. E. (2010). A Systematic Study of Sexual Coercion: Estimating the Role of Situational and Individual Difference Factors. American Psychology and Law Society Conference, Vancouver, Canada.

Humphries, J. E., Flowe, H. D., & Takarangi, M. K. (2010). How often do intoxicated eyewitnesses provide testimony in serious crimes? American Psychology and Law Society Conference, Vancouver, Canada.

Flowe, H. D. (2010). Systematic Studies of Sexual Coercion Using the Participant Choice Method: Estimating the Role of Situational and Individual Difference Factors. Invited Talk, Nottingham Trent University.

2009

Flowe, H. D. (2009). An Examination of Lineup Decision Processes Using Eye Movements. Invited Talk, University of Portsmouth.

Flowe, H. D. (2009). An exploration of visual behaviour in eyewitness identification tests. Invited talk, University of Plymouth.

Flowe, H. D. & Holliday, R. E. (2009). An examination of holistic versus analytical retrieval strategies in eyewitness identification tests. Psychonomic Society, Boston, MA.

Flowe, H. D. (2009). The effect of eyewitness identification evidence on charge reduction in felony cases. American Psychology and Law Society Meeting, San Antonio, TX.

Flowe, H. D. & Sporer, S. L. (2009). Is the misinformation effect a reliable phenomenon? A new meta-analysis. European Association of Psychology and Law, Sorrento, Italy.

Shaw, S. E. & Flowe, H. D. (2009). Is the propensity to commit rape against strangers and acquaintances affected by women’s dress, alcohol consumption and assertiveness? British Psychological Society, Division of Forensic Psychology Conference, Preston, UK.

Sherman, B. E. & Flowe, H.D. (2009). The effect of criminal face bias on simultaneous and sequential lineup identifications. British Psychological Society, Division of Forensic Psychology Conference, Preston, UK.

Flowe, H. D. & Humphries, J. E. (2009). An examination of criminal face bias in a random sample of photographic police line-ups. British Psychological Society, Division of Forensic Psychology Conference, Preston, UK.

Flowe, H. D. (2009). A comparison of decision processes in simultaneous and sequential criminal lineups: Inversion and composite effects examined. British Psychological Society, Division of Forensic Psychology Conference, Preston, UK.

http://leicester.academia.edu/HeatherFlowe