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Professor Brian Clifford

Emeritus Professor

    Professor Clifford obtained a first class honours degree in psychology from London University in 1974, An MSc in artificial intelligence and natural language processing from Brunel University in 1987, and a PhD in sentence processing from Birkbeck College, University of London in 1990. He began lecturing at NELP in 1974 and progressed via PEL and eventually UEL to a professorship in 1990. While at UEL his main teaching involved memory, both pure and applied, and forensic psychology. At the postgraduate level he taught research methodology and to date has successfully supervised some twenty PhD (18) and Professional Doctorate (2) candidates. In 2005 he took early retirement but retained the status of Emeritus Professor at UEL. In 2006 he was awarded an Honorary Research Professorship at Aberdeen University, where his day-to-day research work is now located.


    Overview




    Peer-reviewed Journal Articles

    Memon, A., Havard, C., Clifford, B. R., Gabbert, F., & Watt, M. (2011). A field evaluation of the VIPER system: A new technique for eliciting eyewitness identification evidence. Psychology, Crime and Law, 17(8), 711–729. doi:10.1080/10683160903524333 |

    Havard, C., Memon, A., Clifford, B. R., & Gabbert, F. (2010). A comparison of video and static photo line ups with child and adolescent witnesses. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 24(9), 1209–1221. doi:10.1002/acp.1645 |

    Memon, A., Zaragoza, M., Clifford, B. R., & Kidd, L. (2010). Inoculation or antidote? The effects of cognitive interview timing on false memory for forcibly fabricated events. Law and Human Behavior, 34(2), 105–117. doi:10.1007/s10979-008-9172-6 |

    Book Chapters

    Clifford, B. R. (2010). Expert testimony. In G. Towell & D. Crighton (Eds.), Textbook of forensic psychology (pp. 47–61). London: Wiley Blackwell. |

    Clifford, B. R. (2009). Forward. In R. Wilcox, R. Bull & R. Milne (Eds.), Witness identification in criminal cases (pp. v-vi). Oxford: Oxford University Press.|

    Clifford, B. R. (2008). Role of the expert witness. In G. Davies, C. Hollin & R. Bull (Eds.), Forensic psychology (pp. 235–261). Chichester: John Wiley & Sons.|

    Clifford, B. R. (2008). The role of the expert witness. In G. Davies, R. Bull & C. Hollin (Eds.), Forensic psychology: Wiley.|
    Conference Papers

    Clifford, B. R. (2008). Vulnerable witnesses — scope, nature and research. Paper presented at the SIPR conference on Obtaining evidence from vulnerable witnesses, Aberdeen.|

    Havard, C., Memon, A., & Clifford, B. R. (2008). Obtaining eyewitness evidence from child witnesses: The advantage of VIPER parades. Paper presented at the SIPR conference on Obtaining evidence from vulnerable witnesses, Aberdeen.|


    Collaborators

    • test

    Research

    Grants

    In 2007 a grant from the ESRC was obtained (£48,000) to investigate the role of the cognitive interview in overcoming forced confabulation in investigative interviews. Also in 2007, a grant from the Scottish Institute of Police Research (£120,000) was obtained to investigate and survey the efficacy of the VIPER system of identification especially with children. Peer-reviewed Journal Articles Emmett, D., Clifford, B. R., Young, K., Kandova, M., & Potton, A. (2006). The use of computer presented virtual licence plate and mental context reinstatement to improve recall accuracy of both licence plate and related event details. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 20(9), 1195–1207. doi:10.1002/acp.1259

    Brooks, B. M., Attree, E. A., Rose, F. D., Clifford, B. R., & Leadbetter, A. G.(1999). The specificity of memory enhancement during interaction with a virtual environment. Memory, 7(1), 65–78. doi:10.1080/741943713

    Bull, R., & Clifford, B. R. (1999). Earwitness testimony. Medicine, Science and the Law, 39(2), 120–127.

    Clifford, B. R., & Gwyer, P. (1999). The effects of the cognitive interview and other methods of context reinstatement on identification. Psychology Crime and Law, 5, 61–80. doi:10.1080/10683169908414994

    Newlands, P., George, R., Towel, N., Kemp, R., & Clifford, B. R. (1999). An investigation of description quality from real-life interviews. Psychology, Crime and Law, 5, 145–166. doi:10.1080/10683169908414998

    Nobes, G., Moore, D. G., Martin, A. E., Clifford, B. R., Dritschel, B., Butterworth, G., et al. (1998). Children’s knowledge of astronomy in multicultural east London. Proceedings of the British Psychological Society, 7(2), 104.

    Gwyer, P., & Clifford, B. R. (1997). The effects of the cognitive interview on recall, identification, confidence and the confidence/accuracy relationship. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 11(2), 121–145. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1099-0720(199704)11:2<121::AID-ACP443>3.0.CO;2-L

    Attree, E. A., Brooks, B. M., Rose, F. D., Andrews, T. K., Leadbetter, A. G., & Clifford, B. R. (1996). Memory processes and virtual environments: I can’t remember what was there, but I can remember how I got there. Implications for people with disabilities. European Conference on Disability, Virtual Reality and Associated Technologies, 117–121.

    Clifford, B. R., & George, R. (1996). A field evaluation of training in three methods of witness/victim investigative interviewing. Psychology, Crime and Law, 2, 231–248. doi:10.1080/10683169608409780

    Non-peer-reviewed Journal Articles Clifford, B. R. (2000). Psychology law and eyewitness testimony. Psychology Teaching Review, 9(1), 42–44 .

    Clifford, B. R. (2000). The relevance of psychological investigation to legal issues in testimony and identification. Criminal Law Review, 103, 153–163.

    Ridley, A. M., & Clifford, B. R. (2006). Suggestibility and state anxiety: How the two concepts relate in a source identification paradigm. Memory, 14(1), 37–45. doi:10.1080/09658210444000494

    Bull, R., & Clifford, B. R. (1999). Earwitness testimony. New Law Journal: Expert Witness Supplement, 12(2), 216–220.

    Clifford, B. R. (1998). Children vs adults: Show-ups vs line-ups. Expert Evidence, 6, 145–150. doi:10.1023/A:1008834013918

    Gwyer, P., & Clifford, B. R. (1998). Helping witnesses remember more: The beneficial effects of returning to the scene of a crime. Police Review.

    Gwyer, P., & Clifford, B. R. (1998). Total recall: The effects of returning to the crime scene. Police Review, 13, 16–17.

    Clifford, B. R. (1997). Expert evidence: Probative or problematic. Expert Evidence: International Digest of Law and Psychology, 5(4), 140–143. doi:10.1023/A:1008831120514

    Clifford, B. R., Gunter, B., & McAleer, J. J. (1997). Children’s memory and comprehension of two science programmes. Journal of Educational Media, 23(1), 25–46. doi:10.1080/1358165970230103

    Gunter, B., Clifford, B. R., & McAleer, J. J. (1997). Learning from multi-topic science programmes on mainstream television. Medien Psychologie, 9(1), 3–23.

    Clifford, B. R. (1996). Eyewitness identification. Expert Evidence, 5(1–2), 78–80.

    Book Chapters Clifford, B. R. (2007). Reasoning and decision making in legal contexts. In Forensic psychology M.Sc. Distance Learning handbook. Leicester: Leicester University.

    Emmett, D., Clifford, B. R., Young, K., & Potton, A. (2004). The use of a computer presented virtual license plate to improve eyewitness accuracy in the recall of licence plate details. In A. Czerederacka, R. Jaskiewicz-Obydzinska, R. Roesch & J. Wojcikiewicz (Eds.), Forensic psychology and law: Facing the challenges of a changing world (pp. 125–139). Krakow: IFR Publishers.

    Clifford, B. R. (2004). Levels of processing 30 years on. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 18, 486–489. doi:10.1002/acp.1010

    Clifford, B. R. (2003). Criminal psychology. In Encarta 2003.

    Clifford, B. R. (2003). The verbal overshadowing effect: In search of a chimera. In Vervaeke (Ed.), Much ado about crime: Chapter on psychology and law (pp. 151–161): Leuven de Gruyter.

    Clifford, B. R. (2003). Forensic psychology. In R. Bayne & I. E. Horton (Eds.), Applied psychology (pp. 67-78). London: Sage. doi:10.4135/9781446279151.n5

    Clifford, B. R. (2003). Law’s adaption and adoption of psychology’s methodology and findings. In D. Carson & R. H. C. Bull (Eds.), Handbook of psychology in legal contexts (2 ed.). Wiley.

    Clifford, B. R. (2003). Research: The ubiquitous handmaiden of the professions. In R. Bayne & I. E. Horton (Eds.), Applied psychology (pp. 145-157). London: Sage.

    Clifford, B. R. (2003). The verbal overshadowing effect: Fact or artefact? In M. Vanderhallen, G. Vervaeke, P. J. van Koppen & J. Goethals (Eds.), Much ado about crime: Chapters in psychology and crime. Brussels: Politeia.

    Emmett, D., & Clifford, B. R. (2003). The effect of field dependence and independence on recall and recognition. In G. Vervaeke (Ed.), Much ado about crime: Chapter on psychology and law (pp. 125–131). Leuven de Gruyter.

    Emmett, D., Clifford, B. R., & Gwyer, P. (2003). The influence of field dependency on eyewitness accuracy in free and cued recall. In M. Vanderhallen, G. Vervaeke, P. J. van Koppen & J. Goethals (Eds.), Much ado about crime: Chapters in psychology and crime. Brussels: Politeia.

    Clifford, B. R. (2002). Criminal psychology. In Encarta 2002.

    Clifford, B. R. (2002). Methodology. Law’s adopting of and adapting to psychology’s methods and findings. In D. Carson & R. Bull (Eds.), Handbook of psychology in legal contexts: Wiley.

    Ridley, A. M., & Clifford, B. R. (2004). The effects of anxious mood induction on suggestibility to misleading post-event information. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 18(2), 233–244. doi:10.1002/acp.963

    Clifford, B. R. (2002). Methodological issues in the study of children’s testimony. In H. Wescott, G. Davies & R. Bull (Eds.), Children’s testimony in context (pp. 331–344). Chichester: Wiley. doi:10.1002/9780470713679.ch21

    Clifford, B. R. (2001). Criminal psychology. In Encarta 2001.

    Clifford, B. R. (2000). Criminal psychology. In Encarta 2000.

    Bull, R., & Clifford, B. R. (1999). Earwitness testimony. In A. Heaton-Armstrong, E. Shepherd & D. Wolchover (Eds.), Analysing witness testimony: A guide for legal practitioners and other professionals (pp. 194–206). London: Blackstone Press.

    Clifford, B. R. (1999). Criminal psychology. In Encarta 99.

    Clifford, B. R., & Memon, A. (1999). Obtaining detailed testimony: The cognitive interview. In D. Heaton-Armstrong, E. Shepherd & D. Wolchover (Eds.), Analysing witness testimony: A guide for legal practitioners and other professionals (pp. 146–161). London: Blackstone Press.

    Clifford, B. R. (1998). Criminal psychology. In Encarta 98.

    Gwyer, P., Clifford, B. R., & Dritschel, B. (1998). The effects of the cognitive interview on recall, recognition and the confidence/accuracy relationship. In J. Boros, I. Munnich & M. Szegedi (Eds.), Psychology and criminal justice: International review of theory and practice (pp. 53–60). New York: de Gruyter.

    Clifford, B. R. (1997). Hugo Munsterberg: American psychology’s enigma. In N. Sheehy, A. J. Chapman & W. Conroy (Eds.), Biographical dictionary of psychology (pp. 412–413). London: Routledge.

    Clifford, B. R., & Toplis, R. (1996). A comparison of adults’ and children’s witnessing abilities. In N. Clark & G. Stephenson (Eds.), Investigative and forensic decision making: Issues in criminological and legal psychology (Vol. 20, pp. 76–83).

    Emmett, D., Clifford, B. R., & Gwyer, P. (2003). An investigation of the interaction between cognitive style and context reinstatement on the memory performance of eyewitnesses. Personality and Individual Differences, 33(7), 343–351. doi:10.1016/s0191-8869(02)00131-9

    Conference Papers Axelsson, E., Moore, D., Goodwin, J., Clifford, B. R., & Nobes, G. (2004). Infant categorisation of humans and animals — the role of bodily form [Abstract]. Paper presented at the International Conference on Infant Studies, Chicago.

    Emmett, D., Clifford, B. R., Young, K., & Potton, A. (2004). The use of computer presented virtual licence plate to improve eyewitness testimony accuracy in the recall of licence plate details. Paper presented at the 14th European Conference of Psychology and Law, Krakow, Poland.

    Ridley, A., & Clifford, B. R. (2004). The effect of anxiety on the forgetting of misleading information. Paper presented at the 14th European Conference of Psychology and Law, Krakow, Poland.

    Clifford, B. R. (2003). Verbal overshadowing in adults and children? Paper presented at the International Conference of the American and European Law and Psychology Association, Edinburgh.

    Clifford, B. R. (2003). The verbal overshadowing effects in adults’ and children’s face and voice recognition. Paper presented at the International Conference for Applied Research on Memory and Cognition (SARMAC), Aberdeen.

    Martin, A. E., Panagiotaki, G., Nobes, G., Banerjee, R., Clifford, B. R., & Moore, D. (2003). Children’s representations of the earth. Paper presented at the British Psychological Society Developmental Section conference, Coventry.

    Clifford, B. R. (2002). The verbal overshadowing effect: In search of a chimera. Paper presented at the 12th Conference of the European Assoc. of Psychology and Law, Leuven, Belgium.

    Clifford, B. R., & Burke, K. (2002). Verbal overshadowing in adults and children as a function of encoding. Paper presented at the 12th Conference of the European Assoc. of Psychology and Law, Leuven, Belgium.

    Emmett, D., Clifford, B. R., & Gwyer, P. (2002). The influence of field dependency on eyewitness accuracy in free and cued recall. Paper presented at the 12th Conference on the European Association of Psychology and Law, Leuven, Belgium.

    Martin, A. E., Clifford, B. R., Moore, D., & Nobes, G. (2002). Theories or fragments of knowledge? The coherence of children’s explanations of the Earth’s properties. Paper presented at the British Psychological Society Developmental Section, Brighton.

    Nobes, G., Moore, D. G., Martin, A. E., Clifford, B. R., Butterworth, G., Panagiotaki, G., & Siegal, M. (2003). Children's understanding of the earth in a multicultural community: Mental models or fragments of knowledge? Developmental Science, 6(1), 72–85. doi:10.1111/1467-7687.00257

    Pawson, C. J., Nobes, G., Moore, D. G., & Clifford, B. R. (2002). Friendship, peer-group acceptance and the moral understanding of the child. Paper presented at the Hawaii International Conference on Social Sciences, Honolulu, USA.

    Pawson, C. J., Nobes, G., Moore, D. G., & Clifford, B. R. (2002). Peer interaction and the moral reasoning of the child. Paper presented at the American Psychological Society 14th Annual Convention, New Orleans, USA.

    Pawson, C. J., Nobes, G., Moore, D. G., & Clifford, B. R. (2002). The development of moral understanding in the social world of the child. Paper presented at the International Conference on Language and Social Psychology, Hong Kong.

    Ridley, A., & Clifford, B. R. (2002). Suggestibility following anxiety manipulations. Paper presented at the 12th Conference of the European Assoc. of Psychology and Law, Leuven, Belgium.

    Emmett, D., Gwyer, P., & Clifford, B. R. (2001). Field dependency as a mediator of eyewitness identification accuracy. Paper presented at the 11th Conference on the European Association of Psychology and Law, Lisbon.

    Martin, A. E., Clifford, B. R., Moore, D. G., & Nobes, G. (2001). Testing the consistency of children’s understanding of the earth. Paper presented at the European Association for Research in Learning and Instruction conference, Fribourg, Switzerland.

    Nobes, G., Clifford, B. R., Martin, A. E., Moore, D. G., Siegal, M., & Butterworth, G. (2001). Young children’s knowledge of the shape of the earth in Australia and England. Paper presented at the European Association for Research in Learning and Instruction conference, Fribourg, Switzerland.

    Pawson, C., Nobes, G., Moore, D. G., & Clifford, B. (2001). Peer interaction and the moral development of the child. Paper presented at the BPS Developmental and Educational Sections Conference, Worcester.

    Ridley, A. M., Clifford, B. R., & Keogh, E. (2001). The effects of state anxiety on the suggestibility and accuracy of child witnesses. Paper presented at the 11th European Conference of Psychology and Law, Lisbon.

    Emmett, D., Gwyer, P., & Clifford, B. R. (2000). An investigation of the interaction between the cognitive style of eyewitnesses, their memorial performance at event recall, and their sensitivity to context reinstatement. Paper presented at the 10th European Conference on Psychology and Law, Cyprus.

    Clifford, B. R. (2002). Detecting lies and deceit: The psychology of lying and the implications for professional practice. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 15(5), 581–586. doi:10.1002/acp.743.abs

    Gwyer, P., & Clifford, B. R. (2000). The effect of question type, delay and age upon recall, confidence and the confidence/accuracy relationship. Paper presented at the 10th European Conference on Psychology and Law, Cyprus.

    Emmett, D., Clifford, B. R., & Gwyer, P. (1999). A comparison of the effect of context reinstatement on event recall in field dependent and field independent witnesses. Paper presented at the International Conference of Psychology and Law, Dublin.

    Gwyer, P., & Clifford, B. R. (1999). The effect of reconstruction processes, social influences and delay upon the confidence/accuracy relationship. Paper presented at the International Conference of Psychology and Law, Dublin.

    Gwyer, P., & Clifford, B. R. (1998). The relationship between confidence and accuracy: A real phenomenon or experimental artefact? Paper presented at the 8th Annual Conference of the Division of Criminological and Legal Psychology, Durham.

    Conference Proceedings Ridley, A. M., & Clifford, B. R. (2002). The effect of manipulated state anxiety on the accuracy and suggestibility of eyewitnesses, Blackpool.

    Brooks, B., Attree, E., Rose, F. D., Leadbetter, A., & Clifford, B. R. (1996). How virtual reality participation selectively enhances memory.

    Reports Clifford, B. R. (2003). Verbal overshadowing effects in adults’ and children’s face and voice memory (No. R000223566). ESRC.

    Clifford, B. R., & Furnham, A. (1996). Superimposed text in television advertising: An investigation of factors affecting its readability and comprehension: Technical Report to the ITC, UK.

    Ridley, A. M., Clifford, B. R., & Keogh, E. (2002). The effects of state anxiety on the suggestibility and accuracy of child eyewitnesses. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 16(5), 547–558. doi:10.1002/acp.813

    Clifford, B. R. (2001). Telling tales: Deception and deceit. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 15(5), 581–583. doi:10.1002/acp.743.abs

    Publications


    Funding

    Professor Clifford’s research expertise lies in the field of applied memory, especially eyewitness testimony in adults and children, for which he has received numerous public and private fundings. Current research involves trialling of a virtual licence plate software package to aid recall by witnesses; the role of the cognitive interview technique in offsetting the effects of biased investigative interviewing; and the effectiveness and efficiency of the VIPER identification procedure.


    Interests

    Portfolio




    Supervision of PhD students continues at both UEL and Aberdeen University.
    Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society
    Member of the Division of Forensic Psychology
    Member of the Cognitive Psychology Section of the British Psychological Society
    Associate of the Society for the Philosophy of Science
    Associate of the British Society of Sports Psychology
    Fellow of the Cybernetics Society
    Chartered Forensic Psychologist

    Teaching