Memory in Life, Practice, and Law (MLPL) Laboratory
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University of Portsmouth
Our Lab with Dr Loftus
For Dr Patihis' personal website and information on expert witness work, see https://lpatihis.wixsite.com/lawrencepatihis
In this lab we are creating unique research on the topics of memory of emotions (e.g. towards parents and others), memory of family and ancestors, false memories, beliefs about repressed memory and dissociative amnesia, and memory myths.
Most of our research applies to, and is inspired by life in general, practice in clinical psychology, and/or the law. hence the name of the lab: "Memory in Life, Practice, and Law."
Inquire by email if you are interested in joining the lab.
Email: Lawrence.Patihis@port.ac.uk
Laboratory Members
Laboratory Director
Lawrence Patihis, Ph.D.
Dr. Patihis received a doctorate from the University of California, Irvine, where he was advised by the memory researchers Elizabeth Loftus and Linda Levine, and where he was the recipient of the National Science Foundation graduate research fellowship. UC Irvine established academia's first School of Social Ecology, which focuses on applying psychological science directly to problems in society, and this approach still guides Dr Patihis' research today. Before UC Irvine, he was very grateful to attend Santa Monica College and California State University, Northridge--both of which provided a great introduction to scientific skepticism in psychology. Dr. Patihis specializes in memory distortions and related issues, including repression theory and memory of emotion, and has published in peer-reviewed journals such as Psychological Science, The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Clinical Psychological Science, Perspectives on Psychological Science, Memory, and Applied Cognitive Psychology. He is a Consulting Editor for the journal Clinical Psychological Science, and has served as a journal article reviewer for Current Directions in Psychological Science, Memory, Memory & Cognition, and many others. Dr Patihis is an independently-minded scientific skeptic with the goal of supplying the public with reliable information about memory, psychology, and science in general. His research on memory beliefs and autobiographical memory has been included in recent textbooks, and has been featured in the media. In keeping with his training at UC Irvine, Dr. Patihis is interested in aspects of memory research (often involving social influences) that have important implications in everyday life, the family, clinical psychology, and the law. He is also interested in finding ways to clearly disseminate what we know about memory to the general public, as well as to clinical and legal practitioners.
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Google Scholar Publons CV ResearchGate Email
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Current Doctoral Students
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Pamela Radcliffe, LLB, MSc
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Pamela Radcliffe is a current doctoral student in forensic psychology, and is funded by the South Coast Doctoral Training Partnership. Pamela was a trial barrister for the defense, and is interested in the potential for miscarriages of justice due to popular misunderstandings about memory. Pamela's doctoral research examines what the UK lay public, mental health and legal professionals believe and understand about autobiographical memory function for traumatic experiences and whether these beliefs may have negative implications for public health and justice outcomes. In addition, she is investigating whether online social media narratives can influence beliefs about dissociative identity disorder and dissociative amnesia.
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Amy Salkeld, BSc, MSc
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Amy Salkeld is a current doctoral student in forensic psychology, and is funded by the South Coast Doctoral Training Partnership. Amy completed her BSc and MSc in psychology and forensic psychology at the University of Portsmouth, where she is now studying for her PhD. Between her
master's and the start of her PhD, she held a visiting researcher position at
Portsmouth University. Amy’s doctoral research looks at the science and
pseudoscience around dissociation and dissociative amnesia. More specifically, she is researching the potentially inflated reliability surrounding the measures of dissociation, such as the dissociative experiences scale (DES). She is also investigating the change in recovered memory terminology, from repressed memory to dissociative amnesia, and the effect that this is having on the legal system.
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Former Doctoral Student
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Dr. Mario Herrera, Ph.D. (2020) Psychology.
Assistant Professor
University of North Carolina at Asheville
Dr Herrera completed his doctorate in 2020. He led a book review as first author in Skeptic Magazine, and coauthored research that has been published in the journals Psychological Reports and Clinical Psychological Science. He was awarded a masters degree based on his groundbreaking research on how current successes in life might alter memories of emotion in childhood, and a doctoral degree on the subject of the malleability of memories of emotions in the context of dating relationships. Dr Herrera is now an Assistant Professor at the University of North Carolina at Asheville: https://www.unca.edu/person/mario-herrera-ph-d/ ​
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