Social Psychology Network

Maintained by Scott Plous, Wesleyan University

Steve Penrod

Steve Penrod

Dr. Penrod earned his J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1974 and his Ph.D. in psychology from Harvard University in 1979. He joined the faculty of John Jay College of Criminal Justice as a Distinguished Professor of Psychology in the fall of 2001 and prior to that was professor and director of the Law/Psychology program at the University of Nebraska from 1995-2001. He was on the law faculty at the University of Minnesota from 1988-1995 and the psychology faculty at the University of Wisconsin from 1979-1988.

His recent teaching has included jury decisionmaking, eyewitness reliability, research methods, and grant-writing. His research interests include jury decision-making, pretrial publicity effects, eyewitness reliability, and the use of social scientific evidence.

To request reprints of Dr. Penrod's published work, please email him.

Primary Interests:

  • Applied Social Psychology
  • Group Processes
  • Law and Public Policy
  • Research Methods, Assessment

Journal Articles:

  • Bornstein, B. H.; Deffenbacher, K. A.; McGorty, K. & Penrod, S. D. (2012). Effects of exposure time and cognitive operations on facial identification accuracy: A meta-analysis of two variables associated with initial memory strength. Psychology, Crime and Law, 18, 473-490.
  • Bornstein, B. H. & Penrod, S.D. (2008). Hugo Who? G.F. Arnold’s Alternative Early Approach to Psychology and Law. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 22, 759-768.
  • Daftary-Kapur, T., Dumas, R. & Penrod, S.D. (2010). Jury decision-making biases and methods to counter them. Legal and Criminological Psychology, 15, 133-154.
  • Deffenbacher, K. A.; Bornstein, B. H.; McGorty, K. & Penrod, S. D. (2008). Forgetting the once-seen face: Estimating the strength of an eyewitness’s memory representation. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 14, 139-150.
  • Deffenbacher, K. A., Bornstein, B. H., & Penrod, S. D. (2006). Mugshot exposure effects: Retroactive interference, mugshot commitment, source confusion, and unconscious transference. Law and Human Behavior, 30, 287-307.
  • Deffenbacher, K. A., Bornstein, B. H., Penrod, S. D., & McGorty, K. (2004). A meta-analytic review of the effects of high stress on eyewitness memory. Law and Human Behavior, 28, 687-706.
  • Heuer, L., Penrod, S., & Kattan, A. (2007). The role of societal benefits and fairness concerns among decision makers and decision recipients. Law and Human Behavior.
  • O'Neil, K. M., Patry, M. W., & Penrod, S. D. (2004). Exploring the effects of attitudes toward the death penalty on capital sentencing verdicts. Psychology, Public Policy and Law, 10, 443-470.
  • O' Neil, K. M., Penrod, S. D., & Bornstein, B. H. (2003). Web-based research: Methodological variables' effects on dropout and sample characteristics. Behavior Research Methods, Instruments, and Computers, 35, 217-236.
  • Patry, M. W. & Penrod, S. D. (2013). Death penalty decisions: Instruction comprehension, attitudes, and decision mediators. Journal of Forensic Psychology Practice, 13, 204-244.
  • Penrod, S. (2003). Eyewitness identification evidence: How well are witnesses and police performing? Criminal Justice, 54, 36-47.
  • Penrod, S. & Kurosawa, K. (2008). Eyewitness errors: Assessing their extent, causes, and solutions. Japanese Journal of Psychology, 7, 36-62.
  • Vredeveldt, A. & Penrod, S. D. (2013). Eye-Closure Improves Memory for a Witnessed Event under Naturalistic Conditions. Psychology, Crime and Law. 19, 893-905.
  • Wells, G. L., Memon, A., & Penrod, S. D. (2006). Eyewitness evidence: Improving its probative value. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 7, 45-75.

Other Publications:

  • Groscup, J. & Penrod, S. D. (2009). Appellate Review and Eyewitness Experts. In Brian Cutler (Ed.). Expert Testimony on the Psychology of Eyewitness Identification. NY: Oxford.
  • Penrod, S. D., & Bornstein, B. H. (2006). Generalizing eyewitness reliability research. In R. C. L. Lindsay, D. Ross, D. Read & M. Toglia (Eds.), Handbook of eyewitness psychology (Vol. II): Memory for people. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
  • Penrod, S. & Kovera, M. B. (2009). Recent developments in North American identification science and practice. In: Bull, R., Valentine, T. & Williamson, T., (Eds.). Handbook of Psychology of Investigative Interviewing. Current Developments and Future Directions. Chichester, UK: John Wiley & Sons.
  • Robbennolt, J., Groscup, J. & Penrod, S. (2013). Evaluating and assisting jury competence in civil and criminal cases. In I. Weiner & A. Hess (ed.), Handbook of Forensic Psychology (4th Ed.). New York: Wiley.
  • Studebaker, C. A., & Penrod, S. D. (2005). Pretrial publicity and its influence on juror decision making. In N. Brewer & K. D. Williams, Psychology and Law: An Empirical Perspective. New York: Guilford.
  • Wells, G. & Penrod, S. D. (2011). Eyewitness Research: Strengths and Weaknesses of Alternative Methods. In Rosenfeld, B. & Penrod, S. D (Eds.). Research Methods in Forensic Psychology. New York: John Wiley & Sons.

Courses Taught:

  • Eyewitness Reliability
  • Jury Decisionmaking
  • Media, Psychology and Law
  • Research Methods

Steve Penrod
Department of Psychology
John Jay College of Criminal Justice
524 West 59th Street, 10.65.3
New York, New York 10019-1199
United States of America

  • Phone: 212-237-8877

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