Lab Director
John T. Wixted
Distinguished Professor of Psychology
University of California, San Diego
Overview
Research in the Wixted Memory Lab focuses on the basic cognitive and neural mechanisms of human memory, with particular emphasis on recognition memory, confidence judgments, and eyewitness identification. A central goal of this work is to integrate formal theoretical models of memory (e.g., signal detection–based models) with empirical data and to clarify how laboratory findings bear on real-world applications, including the evaluation of eyewitness evidence in legal settings.
Core Research Themes
Recognition Memory and Confidence
Signal detection–based models of memory strength, decision criteria, and confidence judgments, with applications to both laboratory tasks and applied settings.
Episodic Memory in the Human Hippocampus
Research based on single-unit recordings from epilepsy patients undergoing clinical monitoring, testing predictions derived from neurocomputational models of episodic memory.
Eyewitness Identification and Memory Contamination
Empirical and theoretical analyses of lineup procedures, first-test reliability, post-event contamination, and the confidence–accuracy relationship.
Memory Science and the Law
Translation of memory research for courts and policy audiences, including judges, attorneys on both sides of the aisle, and law enforcement.
Selected Recent Work
Invited Talk (2024).
Atkinson and Shiffrin’s (1968) influential model overshadowed their contemporary theory of human memory.
Learning and Memory: A Comprehensive Reference (3rd Ed., 2025).
Editor in Chief: John T. Wixted.
Tallman, C. W., Steinmetz, P. N., & Wixted, J. T. (2025).
Neuronal allocation and sparse coding of episodic memories in the human hippocampus.
Scientific Reports.
Mickes, L., Wilson, B. M., & Wixted, J. T. (2025).
The cognitive science of eyewitness memory.
Trends in Cognitive Sciences.
Yilmaz, A. S., Shen, K. J., & Wixted, J. T. (2025).
The science of human memory vs. the Federal Rules of Evidence.
Psychology, Public Policy, and Law.
Mickes, L., & Wixted, J. T. (2025).
When eyewitness memory reliably exonerates the wrongfully convicted.
Memory.
TEDx talk (2025)
The new science of eyewitness memory.
Featured on TED.com.
Affiliation
Department of Psychology
University of California, San Diego
John T. Wixted
Distinguished Professor of Psychology
University of California, San Diego
Overview
Research in the Wixted Memory Lab focuses on the basic cognitive and neural mechanisms of human memory, with particular emphasis on recognition memory, confidence judgments, and eyewitness identification. A central goal of this work is to integrate formal theoretical models of memory (e.g., signal detection–based models) with empirical data and to clarify how laboratory findings bear on real-world applications, including the evaluation of eyewitness evidence in legal settings.
Core Research Themes
Recognition Memory and Confidence
Signal detection–based models of memory strength, decision criteria, and confidence judgments, with applications to both laboratory tasks and applied settings.
Episodic Memory in the Human Hippocampus
Research based on single-unit recordings from epilepsy patients undergoing clinical monitoring, testing predictions derived from neurocomputational models of episodic memory.
Eyewitness Identification and Memory Contamination
Empirical and theoretical analyses of lineup procedures, first-test reliability, post-event contamination, and the confidence–accuracy relationship.
Memory Science and the Law
Translation of memory research for courts and policy audiences, including judges, attorneys on both sides of the aisle, and law enforcement.
Selected Recent Work
Invited Talk (2024).
Atkinson and Shiffrin’s (1968) influential model overshadowed their contemporary theory of human memory.
Learning and Memory: A Comprehensive Reference (3rd Ed., 2025).
Editor in Chief: John T. Wixted.
Tallman, C. W., Steinmetz, P. N., & Wixted, J. T. (2025).
Neuronal allocation and sparse coding of episodic memories in the human hippocampus.
Scientific Reports.
Mickes, L., Wilson, B. M., & Wixted, J. T. (2025).
The cognitive science of eyewitness memory.
Trends in Cognitive Sciences.
Yilmaz, A. S., Shen, K. J., & Wixted, J. T. (2025).
The science of human memory vs. the Federal Rules of Evidence.
Psychology, Public Policy, and Law.
Mickes, L., & Wixted, J. T. (2025).
When eyewitness memory reliably exonerates the wrongfully convicted.
Memory.
TEDx talk (2025)
The new science of eyewitness memory.
Featured on TED.com.
Affiliation
Department of Psychology
University of California, San Diego
