Nancy K Steblay

Professor Emeritus

CB 32
steblay@augsburg.edu
Curriculum Vitae
Nancy K Steblay

Nancy Steblay joined the Augsburg University Faculty in 1988.

Recent courses:  Psychology and Law; Research Methods I; Advanced Research Seminar; Introduction to Psychology; Psychology Lab; Honors 250 (Decision-making).

Primary research interests: The reliability of eyewitness identification and eyewitness evidence procedures; courtroom evidence topics (alibis, inadmissible evidence, pre-trial publicity).

Advisor: Psychology and Law Concentration

Brief Biography

Nancy Steblay, Ph.D., is Professor of Psychology at Augsburg University. As an experimental social psychologist, Dr. Steblay has conducted research on eyewitness memory, police procedures, and eyewitness evidence for 30 years and has published numerous peer-reviewed scientific articles and chapters on eyewitness topics. She is Associate Editor of Psychology, Public Policy and Law, and serves as a reviewer for the National Science Foundation and multiple science journals. Audiences for recent professional presentations have included prosecutors, defense attorneys, law enforcement, policymakers, judges, and forensic scientists.

Dr. Steblay has worked with law enforcement to implement revised field lineup identification procedures based on eyewitness science. Her field and laboratory experiments have been funded by the National Institute of Justice and the National Science Foundation, and she was part of the scientific team for a national study of eyewitness field lineup procedures conducted by the American Judicature Society.

 

Education

  • B.A. Bemidji State University
  • M.A. University of Montana
  • Ph.D. University of Montana

Selected Publications in Psychology and Law

  • Steblay, N.K. (in press).  Translating psychological science into policy and practice.  In Psychology and law: An Empirical Perspective, N. Brewer and A. Douglass (Eds.).  Guilford Publications (New York).
  • Steblay, N.K., & Dysart, J.E. (2016). Repeated eyewitness identification procedures with the same suspect.  Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition, 5, 284-289. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jarmac.2016.06.010
  • Steblay, N.K. (2016). Meta-analysis as an aid for judicial decision-making. Court Review: the Journal of American Judges Association.
  • Steblay, N.K., Dysart, J.E., & Wells, G.L. (2015).  An unrepresentative sample is unrepresentative regardless of the reason:  A rejoinder to Amendola and Wixted.  Journal of Experimental Criminology, 11 (2) 295-298.  doi: 10.1007/s11292-015-9233-z
  • Wells, G.L., Dysart, J.E., & Steblay, N.K. (2015).  The flaw in Amendola and Wixted’s conclusion on simultaneous versus sequential lineups.  Journal of Experimental Criminology, 11 (2), 285-289. doi: 10.1007/s11292-014-922-4
  • Wells, G.L., Steblay, N.K., & Dysart, J.E. (2015). Double-Blind Photo-Lineups Using Actual Eyewitnesses: An Experimental Test of the Sequential versus Simultaneous Lineup Procedure.  Law and Human Behavior, 39 (1), 1-14. https://dx.doi.org/10.1037/lhb0000096
  • Steblay, N.K. (2015). Eyewitness memory.  In APA Handbook of Forensic Psychology, Volume 2: Criminal Investigation, Adjudication, and Sentencing Outcomes, B. Cutler & P. Zapf (Eds.). Washington DC: American Psychological Association Press, 187-224.  https://dx.doi.org/10.1037/14462-007.
  • Steblay, N.K. (2015).  Scientific Advances in Eyewitness Identification Evidence.  William Mitchell Law Review, 41 (3), 101-137.
  • Steblay, N.K., Wells, G.L., & Douglass, A.B. (2014). The eyewitness post-identification feedback effect 15 years later: Theoretical and policy implications. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 20, 1-18. doi: 10.1037/law0000001
  • Steblay, N.K. (2014). Reforming eyewitness identification: Cautionary lineup instructions; weighing the advantages and disadvantages of show-ups versus lineups. In A Criminal Procedures Anthology: Cases, Readings, and Comparative Perspectives, R. Mack (Ed.), p. 473. Cognella, Inc.
  • Steblay, N.K., Tix, R.W., & Benson, S.L. (2013). Double exposure: The effects of repeated identification lineups on eyewitness accuracy. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 27, 644-654. doi: 10.1002/acp.2944
  • Steblay, N.K. (2013). Lineup Instructions. In Reform of Eyewitness Identification Procedures, B. Cutler (Ed.), p. 65-86, APA Press.
  • Wells, G.L., Steblay, N.K., & Dysart, J.E. (2012). Eyewitness Identification Reforms: Are Suggestiveness-Induced Hits and Guesses True Hits? Perspectives on Psychological Science, 7 (3), 264-271. doi: 10.1177/1745691612443368
  • Steblay, N.K., & Loftus, E. F. (2012). Eyewitness memory and the legal system. In E. Shafir (Ed.) The Behavioral Foundations of Public Policy, p. 145-162. Princeton University Press & Russell Sage Foundation.
  • Wells, G. L., Steblay, N. M., & Dysart, J. E. (2011). A test of the simultaneous vs. sequential lineup methods: An initial report of the AJS national eyewitness identification field studies. Des Moines, IA: American Judicature Society.
  • Steblay, N.K., & Phillips, J. (2011). The not-sure response option in sequential lineup practice. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 25, 768.774. doi: 10.1002/acp.1755
  • Steblay, N.K., Dysart, J. E., & Wells, G.L. (2011). Seventy-two tests of the sequential lineup superiority effect: A meta-analysis and policy discussion. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 17 (1), 99-139. doi: 10.1037/a0021650
  • Steblay, N.K. (2011). What we know now: The Evanston Illinois lineups, Law and Human Behavior, 35, 1, 1-12. doi: 10.1007/s10979-009-9207-7
  • Steblay, N.K. (June, 2011). A Second Look at the Illinois Pilot Program: The Evanston Data. The Champion, 10-15. www.nacld.org
  • Steblay, N.K., Dietrich, H.L., Ryan, S.L., Raczynski, J.L., & James, K.A. (2011). Sequential lineup laps and eyewitness accuracy, Law and Human Behavior, 35, 262-274.doi: 10.1007/s10979-010-9236-2
  • Steblay, N.K. (2010). Improving the Accuracy of Eyewitness Evidence. Chapter in Inside theMinds: Adapting to New Eyewitness Identification Procedures. Boston: Aspatore Books/ThompsonWest Publishing.
  • Steblay, N., & Loftus, E.F., (2010). Eyewitness memory. In Goldstein, E.B. (Ed.) Encyclopedia of Perception. Sage Reference, Sage Publications.
  • Steblay, N.K. (2009). Maintaining the reliability of eyewitness evidence: After the lineup. Creighton Law Review, 42 (4), 643-654.
  • Steblay, N. (2008). Eyewitness identification, field studies. In Cutler, B.L., (Ed.) Encyclopedia of Psychology and Law. Sage Reference, Sage Publications.
  • Steblay, N. (2008). Juries and inadmissible evidence. In Cutler, B.L., (Ed.) Encyclopedia of Psychology and Law. Sage Reference, Sage Publications.
  • Steblay, N. (2008). Commentary on “Studying eyewitness investigations in the field”: A look forward. Law and Human Behavior, 32: 11-15. doi: 10.1007/s10979-007-9105-9
  • Steblay, N. (2007). A little advice and much encouragement for future field lineup studies. Promoting Effective Homicide Investigations. Police Executive Research Forum: Washington D.C.
  • Steblay, N., Besirevic, J., Fulero, S., & Jimenez-Lorente, B. (2007). The effects of pretrial publicity on juror verdicts: A meta-analytic review. In Roesch, R., & Gagnon, N. (Eds.) Psychology and law: Criminal and civil perspectives. Hampshire, UK: Ashgate.
  • Klobuchar, A., Steblay, N., & Caligiuri, H. (2006). Improving eyewitness identifications: Hennepin County’s Blind Sequential Lineup Pilot Project. Cardozo Public Law, Policy & Ethics Journal, 4 (2), 381-413.
  • Steblay, N., (2006). Reforming eyewitness identification: Lineup identification instructions; weighing the advantages and disadvantages of show-ups versus lineups. Cardozo Public Law, Policy & Ethics Journal, 4 (2), 341-354.
  • Douglass, A., & Steblay, N., (2006). Memory distortion in eyewitnesses: A meta-analysis of the post-identification feedback effect. Applied Cognitive Psychology. 20, 859-869.
  • Steblay, N., Hosch, H., Culhane, S., & McWethy, A., (2006). The impact on juror verdicts of judicial instruction to disregard inadmissible evidence: A meta-analysis. Law and Human Behavior, 30, 469-492.
  • Steblay, N., Dysart, J., Fulero, S., & Lindsay, R.C.L. (2003). Eyewitness accuracy rates in police showups and lineup presentations: A Meta-Analytic Comparison. Law and Human Behavior, 27, 523-540.
  • Steblay, N., Dysart, J., Fulero, S., & Lindsay, R.C.L. (2001). Eyewitness accuracy rates in sequential and simultaneous lineup presentations: A meta-analytic review. Law and Human Behavior, 25, 459-473. doi:10.1023/A:1012888715007
  • Steblay, N.M., Besirevic, J., Fulero, S., & Jimenez-Lorente, B. (1999). The effects of pre-trial publicity on juror verdicts: A meta-analytic review. Law and Human Behavior, 23, 219-235.
  • Steblay, N.M. (1997). Social influence in eyewitness recall: A meta-analytic review of lineup instruction effects. Law and Human Behavior, 21, 283-297. doi:10.1023/A:1024890732059
  • Steblay, N.M. & Bothwell, R. (1994). Evidence for hypnotically refreshed testimony: The view from the laboratory. Law and Human Behavior, 18, 635-652.
  • Steblay, N.M. (1992). A meta-analytic review of the weapon-focus effect. Law and Human Behavior, 16, 413-424.

Memberships

  • Association for Psychological Science
  • American Psychological Association
  • American Psychology- Law Society (APA-Division 41)
  • Society for Applied Research in Memory and Cognition

Honors

  • Distinguished Contributions for Excellence in Scholarship (Augsburg, 2011)

Scientific Review

Associate Editor

  • Psychology, Public Policy, and Law

Editorial Board member

  • Law and Human Behavior
  • Applied Cognitive Psychology
  • Psychology, Public Policy, and Law