Eyewitnesses & Deception

Prof Wiseman’s work examines the reliability of eyewitness testimony for trickery, fake psychic phenomena and alleged miracles. Some of this research, carried out with Dr Peter Lamont (University of Edinburgh), examined eyewitness testimony relating to the Indian Rope Trick – a classic trick in which a boy climbs to the top of a stiffened rope and suddenly vanishes. Their findings, published in Nature, indicated that the eyewitnesses were exaggerating their accounts over time.

Other research, conducted with the late Prof Robert Morris (University of Edinburgh), involved showing participants videotapes containing demonstrations of fake paranormal phenomena, and asking them to recall what they have seen. This research revealed differences in the recall of people who believe and disbelieve in the paranormal, and how people forget important parts of the demonstration.

A third strand of this work has explored how verbal suggestion can be used to distort the eyewitness testimony for allegedly paranormal events. Some of this work has been carried out in collaboration with Dr Matthew Smith (Liverpool Hope University) and Dr Emma Greening (then University of Hertfordshire), and has examined the role of verbal suggestion during demonstrations of fake psychokinetic metal bending and theatrical reconstructions of Victorian darkroom séances.

Selected references

Lamont, P. & Wiseman, R. (2001). The rise and fall of the Indian rope trick. Journal of the Society for Psychical Research, 65, 175-93.

Wiseman R. & Greening, E. (2005). 'Its still bending': Verbal suggestion and alleged psychokinetic metal bending. British Journal of Psychology. 96(1), 115-127. Download PDF (132k)

Wiseman, R., Greening, E., and Smith, M. (2003). Belief in the paranormal and suggestion in the seance room. British Journal of Psychology, 94(3), 285-297.

Wiseman, R, & Lamont, P. (1996). Unravelling the Indian rope-trick. Nature, 383, 212-213.

Wiseman, R. & Morris, R.L. (1995). Recalling pseudo-psychic demonstrations. British Journal of Psychology, 86, 113-125.