John Wixted is a Distinguished Professor of Psychology at the University of California–San Diego (UCSD). His current research is concerned with the understanding of episodic memory. He investigates the cognitive mechanisms that underlie recognition memory, often using signal detection theory as a guide. A related line of research involves investigating how episodic memory is represented in the human hippocampus, work that is based mainly on single-unit recording studies performed with epilepsy patients. In recent years, his research has also focused on the applied implications of signal detection-based models of recognition memory. The main focus of this line of research is on the reliability of eyewitness memory utilized in forensic
Professor John Wixted wrote a report applying his new research to Charles Don Flore’s case, showing how the eyewitness identification process in his case is evidence of Charles’s innocence, not his guilt.
Professor Wixted has been given an award by the AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science), publisher of one of the top journals in the entire world: Science. Professor Wixted’s lecture accepting the award, on Feb. 18, 2022, is style: “Eyewitness memory is reliable, but the criminal justice system is not.” It will feature Charles Don Flore’s case.