About Research

The Centre for the Study of Emotion and Law has its roots in a research project which set out empirically to investigate the basis for the assumption, common in asylum claim determinations, that traumatic memories are always consistently and accurately recalled.

When we tested this assumption using replicable scientific methodology, we found that there are good reasons why people might not be able to produce a detailed, consistent memory of traumatic experiences in their lives. Read more about this study here. Read more about the difference that scientific research methodology can make here.

We uphold the highest standards of empirical research, using established methodologies and submitting our studies to ethical scrutiny and peer review processes. In this way we can be confident that we are making available the best possible scientific knowledge to legal decision making processes.

We offer this website as a Resource Hub for decision makers, legal and clinical practitioners, supporters, policy-makers and campaigners. Find research here to answer important questions, or support crucial arguments, about human behaviour, responses to traumatic experiences, memory and disclosure.