Dr Matthew Palmer

I joined the division of Psychology at the University of Tasmania in 2012 after completing a PhD at Flinders University (2009) and holding postdoctoral positions at Flinders and the University of Adelaide.
I teach research methods and statistics from 1st year to postgrad level, and a third-year psychology-law unit (with Jim Sauer). My two main goals in teaching are helping students with limited maths background to become competent at statistical analyses and enabling students to develop research skills so that they can participate in the discovery of new knowledge.
I do research in basic and applied cognitive psychology, with a focus on psychology-law. I’m interested in how people make judgments and decisions, especially about their memory. My current projects include eyewitness memory (e.g., how can police investigators tell the difference between witnesses' accurate memories and inaccurate ones?), feedback and memory (e.g., how does feedback affect recognition memory?), and juror decisions (e.g., can we help jurors to better evaluate evidence?). I’m also interested in developing signal detection and accumulation models of compound decisions.
I’m lucky to collaborate with many excellent people including Neil Brewer, Aaron Drummond, Nathan Weber, Eva Kemps and Jason McCarley (Flinders University), Jim Sauer, Andrew Heathcote and Stuart Ferguson (University of Tasmania), Ruth Horry (Swansea University), Peter Strelan (University of Adelaide), and Tim Hollins (University of Plymouth).
I teach research methods and statistics from 1st year to postgrad level, and a third-year psychology-law unit (with Jim Sauer). My two main goals in teaching are helping students with limited maths background to become competent at statistical analyses and enabling students to develop research skills so that they can participate in the discovery of new knowledge.
I do research in basic and applied cognitive psychology, with a focus on psychology-law. I’m interested in how people make judgments and decisions, especially about their memory. My current projects include eyewitness memory (e.g., how can police investigators tell the difference between witnesses' accurate memories and inaccurate ones?), feedback and memory (e.g., how does feedback affect recognition memory?), and juror decisions (e.g., can we help jurors to better evaluate evidence?). I’m also interested in developing signal detection and accumulation models of compound decisions.
I’m lucky to collaborate with many excellent people including Neil Brewer, Aaron Drummond, Nathan Weber, Eva Kemps and Jason McCarley (Flinders University), Jim Sauer, Andrew Heathcote and Stuart Ferguson (University of Tasmania), Ruth Horry (Swansea University), Peter Strelan (University of Adelaide), and Tim Hollins (University of Plymouth).
Position
Senior Lecturer (Level C) Faculty / Division School of Medicine Division of Psychology Telephone +61 3 6324 3004 Facsimile +61 3 6324 3168 matthew.palmer@utas.edu.au Location University of Tasmania School of Medicine Division of Psychology Private Bag 30 Sandy Bay, Tasmania 7005 |
Qualifications
- PhD, Flinders University (2009) - BA (Honours, 1st Class) Flinders University - Grad Dip Psych, Flinders University (2003) Fields of Research - Forensic Psychology - Sensory Processes, Perception and Performance - Methodology, Design and Analysis Research Impact - Expanding Knowledge in Psychology and Cognitive Sciences - Behaviour and Health |
Journal Publications
In Press
Kucina, T., Sauer, J.D., Holt, G.A., Brewer, N., & Palmer, M.A. (in press, 2020). Refining the Blank Lineup Procedure: How to Instruct Eyewitnesses. Applied Cognitive Psychology.
In Print
2019
Palmer, M.A., Stefanidis, K., Turner, A., Tranent, P.J., Breen, R., Kucina, T., Brumby, L., Holt, G.A., Fell, J.W., & Sauer, J.D. (2019). Acute physical exercise can influence the accuracy of metacognitive judgments. Scientific Reports, 9, 12412.
Monds, L. A., Kloft, L., Sauer, J. D., Honan, C. A., & Palmer, M. A. (2019). No evidence that alcohol intoxication impairs judgments of learning in face recognition. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 33, 325-333. doi: 10.1002/acp.3534
Rainsford, M., Palmer, M. A., & Sauer, J. D., (2019). The Distinctiveness Effect in the Recognition of Whole Melodies. Music Perception: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 36, 253-272. doi: 10.1525/mp.2019.36.3.253
Sauer, J.D., Palmer, M.A., & Brewer, N. (2019). Pitfalls in using eyewitness confidence to diagnose the accuracy of an individual identification decision. Psychology, Public Policy and Law, 25, 147-165.
Smalarz, L., Kornell, N., Vaughn, K. E., & Palmer, M. A. (2019). Identification Performance from Multiple Lineups: Should Eyewitnesses Who Pick Fillers Be Burned? Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition, 8(2), 221–232. doi.org/10.1016/j.jarmac.2019.03.001
2018
Drummond, A., Hall, L.C., Sauer, J.D., & Palmer, M.A. (2018). Is public awareness of climate change associated with governmental mitigation targets? Climatic Change, 149, 159-171.
2017
Palmer, M. A., Sauer, J. D., Ling, A., & Riza, J. (2017). Caffeine cravings impair memory and metacognition. Memory, 25, 1225-1234.
Zuj D. V., Felmingham K. L., Palmer M. A., Lawrence-Wood E., Van Hooff M., et al. (2017). Neural activity and emotional processing following military deployment: Effects of mild traumatic brain injury and posttraumatic stress disorder. Brain and Cognition, 118, 19-26.
Zuj D. V., Palmer M. A., Gray K., Hsu C. M. K., Nicholson E. L., et al. (2017). Negative appraisals and fear extinction are independently related to PTSD symptoms. Journal of Affective Disorders, 217, 246-251
Zuj, D. V., Palmer, M. A., Mahli, G. S., Bryant, R. A., & Felmingham, K. L. (2017). Endogenous cortisol reactivity moderates the relationship between fear inhibition to safety signals and posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 78, 14-21.
Rainsford, M., Palmer, M. A., & Paine, G. (2017). The MUSOS (MUsic SOftware System) Toolkit: A computer-based, open source application for testing memory for melodies. Behavior Research Methods.
Sauer, J.D., Palmer, M.A., & Brewer, N (2017). Mock-juror evaluations of traditional and ratings-based eyewitness identification evidence. Law & Human Behavior, 41, 375-384.
Palmer, M. A., Sauer, J. D., & Holt, G. A. (2017). Undermining position effects in choices from arrays, with implications for police lineups. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 23, 71-84.
2016
Bantoft, C., Summers, M. J., Tranent, P. J., Palmer, M. A., Cooley, P. D., & Pedersen, S. J. (2016). Effect of standing or walking at a workstation on cognitive function: A randomized counterbalanced trial. Human Factors, 58, 140-149.
Blake, G. A., Ferguson, S. F., Palmer, M. A., & Shiffman, S. (2016). Development and psychometric properties of the smoking restraint questionnaire. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 30, 238-245.
Russell, B. A., Summers, M. J., Tranent, P. J., Palmer, M. A., Cooley, P. D., & Pedersen, S. J. (2016). A randomised control trial of the cognitive effects of working in a seated as opposed to a standing position in office workers. Ergonomics, 59, 737-744.
Drummond, A., Palmer, M. A., & Sauer, J. D. (2016). Enhancing endorsement of scientific inquiry increases support for pro-environment policies. Royal Society Open Science, 3: 160360.
Zuj, D. V., Palmer, M. A., Lommen, M. J. J., & Felmingham, K. L. (2016). The centrality of fear extinction in linking risk factors to PTSD: A narrative review. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 69, 15-35.
Zuj, D. V., Palmer, M. A., Hsu, C-M. K., Nicholson, E. L., Cushing, P. J., Gray, K., E., & Felmingham, K. L. (2016). Impaired fear extinction associated with PTSD increases with hours-since-waking. Depression and Anxiety, 33, 203-210.
2015
Horry, R., Brewer, N., Weber, N., & Palmer, M. A. (2015). The Effects of Allowing a Second Sequential Lineup Lap on Choosing and Probative Value. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law. Advance online publication.
Palmer, M. A., *Button, L., *Barnett, E., & Brewer, N. (2015). Inconsistencies undermine the credibility of confession evidence. Legal and Criminological Psychology. Advance online publication.
*Zuj, D. V., Palmer, M. A., & Kemps, E. (2015). Cigarette cravings impair mock jurors’ recall of trial evidence. Psychology, Crime, and Law. Advance online publication.
*Dicker, M., Frandsen, M., Palmer, M. A., & Ferguson, S. G. (2015). Effectiveness of Coping Strategies at Alleviating Cue-Induced Craving: a Pilot Study. Journal of Smoking Cessation. Advance online publication.
Palmer, M. A., & Strelan, P. (2015). Commentary on Dutta and Pullig (2011): Corrective action is more effective than downplaying harm for restoring brand equity. Journal of Business Research, 68, 1271-1272.
2014
Palmer, M. A., Drummond, A., Sauer, J. D., *Zuj, D. V., *Holt, G. A., *Rainsford, M., Hall, L., & Satchell, L. (2014). Contribution to Alonga et al. (2014). Registered replication report: Schooler & Engstler-Schooler (1990). Perspectives on Psychological Science, 9, 556-578.
Drummond, A., & Palmer, M. A. (2014). Heart rate change and attitudes to global warming: A conceptual replication of the visceral fit mechanism. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 38, 10-16.
2013
Palmer, M. A., Brewer, N., Weber, N., & Nagesh, A. (2013). The confidence-accuracy relationship for eyewitness identification decisions: Effects of exposure duration, retention interval, and divided attention. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 19, 55-71.
Drummond, A., Palmer, M. A., & Halsey, R.J. (2013). The attractiveness of regional towns: Inferring quality of life from higher education facilities. The Australian and International Journal of Rural Education, 23, 21-30.
Palmer, M. A., Brewer, N., & Horry, R. (2013). Understanding gender bias in face recognition: Effects of divided attention at encoding. Acta Psychologica, 142, 362-369.
2012
Horry, R., Palmer, M. A., & Brewer, N. (2012). Backloading in the sequential lineup prevents within-lineup criterion shifts that undermine eyewitness identification performance. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 18, 346-360.
Horry, R., Palmer, M. A., *Sexton, M. L., & Brewer, N. (2012). Memory conformity for confidently recognized items: The power of social influence on memory reports. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 48, 783-786.
Palmer, M. A. & Brewer, N. (2012). Sequential lineup presentation promotes less-biased criterion setting but does not improve discriminability. Law and Human Behavior, 36, 247-255.
Palmer, M. A., Brewer, N., & Weber, N. (2012). The information gained from witnesses' responses to an initial "blank" lineup". Law and Human Behavior, 36, 439-447.
2010
Palmer, M. A., Brewer, N., & Weber, N. (2010). Postidentification feedback affects subsequent eyewitness identification performance. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 16, 387-398. - Featured in the APA Monitor on Psychology, In Brief, February 2011 - Raymond S. Nickerson Award for best paper (APA Division 21)
Palmer, M.A., Brewer, N., McKinnon, A., & Weber, N. (2010). Phenomenological reports diagnose accuracy of eyewitness identification decisions. Acta Psychologica, 133, 137-145.
Brewer, N. & Palmer, M.A. (2010). Eyewitness identification tests. Legal and Criminological Psychology, 15, 77-96
Book Chapters
Sauer, J.D., Palmer, M.A., & Brewer, N. (2018, in press). Eyewitness identification. In N. Brewer & A. Douglas (Eds.), Psychological Science and the Law. Guilford.
2012
Horry, R., Palmer, M. A., Brewer, N., & Cutler, B. L. (2012). Comparative legal psychology. In D. S. Clark (Ed.), Comparative law and society. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing.
2011
Palmer, M. A., Horry, R., & Brewer, N. (2011). Court relevant research methods. In K. Sheldon, J. Davies, & K. Howells (Eds.), Research in practice for forensic professionals. Devon, UK: Willan Publishing.
In Press
Kucina, T., Sauer, J.D., Holt, G.A., Brewer, N., & Palmer, M.A. (in press, 2020). Refining the Blank Lineup Procedure: How to Instruct Eyewitnesses. Applied Cognitive Psychology.
In Print
2019
Palmer, M.A., Stefanidis, K., Turner, A., Tranent, P.J., Breen, R., Kucina, T., Brumby, L., Holt, G.A., Fell, J.W., & Sauer, J.D. (2019). Acute physical exercise can influence the accuracy of metacognitive judgments. Scientific Reports, 9, 12412.
Monds, L. A., Kloft, L., Sauer, J. D., Honan, C. A., & Palmer, M. A. (2019). No evidence that alcohol intoxication impairs judgments of learning in face recognition. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 33, 325-333. doi: 10.1002/acp.3534
Rainsford, M., Palmer, M. A., & Sauer, J. D., (2019). The Distinctiveness Effect in the Recognition of Whole Melodies. Music Perception: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 36, 253-272. doi: 10.1525/mp.2019.36.3.253
Sauer, J.D., Palmer, M.A., & Brewer, N. (2019). Pitfalls in using eyewitness confidence to diagnose the accuracy of an individual identification decision. Psychology, Public Policy and Law, 25, 147-165.
Smalarz, L., Kornell, N., Vaughn, K. E., & Palmer, M. A. (2019). Identification Performance from Multiple Lineups: Should Eyewitnesses Who Pick Fillers Be Burned? Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition, 8(2), 221–232. doi.org/10.1016/j.jarmac.2019.03.001
2018
Drummond, A., Hall, L.C., Sauer, J.D., & Palmer, M.A. (2018). Is public awareness of climate change associated with governmental mitigation targets? Climatic Change, 149, 159-171.
2017
Palmer, M. A., Sauer, J. D., Ling, A., & Riza, J. (2017). Caffeine cravings impair memory and metacognition. Memory, 25, 1225-1234.
Zuj D. V., Felmingham K. L., Palmer M. A., Lawrence-Wood E., Van Hooff M., et al. (2017). Neural activity and emotional processing following military deployment: Effects of mild traumatic brain injury and posttraumatic stress disorder. Brain and Cognition, 118, 19-26.
Zuj D. V., Palmer M. A., Gray K., Hsu C. M. K., Nicholson E. L., et al. (2017). Negative appraisals and fear extinction are independently related to PTSD symptoms. Journal of Affective Disorders, 217, 246-251
Zuj, D. V., Palmer, M. A., Mahli, G. S., Bryant, R. A., & Felmingham, K. L. (2017). Endogenous cortisol reactivity moderates the relationship between fear inhibition to safety signals and posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 78, 14-21.
Rainsford, M., Palmer, M. A., & Paine, G. (2017). The MUSOS (MUsic SOftware System) Toolkit: A computer-based, open source application for testing memory for melodies. Behavior Research Methods.
Sauer, J.D., Palmer, M.A., & Brewer, N (2017). Mock-juror evaluations of traditional and ratings-based eyewitness identification evidence. Law & Human Behavior, 41, 375-384.
Palmer, M. A., Sauer, J. D., & Holt, G. A. (2017). Undermining position effects in choices from arrays, with implications for police lineups. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 23, 71-84.
2016
Bantoft, C., Summers, M. J., Tranent, P. J., Palmer, M. A., Cooley, P. D., & Pedersen, S. J. (2016). Effect of standing or walking at a workstation on cognitive function: A randomized counterbalanced trial. Human Factors, 58, 140-149.
Blake, G. A., Ferguson, S. F., Palmer, M. A., & Shiffman, S. (2016). Development and psychometric properties of the smoking restraint questionnaire. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 30, 238-245.
Russell, B. A., Summers, M. J., Tranent, P. J., Palmer, M. A., Cooley, P. D., & Pedersen, S. J. (2016). A randomised control trial of the cognitive effects of working in a seated as opposed to a standing position in office workers. Ergonomics, 59, 737-744.
Drummond, A., Palmer, M. A., & Sauer, J. D. (2016). Enhancing endorsement of scientific inquiry increases support for pro-environment policies. Royal Society Open Science, 3: 160360.
Zuj, D. V., Palmer, M. A., Lommen, M. J. J., & Felmingham, K. L. (2016). The centrality of fear extinction in linking risk factors to PTSD: A narrative review. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 69, 15-35.
Zuj, D. V., Palmer, M. A., Hsu, C-M. K., Nicholson, E. L., Cushing, P. J., Gray, K., E., & Felmingham, K. L. (2016). Impaired fear extinction associated with PTSD increases with hours-since-waking. Depression and Anxiety, 33, 203-210.
2015
Horry, R., Brewer, N., Weber, N., & Palmer, M. A. (2015). The Effects of Allowing a Second Sequential Lineup Lap on Choosing and Probative Value. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law. Advance online publication.
Palmer, M. A., *Button, L., *Barnett, E., & Brewer, N. (2015). Inconsistencies undermine the credibility of confession evidence. Legal and Criminological Psychology. Advance online publication.
*Zuj, D. V., Palmer, M. A., & Kemps, E. (2015). Cigarette cravings impair mock jurors’ recall of trial evidence. Psychology, Crime, and Law. Advance online publication.
*Dicker, M., Frandsen, M., Palmer, M. A., & Ferguson, S. G. (2015). Effectiveness of Coping Strategies at Alleviating Cue-Induced Craving: a Pilot Study. Journal of Smoking Cessation. Advance online publication.
Palmer, M. A., & Strelan, P. (2015). Commentary on Dutta and Pullig (2011): Corrective action is more effective than downplaying harm for restoring brand equity. Journal of Business Research, 68, 1271-1272.
2014
Palmer, M. A., Drummond, A., Sauer, J. D., *Zuj, D. V., *Holt, G. A., *Rainsford, M., Hall, L., & Satchell, L. (2014). Contribution to Alonga et al. (2014). Registered replication report: Schooler & Engstler-Schooler (1990). Perspectives on Psychological Science, 9, 556-578.
Drummond, A., & Palmer, M. A. (2014). Heart rate change and attitudes to global warming: A conceptual replication of the visceral fit mechanism. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 38, 10-16.
2013
Palmer, M. A., Brewer, N., Weber, N., & Nagesh, A. (2013). The confidence-accuracy relationship for eyewitness identification decisions: Effects of exposure duration, retention interval, and divided attention. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 19, 55-71.
Drummond, A., Palmer, M. A., & Halsey, R.J. (2013). The attractiveness of regional towns: Inferring quality of life from higher education facilities. The Australian and International Journal of Rural Education, 23, 21-30.
Palmer, M. A., Brewer, N., & Horry, R. (2013). Understanding gender bias in face recognition: Effects of divided attention at encoding. Acta Psychologica, 142, 362-369.
2012
Horry, R., Palmer, M. A., & Brewer, N. (2012). Backloading in the sequential lineup prevents within-lineup criterion shifts that undermine eyewitness identification performance. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 18, 346-360.
Horry, R., Palmer, M. A., *Sexton, M. L., & Brewer, N. (2012). Memory conformity for confidently recognized items: The power of social influence on memory reports. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 48, 783-786.
Palmer, M. A. & Brewer, N. (2012). Sequential lineup presentation promotes less-biased criterion setting but does not improve discriminability. Law and Human Behavior, 36, 247-255.
Palmer, M. A., Brewer, N., & Weber, N. (2012). The information gained from witnesses' responses to an initial "blank" lineup". Law and Human Behavior, 36, 439-447.
2010
Palmer, M. A., Brewer, N., & Weber, N. (2010). Postidentification feedback affects subsequent eyewitness identification performance. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 16, 387-398. - Featured in the APA Monitor on Psychology, In Brief, February 2011 - Raymond S. Nickerson Award for best paper (APA Division 21)
Palmer, M.A., Brewer, N., McKinnon, A., & Weber, N. (2010). Phenomenological reports diagnose accuracy of eyewitness identification decisions. Acta Psychologica, 133, 137-145.
Brewer, N. & Palmer, M.A. (2010). Eyewitness identification tests. Legal and Criminological Psychology, 15, 77-96
Book Chapters
Sauer, J.D., Palmer, M.A., & Brewer, N. (2018, in press). Eyewitness identification. In N. Brewer & A. Douglas (Eds.), Psychological Science and the Law. Guilford.
2012
Horry, R., Palmer, M. A., Brewer, N., & Cutler, B. L. (2012). Comparative legal psychology. In D. S. Clark (Ed.), Comparative law and society. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing.
2011
Palmer, M. A., Horry, R., & Brewer, N. (2011). Court relevant research methods. In K. Sheldon, J. Davies, & K. Howells (Eds.), Research in practice for forensic professionals. Devon, UK: Willan Publishing.