A Personal Interview With A Forensic Psychologist

On May 17, Miss Zegas's AP Psychology classes engaged in a Skype conference with Dr. Shari Berkowitz at Roosevelt University, http://sites.roosevelt.edu/sberkowitz/.  The conference was sparked by an overwhelming interest in memory and attention by the AP Psychology students.



Dr. Berkowitz is a forensic psychologist who specializes in memory, the creation of false memories, and was a former research assistant of Dr. Elizabeth Loftus, a world-renowned expert in eyewitness testimony.  Dr. Berkowitz shared information about her background as well as research on planting false memories and investigations of the criminal justice system with the AP Psychology students and then began a Q&A session.

At the end of the session, Dr. Berkowitz shared more about her job as a forensic psychologist outside of teaching and gave the class some tips to prepare for college.  After the conference ended, a thank you e-mail was sent to Dr. Berkowitz who replied "Your students asked great questions, and I was impressed with their ability to think creatively and critically about the research." On May 18, all AP Psychology students wrote Dr. Berkowitz personalized thank you notes for her willingness to Skype with them and teach them more about rich false memories.