Beth Parsons

Beth’s main research interests relate to the investigative interviewing of witnesses with a mental health problem with a particular focus on how such witnesses perform at interview, on identification line-ups, and at cross-examination. She is also interested in the perceptions of mental health from the perspective of legal professionals working at different stages of the criminal justice process and mock jurors. Her research draws on various methodologies ranging from mock juror studies and experimental studies to online surveys.

Dr Beth Parsons studied Psychology at the University of Southampton, graduating in 2012. Following this, she completed her MSc in Research Methods and Statistics at Southampton and went on to work as a Research Assistant within the Faculty of Health Sciences at Southampton General Hospital. In 2019, she completed her PhD under the supervision of Dr Rachel Wilcock and Dr Wendy Kneller at the University of Winchester, focusing on the effects of mental health on eyewitness memory and identification.

While completing her PhD, Beth taught on various undergraduate modules and held the position of student representative for the International Investigative Interviewing Research Group (iIIRG). She now holds the position of Deputy Web Editor and Communications Officer for the iIIRG. Beth has published research within the areas of ear and eyewitness memory. In January 2020, she was appointed as a Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Winchester.  

Higher Education Teaching Qualification: Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA).

01962 675147

Stevenage, S. V., Neil, G. J., Parsons, B., & Humphreys, A. (2018). A sound effect: Exploration of the distinctiveness advantage in voice recognition. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 32, 526-536.

Stevenage, S. V., Neil, G. J., Barlow, J., Dyson, A., Eaton-Brown, C., & Parsons, B. (2013). The effect of distraction on face and voice recognition. Psychological Research, 77, 167-175.

Parsons, B., Wilcock, R., & Kneller, W. (2021). Criminal justice practitioners’ perceptions of eyewitnesses with anxiety and depression. Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology. 

Parsons, B., Wilcock, R., & Kneller, W. (in prep). Accuracy of evidence provided by eyewitnesses with sub-clinical anxiety and depression, and sub-clinical anxiety.

Parsons, B., Wilcock, R., & Kneller, W. (in prep). Cross-examination performance of eyewitnesses with sub-clinical anxiety and depression, and sub-clinical anxiety.

Parsons, B., Wilcock, R., & Kneller, W. (in prep). Mock jurors’ perceptions of eyewitnesses with sub-clinical anxiety and depression, and sub-clinical anxiety.

Deputy Web Editor and Communications Officer for the iIIRG and member of the Executive Committee.

Member of the Centre for Forensic and Investigative Psychology.

Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.