Christina O. Perez
Christina O. Perez

Assistant Professor
School of Business & Social Sciences
christina.perez@colby-sawyer.edu
603.526.3638

Christina O. Perez

Professor Perez joined the faculty in 2021. She holds a Ph.D. and M.A. in Experimental Psychology from the University of Toledo and a B.A. in Psychology from Florida International University. Her training is in the areas of psychology and the law, applied memory and cognition, and quantitative methods in psychology.

Professor Perez studies children’s eyewitness memory. Specifically, she examines how children’s language development impacts their ability to provide detailed and accurate reports about their experiences. The goal of her research is to help develop and advance empirically-supported methods of conducting forensic interviews with children. In 2019, she travelled to Bonn, Germany with colleagues to present a 2-day workshop on child witnesses to practitioners at the University of Bonn. Professor Perez has been successful in publishing her work, presenting at national and international conferences, and collaborating with researchers across the U.S. and Europe. She actively welcomes students to work as research assistants on her research projects. Previous research assistants have had the opportunity to help design studies, collect data, apply for funding, code and analyze data, and co-author conference presentations.

As a first-generation student herself, Professor Perez is passionate about teaching and mentoring college students. Prior to joining Colby-Sawyer College, she was a co-instructor and instructor of multiple undergraduate and graduate-level courses at the University of Toledo covering topics such as principles of psychology, developmental psychology, psychology and the law, and statistical methods in psychology. She also mentored over 20 students from various majors – many of whom pursued graduate degrees at colleges and universities in the U.S. and abroad. Professor Perez’s primary goals as an educator are to create a supportive educational environment for students of all backgrounds, design courses to ensure students can apply their knowledge beyond the classroom, and to teach students to think critically as scientists.

Areas of Expertise

  • Psychology and law
  • Children’s eyewitness memory and suggestibility
  • Language and memory development
  • Bilingualism
  • Research methods and statistics

Publications

  • Perez, C.O., London, K., & Otgaar, H. (2022). A review of the differential contributions of language abilities to children’s eyewitness memory and suggestibility. Developmental Review. doi:10.1016/j.dr.2021.101009
  • Miller, Q.C., Todorovic, K., Perez, C.O., Capparelli, A.L., & London, K. (2021). Laypeople’s knowledge and misconceptions of sex trafficking influenced by training format. Journal of Human Trafficking. doi:10.1080/23322705.2020.1865767
  • London, K., Kulkofsky, S., & Perez, C.O. (2021). Factors affecting the reliability of children’s forensic reports: An updated review. In J. Rummel (Ed.). Current Issues in Memory (pp. 272-296). Abingdon, United Kingdom: Routledge.
  • Perez, C.O., & Miller, Q.C. (2021). Co-teaching in 2020: What worked and what didn’t. Invited article for the Teaching in Psychology & Law column in the American Psychology-Law Society’s monthly newsletter.

Selected Presentations

*denotes undergraduate co-author

  • Perez, C.O., London, K., & Otgaar, H. (2022, March). Differential contributions of language abilities to children’s eyewitness memory and suggestibility. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychology-Law Society, Denver, CO.
  • Perez, C.O., London, K., & Bruck, M. (2022, March). Social and cognitive factors driving children’s event memory and suggestibility. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychology-Law Society, Denver, CO.
  • Miller, Q. C., Perez, C. O., & London, K. (2021, September). Retrospective reports of commercial sexual exploitation of children. Paper presented at the International Human Trafficking and Social Justice Conference, Toledo, OH.
  • *Keune, G. F. J.,* Gribble, M. E., Perez, C. O., Todorovic, K., & London, K. (2021, July). Handedness predicts children’s responses to “Do you remember…” questions. Poster presented at the virtual meeting of Society for Applied Research in Memory and Cognition.
  • *Gribble, M. E.,* Leiter, J.,* Keune, G. F. J., Todorovic, K., Perez, C. O., & London, K. (2021, July). The effect of “Do you remember…” prefaces on children’s memory accuracy. Poster presented at the virtual meeting of Society for Applied Research in Memory and Cognition.
  • *Keune, G. F. J., Todorovic, K., Perez, C. O., & London, K. (2021, April). Ground rule performance predicts children’s responses to “Do you remember…” questions. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the Midwestern Psychological Association, Chicago, IL.
  • Perez, C. O ., *Warniment, K., *Barclay, A., Ceci, S. J., & London, K. (2021, April). Age trends in children’s memory for semantically-related word lists. Paper presented at the biennial meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, conducted virtually.
  • Perez, C.O., Todorovic, K., & London, K. (2021, April). The impact of “Do you remember...” questions on the accuracy of children’s eyewitness memory. Paper presented at the biennial meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, conducted virtually.
  • Perez, C. O., Todorovic, K., *Leiter, J., *Barclay, A., & London, K. (2020, March). Children’s Unelaborated Yes/No Responses in Response to Indirect Speech Acts. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychology-Law Society, New Orleans, LA.
  • *Cortes, N., *Bhatt, S., *Martinez, H., Perez, C.O., London, K., & Ceci, S.J. (2019, December). Children’s memory for semantically-related word lists. Poster presented at the University of Toledo’s 2019 Undergraduate Research Exhibition, Toledo, OH.
  • Perez, C., London, K. (2019, April). Children’s eyewitness testimony: The relationship between language skills and inhibitory control. Data blitz presented at the annual Department of Psychology Research Showcase, Toledo, Ohio.
  • Perez, C., Capparelli, A.L., Miller, Q.C., London, K., Williamson, C. (2019, April). Human trafficking survivors’ interactions with police and perceptions of law enforcement. Poster presented at the 26th Annual Symposium on Research in Psychiatry, Psychology and Behavioral Science, University of Toledo, Toledo, Ohio.
  • *Leiter, J., Perez, C., London, K. (2019, April). Children’s language in the classroom as a predictor of testimonial competency. Poster presented at the annual Department of Psychology Research Showcase, University of Toledo, Toledo, Ohio.
  • Miller, Q., Capparelli, A.L., Perez, C., London, K. (2018, March). Prosecution and defense expert testimony on child maltreatment disclosure patterns: Effects on Mock Juror’s Decisions and Beliefs. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychology-Law Society, Memphis, Tennessee.
  • Perez, C., London, K., Lytle, N., Bruck, M. (2017, March). Cognitive and social predictors of memory and suggestibility among school-aged children. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychology-Law Society, Seattle, Washington.
  • Perez, C., Mugno, A., Alvarez, F., Malloy, L. (2016, March). The effects of age and maternal supportiveness on children’s (non)-disclosure strategies. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychology-Law Society, Atlanta, Georgia.

Education

  • Ph.D., University of Toledo
  • M.A., University of Toledo
  • B.A., Florida International University