La gravità del crimine ha un'impatto sulla rilevazione della memoria? Un esperimento di simulazione di reato che combina l'autobiographical Implicit Association Test (aIAT) con la tecnica di eye-tracking.

The identification of a memory trace related to a specific event is a crucial issue in forensic contexts. In the last years, the research on memory detection techniques has led to the identification of several neurophysiological and behavioral indices. Among the behavioral approaches, those based on reaction-times (RTs) have been extensively studied and the autobiographical Implicit Association Test (aIAT) is considered one of the most reliable techniques for forensic applications, despite some limitations. For instance, an open question is whether the use of neuroscientific techniques in forensic contexts can be differentially impacted by the type and the degree of a crime. This is a critical issue, especially in relation to crimes associated with sexual harassment. The aim of this study is to examine whether and how the performance at the aIAT can be affected by the degree of a crime (i.e., soft vs. hard) and whether the combination of aIAT and eye-tracking can outperform the aIAT alone in identifying the true memory. We expect behavioral performance to be modulated by the severity of the crime, with soft crimes being detected less accurately by focusing on the aIAT alone. Nevertheless, we expect accuracy to be higher when the behavioral performance is analyzed together with its oculomotor correlates.