RESEARCH
Selected publications from the P.L.E.A. Lab and its collaborators
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Wilford, M. M., Wells, G. L., & Frazier, A. (2021). Plea-bargaining law: The impact of innocence, trial penalty, and conviction probability on plea outcomes. American Journal of Criminal Justice, 46(3), 554-575. https://www.doi.org/10.1007/s12103-020-09564-y
APPLIED COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY
Wilford, M. M., Kurpad, N., Platt, M.* & Weinstein-Jones, Y. (2020). Lecturer fluency can impact students' judgments of learning and actual learning performance. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 34(6), 1444-1456. https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.3724
CRIMINAL JUSTICE & BEHAVIOR
Henderson, K. S., Sutherland, K. T., Wilford, M. M. (2023). “Reject the offer”: The asymmetric impact of defense attorneys’ plea recommendations. https://doi.org/10.1177/00938548231172515
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL CRIMINOLOGY
DiFava, R. J., Bettens, T., Wilford, M. M., & Redlich, A. D. (2024). Confession evidence results in more true and false guilty pleas than eyewitness evidence. Journal of Experimental Criminology, 20, 1253-1267. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11292-023-09577-7
Yan, S., Wilford, M. M., & Ferreira, P. A. (2025). The effect of probation length and detailed disclosure on true and false guilty pleas. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11292-022-09543-9
Wilford, M. M., Zimmerman, D., Yan, S., & Sutherland, K. T. (2021). Innocence in the shadow of COVID-19: Plea decision making during a pandemic. https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.3724
LAW & HUMAN BEHAVIOR
Smith, A. M., Wilford, M. M., Wells, G. L., & Quigley-McBride, A. (2019). Mistaken eyewitness identification rates increase when either witnessing or testing conditions get worse. https://doi.org/10.1037/lhb0000334
Wilford, M. M., Frazier, A., Lowe, A., Newsome, P., & Strong, H. V. (2025). Quick and dirty: An evaluation of plea colloquy validity in the virtual courtroom. Law and Human Behavior, 49(3), 311–322. https://doi.org/10.1037/lhb0000619
Wilford, M. M., Sutherland, K. T., Gonzales, J. E., & Rabinovich, M. (2021). Guilt status influences plea outcomes beyond the shadow-of-the-trial in an interactive simulation of legal procedures. Law and Human Behavior, 45(4), 271-286. https://doi.org/10.1037/lhb0000450
PSYCHOLOGY, CRIME, & LAW
Redlich, A. D., Wilford, M. M., DiPano, M.,& Berger, N. (in press). Commonalities in false guilty plea cases. https://doi.org/10.1080/1068316X.2023.2213381
Wilford, M. M., & Bornstein, B. H. (2023). The disappearing trial: How social scientists can help save the jury from extinction. Psychology, Crime and Law, 29(1), 1-24. https://doi.org/10.1080/1068316X.2021.1984482
Wilford, M. M., Van Horn, M. C., Penrod, S. D., & Greathouse, S. M. (2018). Not separate but equal? The impact of multiple-defendant trials on juror decision-making. https://www.doi.org/10.1080/1068316X.2017.1351969
PSYCHOLOGY, PUBLIC POLICY, & LAW
Wilford, M. M., & Redlich, A. D. (2018). Deciphering the guilty plea: Where research can inform policy. https://doi.org/10.1037/law0000169
Wilford, M. M., & Wells, G. L. (2018). Bluffed by the dealer: Distinguishing false pleas from false confessions. https://doi.org/10.1037/law0000165
THE WRONGFUL CONVICTION LAW REVIEW
Wilford, M. M., Gonzales, J. E., & Khairalla, A. (accepted). When pleas precede evidence: Using Bayesian analyses to establish the importance of a reasonable standard for evidence prior to plea offers.
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STUDENT CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS
AP-LS
Keely Allain
Allain, K. M., Kruisselbring, E., Wilford, M. M. Fitzgerald, R. J., & Anderson, P. (2026). From feeds to IDs: The contaminating effect of social media compared to mugbooks. Presented as a paper presentation at the annual American Psychology-Law Society conference, Reno, Nevada.
2024 AP-LS Student Travel Award
Patricia Ferreira
Ferreira, P. A., Wilford, M. M., & Yan, S. (2026). Mandatory guilty pleas? The effect of reliev from mandatory minimum sentences on guilty pleas. Presented as a paper presentation at the annual American Psychology-Law Society conference, Reno, Nevada.
Yan, S., Ferreira, P. A., & Wilford, M. M. (2022). Terms and conditions apply: The effect of probation details and duration on true and galse guilty pleas. In M. M. Wilford (Chair), Using an interactive simulation of legal procedures to study plea decision-making. Presented as a paper presentation at the annual American Psychology-Law Society conference, Denver, Colorado.
Mattie Sasek
Sasek, M., Allain, K. M., Perry, A. D., Wilford, M. M., & Wang, Y. (2026). A survey of your peers: Assessing the diversity of American Psychology-Law Society conference presenters. Presented as a poster presentation at the annual American Psychology-Law Society conference, Reno, Nevada.
MPA
Sophia Stineman
Stineman, S. & Allain, K. M. (2026). Deciding in the dark: The psychological impact of ambiguous evidence on plea decisions. Presented as a poster presentation at the annual Midwestern Psychological Association, Chicago, IL.