Rate My Professor Rachel Zajac

Professor Rachel Zajac is a Professor in the Department of Psychology within the Division of Sciences at the University of Otago, where she joined the faculty in 2003 following the completion of her BSc, BA(Hons), PhD, and Postgraduate Diploma in Clinical Psychology in the same department. She teaches PSYC 112 Child Development and PSYC 325 Psychology in Legal Contexts. As Co-Director of the Innocence Project New Zealand, she works on cases involving potential wrongful convictions. Her research examines eyewitness evidence, social influences on memory, and psychological factors influencing the interpretation of forensic evidence. Specific areas include the effects of cross-examination on children's testimony, co-witness misinformation leading to mistaken identifications, and the 'wildcard' technique to improve lineup accuracy for children and older adults. She has secured three Marsden grants as Principal Investigator, one as Associate Investigator, funding from the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology, and the US National Institute of Justice.

Professor Zajac has received numerous awards for her teaching and engagement, including the 2015 Otago Award for Excellence in Teaching and Division of Sciences Senior Teacher of the Year, the 2016 Ako Aotearoa National Tertiary Teaching Excellence Award, the 2017 Otago University Students' Association (OUSA) Premier Lecturer in the Division of Sciences, and the 2018 Inaugural Division of Sciences Award for Professional Engagement. Her key publications include 'Lawyers' strategies for cross-examining complainants of child sexual abuse' (Martschuk et al., 2025, Journal of Criminology), 'The coherence of analogue traumatic and nontraumatic memories over repeated recall' (Taylor et al., 2025, Clinical Psychological Science), 'Hits and misses: Digital contact tracing in a pandemic' (Garry et al., 2024, Perspectives on Psychological Science), and 'Den mørke side af semantisk kontekst' (Jordan et al., 2024, Journal of Applied Research in Memory & Cognition). She advises New Zealand judges, lawyers, and forensic scientists on memory and decision-making in legal investigations, has provided expert evidence in criminal cases in New Zealand, Australia, and the United States, and her research on memory and cross-examination informs police and judicial education programs in the United Kingdom and Australia as well as scientific evidence in the US Supreme Court.