Evidence in court can be dramatically distorted by cognitive misinterpretation of observations (e.g., Sharps, 2022) and by beliefs, on the part of witnesses, in deliberately created falsehoods. But what happens when these two factors combine?

We frequently learn a great deal about the psychological processes involved in the criminal justice system from outside the forensic box, from examination of events in the world outside that system. In this instance, relevant information comes from a surprising source: myths about lemmings, rodents of the far north.

Lemmings are little furry mammals that sometimes swarm in great numbers in Arctic regions. They are apparently incredibly courageous, sometimes charging at much larger creatures in a rodent equivalent of the question, “Do you feel lucky, punk?” To which, a few seconds later, the Arctic fox at whom they charged responds with the foxy equivalent of “Pretty much, yeah,” as it picks lemming fur out of its teeth. They're brave, these lemmings, but, apparently, not very bright.

Many people believe that these rodents are so brave that, when they overpopulate, they migrate in vast numbers to the sea and suicidally leap in, freeing the tundra for the next generation of lemmings. This isn’t true, but it's astonishing how many people believe it.

An even better lemming myth: The brave little furballs can become so enraged that they actually explode.

It turns out that we can explain both myths. Lemmings sometimes really do move in great numbers, dispersing or migrating in search of better resources. The mass movements are frequently funneled along specific........

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