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Problem 11. Why do people falsely confess?
False Confession (Definition): The literature on wrongful convictions shows that there are several ways
to determine whether a confession is false. Confessions may be deemed false when:
1. It is later discovered that no crime was committed
2. Additional evidence shows, it was physically impossible for the confessor to have committed
the crime
3. The real perpetrator, having no connection to the defendant, is apprehended and linked to the
crime
4. Scientific evidence affirmatively establishes the confessor’s innocence
Types of False Confessions
Type Description Reasons
Voluntary An innocent person claims - a pathological desire for notoriety
False responsibility for a crime (s)he - a conscious or unconscious need for self-
Confessions did not commit without punishment to expiate feelings of guilt over
prompting or pressure from prior transgressions
the police. - desire to protect the actual perpetrator
(Coerced-) A suspect is induced through - escape a stressful situation
Compliant interrogation to confess to a - avoid punishment (suspect is told that there
False crime s(he) did not commit. is incontrovertible evidence of their
Confessions involvement)
- gain a promised or implied reward.
In this case, the suspect knows that he or she is
innocent but bows to social pressure, often coming
to believe that the short-term benefits of confession
relative to denial outweigh the long-term costs.
(Coerced-) Innocent but malleable - people develop such a profound distrust of
Internalized suspects, capitulate in their their own memory that they become
False behavior but also to believe vulnerable to influence from external
Confessions that they may have committed sources.
the crime in question, - an inability to distinguish fact from fantasy
sometimes confabulating false due to a breakdown in reality monitoring
memories in the process.
Psychological perspectives (reasoning)
- Maximize well-being in a current situation
1
, People make choices that they think will maximize their well-being given the constraints they face, making
the best of the situation they are in
- Immediate outcomes are preferred over delayed ones
People tend to be impulsive in their orientation, preferring outcomes that are immediate rather than
delayed, with delayed outcomes depreciating over time in their subjective value
- Vulnerable to influence
Individuals are highly vulnerable to influence from change agents who seek their compliance
Narchet, F. M., Meissner, C. A., & Russano, M. B. (2011). Modeling the influence of investigator bias on the elicitation of
true and false confessions. Law and Human Behavior
Personal characteristics and manipulative interrogation techniques make people prone to false confession.
Investigator bias leads to the increased use of minimization tactics and thereby increases the likelihood of false confessions by
innocent participants. Investigative biases may contribute to the false confession phenomenon through the application of
highly coercive and aggressive interrogative methods.
Psychologically based interrogation techniques are believed to encourage confessions largely as a result of social influence
processes that have been shown to produce powerful effects in psychological studies of conformity, obedience to authority,
and compliance to requests.
2. What predisposes someone to give a false confession? (dispositional
factors=individual characteristics that influence behavior and actions in a
person)
Dispositional Factors
1). Personality and psychopathology: over represented in cases
ADHD: attention deficit hyperactivity disorder->inattention, hyperactivity, impusilvity, often
affects IQ scores
Antisocial traits: people with antisocial PD or traits are prone to lie for short-term
instrumental gain, and are less concerned about the consequences of their behaviour
Mental illnesses: often accompanied by faulty reality monitoring, distorted perception,
impaired judgment, anxiety, mood disturbance, poor self-control, and feelings of guilt
2
, Psychological vulnerability
-Low self-esteem
-High suggestibility
-Compliance
2). Adolescence and immaturity: juveniles are known for suggestibility, heightened obedience to
authority, and immature decision-making abilities
3). Cognitive and intellectual disability
Low IQ: of 70 or below
Memory problems
4). Innocence: falsely accused people (a) believe that truth and justice prevail, (b) fail to
realize their suspects not witnesses, (c) cooperate fully, waive their rights to silence/ a lawyer
and speak freely
Illusion of transparency: tendency to believe that one’s truth thoughts are
transparent to others
Situational Factors
1). Minimization: underplay the seriousness of the crime and give false sense of security by
offering sympathy, moral justification for why he or she might have committed the crime
Cheating paradigm: psychologically based interrogation techniques influence the
likelihood of true and false confessions. Guilty and innocent participants are being
accused of intentionally breaking an experimental rule, or ‘cheating’ and are later
offered leniency or a deal
2). Maximization: scare tactics, confrontation with guilt, intimidation, increase seriousness,
exaggerate, fabricated evidence
Presentation of false evidence: presenting supposedly incontrovertible evidence of
guilt, even when such evidence does not exist (eyewitness identification, DNA)
3). Physical custody and isolation
Food and sleep deprivation
4). Investigator bias: belief of guilt leads to the application of highly coercive and aggressive
interrogative methods
Gudjonsson, G. H. (2002). Unreliable confessions and miscarriages of justice in Britain. International Journal of Police
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