RT Article
T1 Perceptions of suspect statements: a comparison of exposed lies and confessions
JF Psychology, crime & law
VO 24
IS 2
SP 156
OP 176
A1 Brimbal, Laure
A1 Jones, Angela M.
LA English
YR 2018
UL https://krimdok.uni-tuebingen.de/Record/1736073044
AB Confrontational interrogation techniques seek to produce a confession, while investigative interviews focus on information gathering and/or catching suspects in lies. Confessions obtained during interrogations are potent for securing a defendant’s conviction. However, the goal of investigative interviews is not to produce a confession, yet it is unknown if their outcome (e.g. exposed lies) is as effective in court as that of an interrogation (i.e. a confession). In two studies, mock jurors read case summaries wherein a defendant was accused of murder and terrorist activities. In both cases, the statement a defendant made during a police interview was manipulated: The defendant either lied or not and either confessed or not. Participants then rendered a verdict and were asked about the probative value of several pieces of supporting evidence. Results were similar across both studies with more convictions when the defendant lied, confessed, or did both relative to when the defendant produced a statement without lies and without a confession. Furthermore, we found that perceptions of supporting evidence mediated the effect of exposed lies on culpability, but this was not the case for confessions. These findings illustrate the positive qualities of presenting exposed lies in court, diminishing the need for a confession.
K1 Investigative interview
K1 Confessions
K1 Interrogation
K1 Juror decision making
K1 Lies
DO 10.1080/1068316X.2017.1390111