Can reinforcement induce children to falsely incriminate themselves?

Law and Human Behavior

Volumn 31, Issue 2, 2007, Pages 125-139

  Billings, F James ^a   Taylor, Tanya ^a   Burns, James ^a   Corey, Deb L ^a   Garven, Sena ^b   Wood, James M ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT EL PASO   (United States)

^b UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA LINCOLN   (United States)

Author keywords

Children's suggestibility; False confessions; Self incrimination; Verbal reinforcement

Indexed keywords

ARTICLE; CHILD; CHILD BEHAVIOR; FEMALE; GUILT; HUMAN; KINDERGARTEN; MALE; REINFORCEMENT; TASK PERFORMANCE; THEFT;

CHILD; CRIME; FEMALE; GUILT; HUMANS; MALE; REINFORCEMENT (PSYCHOLOGY); REPRESSION; UNITED STATES;

EID: 33947281061     PISSN: 01477307     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1007/s10979-006-9049-5     Document Type: Article

References (38)

1. Bach, A. (February 8, 1999). True crime, false confession. The Nation, 21-23.
2. Butler, E.W., Fukurai, H., Dimitrius, J.-E., & Krooth, R. (2001). Anatomy of the McMartin child molestation case. Lanham, Maryland: University Press of America.
3. Carter, C., Bottoms, B., & Levine, M. (1996). Linguistic and socioemotional influences on the accuracy of children's reports. Law and Human Behavior, 20, 335-358.
4. Ceci, S. J., & Bruck, M. (1995). Jeopardy in the courtroom. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
5. Ceci, S. J., Toglia, M., & Ross, D. (1987). Children's eyewitness memory. New York: Springer-Verlag.
6. Drizin, S. A., & Colgan, B. A. (2004). Tales from the juvenile confession front. A guide to how standard police interrogation tactics can produce coerced and false confessions from juvenile suspects. In G. D. Lassiter (Ed.), Interrogations, confessions, and entrapment (pp. 121627-121684). New York: Kluwer.
7. Eberle, P., & Eberle, S. (1993). The Abuse of Innocence. Buffalo, NY: Prometheus Books.
8. Ettinger, R. H., Crooks, R. L., & Stein, J. (1994). Psychology: Science, Behavior, and Life. Fort Worth: Harcourt Brace.
9. Finnila, K., Mahlberg, N., Santtila, P., Sandnabba, K., & Niemi, P. (2003). Validity of a test of children's suggestibility for predicting responses to two interview situations differing in their degree of suggestiveness. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 85, 32-49.
10. Garven, S., Wood, J. M., & Malpass, R. S. (2000). Allegations of wrongdoing: The effects of reinforcement on children's mundane and fantastic claims. Journal of Applied Psychology, 85, 38-49.
11. Garven, S., Wood, J. M., Malpass, R. S., & Shaw, J. S. (1998). More than suggestion: The effect of interviewing techniques from the McMartin Preschool case. Journal of Applied Psychology, 83, 347-359.
12. Gilboa, D. & Greenbaum, C. W. (1978). Adults' warmth, type of verbal reinforcer, and children's learning. Psychological Reports, 43, 223-226.
13. Goodman, G. S., Bottoms, B. L., Schwartz-Kenney, B. M., & Rudy, L. (1991). Children's testimony about a stressful event: Improving children's reports. Journal of Narrative and Life History, 1, 69-99.
14. Gudjonsson, G. H. (2006). The psychology of interrogations and confessions. In T. Williamson (Ed.), Investigative interviewing: Rights, research, regulation (pp. 123-146). Portland, OR: Willan Publishing.
15. Hilgendorf, E. L., & Irving, M. (1981). A decision-making model of confessions. In M. Lloyd-Bostock (Ed.), Psychology in legal contexts: Applications and limitations (pp. 67-84). London: MacMillan.
16. Inbau, F. E., Reid, J. E., Buckley, J. P., & Jayne, B. C. (2001). Criminal interrogation and confessions (4th ed.). Gaithersburg, MD: Aspen.
17. Kassin, S. M. (1997). The psychology of confession evidence. American Psychologist, 52, 221-233.
18. Kassin, S., & Kiechel, K. (1996). The social psychology of false confessions: Compliance, internalization, and confabulation. Psychological Science, 7, 125-128.
19. Kassin, S. M., & McNall, K. (1991). Police interrogations and confessions. Communicating promises and threats by pragmatic implication. Law and Human Behavior, 15, 233-251.
20. Kotlowitz, A. (February 8, 1999). The unprotected. The New Yorker, 42-53.
21. Leo, R. A. (2004). The third degree and the origins of psychological interrogation in the United States. In G. D. Lassiter (Ed.), Interrogations, confessions, and entrapment (pp. 37-84). New York: Kluwer.
22. Loftus, E. F. (1979). Eyewitness testimony. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
23. Mischel, W., Shoda, Y., & Rodriguez, M. L. (1989). Delay of gratification in children. Science, 244, 933-938.
24. Myers, J. E. B., Saywitz, K. J., & Goodman, G. S. (1996). Psychological research on children as witnesses: Practical implications for forensic interviews and courtroom testimony. Pacific Law Journal, 28, 3-91.
25. Nathan, D., & Snedeker, M. (1995). Satan's silence. New York: Basic Books.
26. Poole, D. A., & Lamb, M. E. (1998). Investigative interviews of children: A guide for helping professionals. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association Press.
27. Redlich, A. D., & Goodman, G. S. (2003). Taking responsibility for an act not committed: The influence of age and suggestibility. Law and Human Behavior, 27, 141-156.
28. Redlich, A. D., Silverman, M., Chen, J., & Steiner, H. (2004). The police interrogation of children and adults. In G. D. Lassiter (Ed.), Interrogations, confessions, and entrapment (pp. 107-125). New York: Kluwer.
29. Saywitz, K., Jaenicke, C., & Camparo, L. (1990). Children's knowledge of legal terminology. Law and Human Behavior, 14, 523-535.
30. Tharp, R. G., & Wetzel, R. J. (1969). Behavior modification in the natural environment. New York: Academic Press.
31. Toglia, M. P., Ross, D. F., Ceci, S. J., & Hembrooke, H. (1992). The suggestibility of children's memory: A social-psychological and cognitive interpretation. In M. L. Howe, C. J. Brainerd, & V. F. Reyna (Eds.), Development of long-term retention (pp. 217-241). New York: Springer-Verlag.
32. Warren, A. R., & McGough, L. S. (1996). Research on children's suggestibility. Implications for the investigative interview. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 23, 269-303.
33. Wells, G. L., & Bradfield, A. L. (1998). "Good, you identified the suspect": Feedback to eyewitnesses distorts their reports of the witnessing experience. Journal of Applied Psychology, 83, 360-376.
34. Wells, G. L., & Bradfield, A. L. (1999). Distortions in eyewitnesses' recollections: Can the postidentification-feedback effect be moderated? Psychological Science, 10, 138-144.
35. Whitehurst, G. J. (1969). Discrimination learning as a function of reinforcement condition, complexity, and chronological age. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 7, 314-325.
36. Wiseman, R., Jeffreys, C., Smith, M., & Nyman, A. (March/April, 1999). The psychology of the séance: From experiment to drama. Skeptical Inquirer, 30-32.
37. Wood, J. M., & Garven, S. (2000). How sexual abuse interviews go astray: Implications for prosecutors, police, and child protection services. Child Maltreatment, 5, 109-118.
38. Zigler, E., & Kanzer, P. (1962). The effectiveness of two classes of verbal reinforcers on the performance of middle-and lower-class children. Journal of Personality, 30, 157-163.