Confession evidence: Commonsense myths and misconceptions

Criminal Justice and Behavior

Volumn 35, Issue 10, 2008, Pages 1309-1322

  Kassin, Saul M ^a  

^a JOHN JAY COLLEGE OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE   (United States)

Author keywords

Confessions; Lie detection; Police interrogation; Wrongful conviction

Indexed keywords

EID: 51049109439     PISSN: 00938548     EISSN: 15523594     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1177/0093854808321557     Document Type: Article

References (93)

1. Anderson, C.A., Lepper, M.R., & Ross, L. (1980). Perseverance of social theories: The role of explanation in the persistence of discredited information. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 39, 1037-1049.
2. Arizona v. Fulminante, 111 S. Ct. 1246 (1991).
3. Asch, S. (1956). Studies of independence and conformity: A minority of one against a unanimous majority. Psychological Monographs, 70, 416.
4. Asch, S., & Zukier, H. (1984). Thinking about persons. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 46, 1230-1240.
5. Ask, K., & Granhag, P.A. (2007). Motivational bias in criminal investigators' judgments of witness reliability. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 37, 561-591.
6. Baldwin, J. (1993). Police interviewing techniques: Establishing truth or proof ? British Journal of Criminology, 33, 325-352.
7. Bond, C.F., & DePaulo, B.M. (2006). Accuracy of deception judgments. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 10, 214-234.
8. Brown, W.A. (1998, January). The placebo effect. Scientific American, 90-95.
9. Clymer, S.D. (2002). Are police free to disregard Miranda ? Yale Law Journal, 112, 447-552.
10. Connery, D. S. (Ed.). (1996). Convicting the innocent. Cambridge, MA: Brookline.
11. Crocker, J., Voelkl, K., Testa, M., & Major, B. (1991). Social stigma: The affective consequences of attributional ambiguity. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 60, 218-228.
12. Culombe v. Connecticut, 367 U.S. 568 (1961).
13. Darley, J.M., & Gross, P.H. (1983). A hypothesis-confirming bias in labeling effects. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 44, 20-33.
14. DePaulo, B.M., Lindsay, J.J., Malone, B.E., Muhlenbruck, L., Charlton, K., & Cooper, H. (2003). Cues to deception. Psychological Bulletin, 129, 74-112.
15. Dickerson v. United States, 120 S. Ct. 2326 (2000).
16. Drizin, S.A., & Leo, R.A. (2004). The problem of false confessions in the post-DNA world. North Carolina Law Review, 82, 891-1007.
17. Dror, I.E., & Charlton, D. (2006). Why experts make errors. Journal of Forensic Identification, 56, 600-616.
18. Dror, I.E., Peron, A., Hind, S., & Charlton, D. (2005). When emotions get the better of us: The effect of contextual top-down processing on matching fingerprints. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 19, 799-809.
19. Elaad, R. (2003). Effects of feedback on the overestimated capacity to detect lies and the underestimated ability to tell lies. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 17, 349-363.
20. Findley, K.A., & Scott, M.S. (2006). The multiple dimensions of tunnel vision in criminal cases. Wisconsin Law Review, 2, 291-397.
21. Frazier v. Cupp, 394 U.S. 731 (1969).
22. Garrido, E., Masip, J., & Herrero, C. (2004). Police officers' credibility judgments: Accuracy and estimated ability. International Journal of Psychology, 39, 254-275.
23. Gilbert, D.T., & Malone, P.S. (1995). The correspondence bias. Psychological Bulletin, 117, 21-38.
24. Grano, J.D. (1993). Confessions, truth, and the law. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
25. Gross, S.R., Jacoby, K., Matheson, D.J., Montgomery, N., & Patel, S. (2005). Exonerations in the United States, 1989 through 2003. Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, 95, 523-553.
26. Gudjonsson, G.H. (1992). The psychology of interrogations, confessions, and testimony. London: Wiley.
27. Gudjonsson, G.H. (2003). The science of interrogations and confessions: A handbook. Chichester, UK: Wiley.
28. Gudjonsson, G.H., & Sigurdsson, J.F. (1999). The Gudjonsson Confession Questionnaire-Revised (GCQ-R): Factor structure and its relationship with personality. Personality and Individual Differences, 27, 953-968.
29. Hartwig, M., Granhag, P.A., Strmwall, L.A., & Kronkvist, O. (2006). Strategic use of evidence during police interviews: When training to detect deception works. Law and Human Behavior, 30, 603-619.
30. Hartwig, M., Granhag, P.A., Strmwall, L., & Vrij, A. (2005). Detecting deception via strategic closure of evidence. Law and Human Behavior, 29, 469-484.
31. Hasel, L.E., & Kassin, S.M. (in press). Can I change my identification? How confessions corrupt eyewitness identifications. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Psychology-Law Society, Jacksonville, FL.
32. Hirsch, A. (2007). Confessions and harmless error: A new argument for an old approach. Berkeley Journal of Criminal Law, 12, 1-28.
33. Home Office. (1985). Police and Criminal Evidence Act of 1984. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office.
34. Horselenberg, R., Merckelbach, H., & Josephs, S. (2003). Individual differences and false confessions: A conceptual replication of Kassin and Kiechel (1996). Psychology, Crime, and Law, 9, 1-18.
35. Horvath, F., Jayne, B., & Buckley, J. (1994). Differentiation of truthful and deceptive criminal suspects in behavior analysis interviews. Journal of Forensic Sciences, 39, 793-807.
36. Inbau, F.E., Reid, J.E., Buckley, J.P., & Jayne, B.C. (2001). Criminal interrogation and confessions (4 th ed.). Gaithersberg, MD: Aspen.
37. Jones, E.E. (1990). Interpersonal perception. New York: Freeman.
38. Junkin, T. (2004). Bloodsworth: The true story of the first death row inmate exonerated by DNA. New York: Algonquin Books.
39. Kamisar, Y. (1995). On the "fruits" of Miranda violations, coerced confessions and compelled testimony. Michigan Law Review, 93, 929-1010.
40. Kamisar, Y., LaFave, W.R., Israel, J.H., & King, N.J. (2003). Modern criminal procedure (10 th ed.). St. Paul, MN: West.
41. Kassin, S.M. (1997). The psychology of confession evidence. American Psychologist, 52, 221-233.
42. Kassin, S.M. (2005). On the psychology of confessions: Does innocence put innocents at risk ? American Psychologist, 60, 215-228.
43. Kassin, S.M. (2007). Internalized false confessions. In M. Toglia, J. Read, D. Ross, & R. Lindsay (Eds.), Handbook of eyewitness psychology: Vol. 1, Memory for events (pp. 175-192). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
44. Kassin, S.M. (2008). False confessions: Causes, consequences, and implications for reform. Current Directions in Psychological Science.
45. Kassin, S.M., & Fong, C.T. (1999). " I'm innocent!" Effects of training on judgments of truth and deception in the interrogation room. Law and Human Behavior, 23, 499-516.
46. Kassin, S.M., & Gudjonsson, G.H. (2004). The psychology of confession evidence: A review of the literature and issues. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 5, 35-69.
47. Kassin, S.M., & Kiechel, K.L. (1996). The social psychology of false confessions: Compliance, internalization, and confabulation. Psychological Science, 7, 125-128.
48. Kassin, S.M., Leo, R.A., Meissner, C.A., Richman, K.D., Colwell, L.H., Leach, A.-M., et al. (2007). Police interviewing and interrogation: A self-report survey of police practices and beliefs. Law and Human Behavior, 31, 381-400.
49. Kassin, S.M., & McNall, K. (1991). Police interrogations and confessions: Communicating promises and threats by pragmatic implication. Law and Human Behavior, 15, 233-251.
50. Kassin, S.M., Meissner, C.A., & Norwick, R.J. (2005). " I'd know a false confession if saw one": A comparative study of college students and police investigators. Law and Human Behavior, 29, 211-227.
51. Kassin, S.M., & Neumann, K. (1997). On the power of confession evidence: An experimental test of the "fundamental difference" hypothesis. Law and Human Behavior, 21, 469-484.
52. Kassin, S.M., & Norwick, R.J. (2004). Why suspects waive their Miranda rights: The power of innocence. Law and Human Behavior, 28, 211-221.
53. Kassin, S.M., & Sukel, H. (1997). Coerced confessions and the jury: An experimental test of the "harmless error" rule. Law and Human Behavior, 21, 27-46.
54. Kassin, S.M., & Wrightsman, L.S. (1980). Prior confessions and mock juror verdicts. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 10, 133-146.
55. Kassin, S.M., & Wrightsman, L.S. (1985). Confession evidence. In S. Kassin & L. Wrightsman (Eds.), The psychology of evidence and trial procedure (pp. 67-94). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
56. Lassiter, G. D. (Ed.). (2004). Interrogations, confessions, and entrapment. New York: Kluwer Academic.
57. Leach, A.-M., Talwar, V., Lee, K., Bala, N., & Lindsay, R.C.L. (2004). " Intuitive" lie detection and children's deception by law enforcement officials and university students. Law and Human Behavior, 28, 661-685.
58. Leo, R.A. (1996 a). The impact of Miranda revisited. Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, 86, 621-692.
59. Leo, R.A. (1996 b). Inside the interrogation room. Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, 86, 266-303.
60. Leo, R.A. (2004). The third degree. In G. D. Lassiter (Ed.), Interrogations, confessions, and entrapment (pp. 37-84). New York: Kluwer Academic.
61. Leo, R.A., & Ofshe, R.J. (1998). The consequences of false confessions: Deprivations of liberty and miscarriages of justice in the age of psychological interrogation. Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, 88, 429-496.
62. Leo, R.A., & White, W.S. (1999). Adapting to Miranda: Modern interrogators' strategies for dealing with the obstacles posed by Miranda. Minnesota Law Review, 84, 397-472.
63. Loftus, E.F. (1997, September). Creating false memories. Scientific American, 277, 70-75.
64. Loftus, E.F. (2004). Memories of things unseen. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 13, 145-147.
65. McCormick, C.T. (1972). Handbook of the law of evidence (2 nd ed.). St. Paul, MN: West.
66. Meissner, C.A., & Kassin, S.M. (2002). " He's guilty!": Investigator bias in judgments of truth and deception. Law and Human Behavior, 26, 469-480.
67. Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 336 (1966).
68. Missouri v. Seibert, 542 U.S. (2004).
69. Moston, S., Stephenson, G.M., & Williamson, T.M. (1992). The effects of case characteristics on suspect behaviour during questioning. British Journal of Criminology, 32, 23-40.
70. Mueller, C.B., & Kirkpatrick, L.C. (1995). Modern evidence: Doctrine and practice. Boston: Little, Brown.
71. National Research Council, Committee to Review the Scientific Evidence on the Polygraph, Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education. (2003). The polygraph and lie detection. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
72. Nickerson, R.S. (1998). Confirmation bias: A ubiquitous phenomenon in many guises. Review of General Psychology, 2, 75-220.
73. Oberlander, L.B., & Goldstein, N.E. (2001). A review and update on the practice of evaluating Miranda comprehension. Behavioral Sciences and the Law, 19, 453-471.
74. Ogletree, C.J. (1991). Arizona v. Fulminante: The harm of applying harmless error to coerced confessions. Harvard Law Review, 105, 152-175.
75. Ray, J.L., & Kassin, S.M. (2007, March). Where there's smoke there must be fire: How weak demeanor testimony boosts the impact of a flawed confession on juries. Poster presented at "Off the Witness Stand, Using Psychology in the Practice of Justice," John Jay College of Criminal Justice, New York City.
76. 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.
77. Rosenthal, R., & Jacobson, L. (1968). Pygmalion in the classroom: Teacher expectation and pupils' intellectual development. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.
78. Ross, L. (1977). The intuitive psychologist and his shortcomings: Distortions in the attribution process. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 10, 174-221.
79. Russano, M.B., Meissner, C.A., Narchet, F.M., & Kassin, S.M. (2005). Investigating true and false confessions within a novel experimental paradigm. Psychological Science, 16, 481-486.
80. Schachter, S., & Singer, J. (1962). Cognitive, social, and physiological determinants of emotional state. Psychological Review, 69, 379-399.
81. Scheck, B., Neufeld, P., & Dwyer, J. (2000). Actual innocence. Garden City, NY: Doubleday.
82. Sherif, M. (1936). The psychology of social norms. New York: Harper.
83. Snyder, M., & Swann, W.B., Jr. (1978). Hypothesis-testing processes in social interaction. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 36, 1202-1212.
84. Softley, P. (1980). Police interrogation: An observational study in four police stations (Home Office Research Study No. 61). London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office.
85. United States v. Belyea. (2005). U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Unpublished opinion.
86. Valins, S. (1966). Cognitive effects of false heart-rate feedback. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 4, 400-408.
87. Vrij, A. (2008). Detecting lies and deceit: Pitfalls and opportunities. Chichester, UK: Wiley.
88. Vrij, A., Fisher, R., Mann, S., & Leal, S. (2006). Detecting deception by manipulating cognitive load. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 10, 141-142.
89. Vrij, A., Mann, S., & Fisher, R.P. (2006). An empirical test of the Behaviour Analysis Interview. Law and Human Behavior, 30, 329-345.
90. Vrij, A., Mann, S., Fisher, R.P., Leal, S., Milne, R., & Bull, R. (2008). Increasing cognitive load to facilitate lie detection: The benefit of recalling an event in reverse order. Law and Human Behavior.
91. Wason, P.C. (1960). On the failure to eliminate hypotheses in a conceptual task. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 12, 129-140.
92. White, W.S. (2003). Miranda's waning protections: Police interrogation practices after Dickerson. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
93. Wigmore, J.H. (1970). Evidence (Vol. 3) (revised by J. H. Chadbourn). Boston: Little, Brown.