The Effects of Interrogation Coerciveness and Ambiguity of Guilt on Juror Judgments of Confession Credibility
26 Pages Posted: 30 Jul 2009
Date Written: July 30, 2009
Abstract
We examined the influence of interrogation techniques (coercive or not coercive) and certainty of guilt (known or ambiguous) on mock jurors’ verdicts and ratings of an interrogation. Participants read attorney arguments, watched a realistic videotaped interrogation that included a confession, indicated their verdict, and answered a series of questions about the credibility of the confession and about the influence of evidence on their judgments. Results indicated that the interrogation was rated as fairer and less coercive when guilt was known than when guilt was ambiguous. In addition, participants rendered more 'not guilty' verdicts when the interrogation was coercive than when it was not coercive. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.
Keywords: False Confessions, Interrogations, Jury Decision-Making
JEL Classification: K40, K49, K14
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation