Custodial interrogation: Why do suspects confess and how does it relate to their crime, attitude and personality?

Abstract

This study investigates the reasons offenders give claiming to have caused them to confess during custodial interrogation. A further purpose of this study was to look at attitudinal, personality and offence type factors that are associated with the reasons for the confession. The subjects were 74 convicted criminals who were serving prison sentences in Iceland. A specially designed Confession Questionnaire was administered in addition to the Standard Progressive Matrices. The Eysenck Personality Questionnire. The Gough Socialisation Scale, the Gudjonsson Blame Attribution Inventory, and Deception Questionnaires. A principal-components analysis (Varimax Rotation) indicates that there are three primary factors associated with criminals making confessions during interregation. These factors are independent and are labelled as Internal Pressure, External Pressure and Proof. The factors were found to be associated with the type of offence committed, the attitude of the offender towards his or her crime and confession, and with the offender's personality. The study highlights the importance of individual differences in attitude and personality in relation to the reasons offenders give for having confessed to the police during custodial interrogation. Different causes for the confession were related to different attitudinal and personality variables.