Likelihood Of False Confessions Research Articles

I’ll Confess to Be Included: Social Exclusion Predicts Likelihood of False Confession

Recent research has examined predictors of false confessions in criminal investigations. By incorporating a commonly utilized social rejection paradigm (Cyberball), the current study adds to the list of personality and situational predictors by examining the role of social exclusion—which is a likely by-product of long-lasting interrogation sessions—on the likelihood of false confessions. Results confirm the hypothesis that individuals experiencing social exclusion are more likely to confess than individuals who are not socially excluded. These results suggest that situational variables in interrogations (specifically ostracism and exclusion) that emphasize important personality considerations (such as the need to belong) are important for police organizations to consider reducing the likelihood of false confessions.

An investigation into the relationship between the reported experience of negative life events, trait stress-sensitivity and false confessions among further education students in Iceland

This study investigates the interplay between the reported experiences of negative life events, reported levels of nerves, fear and tension experienced over the past 30days, and reported false confessions. Data were obtained from 11,388 students in further education in Iceland, out of which 5439 participants were male and 5837 were female. Single level, random intercept, structural equation models were fitted showing that latent stress-sensitivity, indicated by levels of nerves, tension, fear, and the number of negative life events experienced exerted a significant direct effect on the likelihood of false confessions. Stress-sensitive interviewees (those reporting high levels of nerves, fear, tension and negative events) may be more susceptible to environmental influences, due to heightened physiological responsiveness towards and a negative perception of situations and social encounters, with false confessions being a direct consequence of this. A suggestion from the findings is that the type of false confession (the reason for it) may possibly dependent upon which contextual trigger has influenced the interviewee the most – those within the police interview itself and/or pressures from the wider environment within which they reside.