Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

"It's (Not) Your Fault": The Influence Of Blame Mitigation Versus Guilt Induction On True And False Confessions, Skye Woestehoff

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

False confessions remain an important problem facing the criminal justice system. Practitioners assert that blame mitigation techniques can minimize suspects' perceptions of responsibility independently from legal consequences. However, blame mitigation techniques increase false confessions in part by minimizing suspects' expectations of punishment. Blame mitigation techniques are also designed to reduce suspects' feelings of guilt, which may inhibit confessions from guilty suspects given that true confessions are related to feelings of guilt and remorse. Thus, it may be more beneficial to induce guilt rather than mitigate blame in the interrogation room. This Dissertation (1) tested practitioners' assumption that blame mitigation can …