Other Psychology Commons^™

The Psychology Of Interrogations And False Confessions: Research And Recommendations, Melissa B. Russano

Melissa B. Russano, Ph.D.

Instances of wrongful conviction in North America and Great Britain have uncovered numerous cases in which an innocent suspect has provided a false confession to a crime. As a result, social scientists have studied the interrogation process in an effort to understand the factors that may lead to such false confessions. In the present article, we review what is known about the psychology of police interrogations, including critical aspects of investigative bias, coercive interrogation techniques, and vulnerabilities of the suspect that can increase the likelihood of obtaining a false confession. We also discuss a novel alternative approach to the interrogation …