Doctoral Dissertation Research: The Influence of Blame Mitigation and Guilt Induction on True Versus False Confessions

博士论文研究：减轻责备和内疚感对真实供述与虚假供述的影响

• 批准号: 1535524
• 负责人: Christian Meissner
• 金额: $ 2.09万
• 依托单位: University of Texas at El Paso
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2015
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2015-08-01 至 2016-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1535524&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Doctoral; Dissertation; Research; Influence; Blame

False confessions account for approximately 30% of the more than 325 wrongful convictions identified by The Innocence Project. Interrogation themes, which attempt to rationalize and minimize the seriousness of the crime or project blame away from the suspect, have been shown to increase the likelihood of false confessions. It is possible that these blame mitigation strategies may also inhibit confessions from guilty suspects, given that true confessions are related to feelings of guilt and blame mitigation approaches are designed to reduce feelings of guilt. This project will examine blame mitigation in an interrogation as well as a novel interrogation technique (guilt induction) in which an interrogator emphasizes a suspect's responsibility for the crime, the impact his or her actions had on the victim, and how the suspect's behavior failed to meet an ideal standard.Experiments conducted here will (1) test practitioners' beliefs that blame mitigation techniques do not produce false confessions, and (2) assess whether guilt induction leads guilty, but not innocent, suspects to confess. The experiments will also assess how these techniques affect suspects' perceptions of responsibility and future punishment. This project will use experimental methods. Participants will imagine themselves in an interrogation (Experiment 1) or experience an interrogation in a laboratory paradigm (Experiment 2) that includes blame mitigation, guilt induction, or direct questioning interrogation techniques. This project has the potential to benefit society by developing an empirically-based perspective on what works in the interrogation room. Given the prevalence of false confessions in our criminal justice system and current debates over the use of coercive interrogation methods, it is critical that we develop more diagnostic, evidence-based interrogation approaches. This project will also provide an important test of contrasting theories of confession proposed by practitioners and researchers.

在“无罪计划”确定的超过 325 起错判案件中，虚假口供约占 30%。审讯主题试图合理化犯罪的严重性并使其最小化，或将责任推卸给嫌疑人，事实证明，这些主题会增加虚假供述的可能性。这些责备减轻策略也可能会抑制有罪嫌疑人的供述，因为真实的供述与内疚感有关，而责备减轻方法旨在减少内疚感。该项目将研究审讯中的责备减轻以及一种新颖的审讯技术（内疚诱导），其中审讯者强调嫌疑人对犯罪的责任、他或她的行为对受害者的影响，以及嫌疑人的行为如何未能达到理想标准。这里进行的实验将（1）测试从业者对责备减轻技术不会产生虚假供述的信念，以及（2）评估内疚诱导是否 导致犯罪嫌疑人认罪，但并非无罪。实验还将评估这些技术如何影响嫌疑人对责任和未来惩罚的看法。该项目将采用实验方法。参与者将想象自己正在接受审讯（实验 1）或在实验室范式中体验审讯（实验 2），其中包括减轻责备、内疚诱导或直接提问审讯技术。该项目有潜力通过对审讯室的运作方式提出基于经验的观点来造福社会。鉴于我们的刑事司法系统中虚假口供的普遍存在以及当前关于使用强制审讯方法的争论，我们开发更多诊断性、基于证据的审讯方法至关重要。该项目还将为从业者和研究人员提出的坦白对比理论提供重要的检验。