Given the well-documented risks associated with confession evidence, we examined how confessions influence lay perceptions of culpability, alongside other common forms of evidence. We hypothesized that DNA and confession evidence would dominate judgments, with forensic expert, eyewitness, and motive evidence increasing guilt ratings but exerting comparatively less influence. We further anticipated that confessions would carry more weight when corroborated and be weakened by exculpatory evidence. Participants (N = 100) identified primarily as European/White (73%) and cisgender men (50%), aged 20-63 years (M = 39.97; SD = 11.78). Using a policy-capturing approach, participants evaluated 32 vignettes that varied the presence and nature (inculpatory vs. exculpatory) of five evidence types. Participants provided guilt ratings and rank-ordered each evidence type by importance. Results showed that DNA and confession evidence exerted the strongest influence on guilt ratings, with confession evidence emerging as a particularly potent predictor - even when contradicted by exculpatory DNA evidence. A modest association between self-reported importance and estimated evidence weighting suggests laypeople's stated beliefs only partially align with how they integrate evidence. These findings reinforce concerns about the disproportionate weight assigned to confessions and clarify how evidence is weighted across evidentiary contexts - sometimes in ways that diverge from individuals' stated beliefs.
We examined potential housing discrimination against exonerees with mental illness in the Canadian rental market. We sent inquiries to landlords advertising apartments online across Canada, using six prompts that varied in whether they mentioned a criminal record and/or a mental illness. Results revealed that landlords were less likely to respond to inquiries and indicate the availability to individuals who mentioned having a criminal record. Exonerees' treatment was like that of individuals who had been rightfully convicted. Landlords were also less likely to respond and reply that an advertised unit was available when a prospective tenant mentioned having a mental illness. Furthermore, reporting a mental illness intensified the negative effects associated with having a criminal record. These findings demonstrate continuing barriers in housing access for individuals with criminal justice involvement and mental illness, highlighting ongoing stigma and discriminatory behaviour faced by exonerees as well as people with mental health conditions.
We conducted four experiments to investigate how laypeople determine guilt versus innocence when provided with eyewitness decision (identification versus rejection), initial confidence (low versus high), and face recognition ability (weak versus strong). Our first two experiments replicated prior research showing that participants value high over low confidence for identifications, but do not know how to interpret rejections. For identification decisions, we found face recognition ability played a greater role than confidence when deciding guilt. Our third and fourth experiments replicated these results and provided instructions from an eyewitness expert about what the research indicates about confidence and face recognition ability for both identifications and rejections. This information did not change guilt judgments in Experiment 3 but did in Experiment 4 when we adjusted our design and simplified presentation of the information. We conclude that laypeople may not intuitively understand eyewitness evidence that could be probative of suspect innocence, and therefore courts should allow an eyewitness expert to help them understand this information.
A study using the Observing Rapport-Based Interpersonal Techniques (ORBIT) coding framework analysed video-recorded investigative interviews with sexual offence victims of varying ages in South Korea. The dataset comprised 103 h of footage from 86 cases conducted by 26 police officers, with one officer interviewing one victim per case. The recordings were divided into 316 coding units using a 15-minute cut-off. ORBIT integrates principles from Motivational Interviewing (MI) and the Interpersonal Behaviour Circle (IBC). The study coded interviewers' use of MI strategies (acceptance, empathy, adaptation, evocation, and autonomy), adaptive and maladaptive interpersonal behaviour, victim engagement, and interview yield. Results indicated that the MI strategies were directly associated with increased adaptive interpersonal behaviour, enhanced victim engagement, and greater interview yield, alongside reduced maladaptive interpersonal behaviour. Mediation analyses showed that MI strategies exerted indirect effects on victim engagement via maladaptive interpersonal behaviour, and on interview yield via maladaptive interpersonal behaviour and victim engagement. Through adaptive interpersonal behaviour, the indirect effect of MI strategies on victim engagement was not significant. Finally, maladaptive interpersonal behaviour was indirectly associated with reduced interview yield through diminished victim engagement. These findings have implications for evidence-based training and assessment of victim-centred interviewing practices.
Detained juvenile delinquents frequently display both externalizing and internalizing problems, increasing their recidivism risk while undermining treatment motivation and well-being. The Good Lives Model (GLM) proposes rehabilitation that both lowers recidivism risk and enhances well-being, by promoting prosocial fulfillment of universal human needs ('primary goods'). The GLM assumes that attaining primary goods improves treatment motivation and promotes more sustainable desistance from offending. We examined the associations between changes in self-reported primary goods satisfaction, well-being, treatment motivation, externalizing and internalizing psychopathology, and recidivism risk in 62 Flemish and Dutch adolescent boys (ages 14-18) over time during detention. Findings partly support the GLM's assumptions: improvement in primary goods satisfaction was associated with improved well-being over time, and higher well-being was related to lower recidivism risk. Higher treatment motivation predicted reduced recidivism risk. However, path analyses did not support the GLM's assumptions: neither changes in primary goods satisfaction nor changes in well-being predicted treatment motivation or recidivism risk reduction. No effects of internalizing or externalizing psychopathology were found. While treatment motivation appears crucial for lowering recidivism risk, in our study it was not predicted by changes in primary goods satisfaction or well-being. More research is needed to understand the factors affecting treatment motivation.
Objectives: We investigated how the psychosocial components of criminality stigma can influence the reactions to the pain of individuals framed as violent criminals. Methods: Undergraduate students (N = 487) were randomly divided into three groups. Groups viewed models and read scenarios describing either models' criminal behaviour, neutral behaviour or just saw models' initials. Participants rated models on various components of stigma (valence, trust, threat, social status). Their reactions to the pain expressed by these models were measured (willingness to help, perception of pain signals, recommended medication). Results: Participants in the criminal condition perceived models as having a lower social status, which was associated with evaluations of models being lower in trustworthiness, lower in valence, and higher in threateningness. Participants were also less willing to help alleviate models' pain, despite accurately estimating it. Crucially, the relationship between violent crime exposure and willingness to help was mediated by the link between lower social status and decreased likability. Conclusion: These findings reveal psychosocial mechanisms that may contribute to healthcare inequities experienced by individuals with a history of criminality. Future research could explore these results in more ecologically valid settings.
This study assessed the concurrent and predictive validity of clinician judgements made using the Risk for Sexual Violence Protocol (RSVP) in routine practice, and examined how they used the guideline. Risk assessments were accessed from the files of 100 men referred to an Australian community forensic mental health service due to sexual violence. Predictive validity was examined at four time points based on police charges, though only 5 men reoffended during the follow-up period. RSVP Case Prioritization judgements were strongly correlated with the Static-99 and had excellent predictive validity at all follow-up times. Those judged High priority reoffended significantly more often than cases judged Moderate or Low priority. Generally, clinician judgements had better sensitivity than specificity, though the low number and rate of recidivism mean these findings must be interpreted cautiously and require replication. In practice clinicians rarely completed the Future Relevance ratings, Psychopathy risk factor, or the Serious Physical Harm and Immediate Action Required Summary Judgements. Aspects of the practice setting in which the RSVP was used may have helped to maintain predictive validity despite clinicians' departure from its instructions.
Deception can produce cognitive dissonance (Festinger, 1962). We explored whether it was possible to leverage classic research on attributions of arousal to improve deception detection. In Study 1, targets voluntarily lied or told the truth about a transgression under one of three conditions: the room's lighting reportedly induced arousal (arousal attribution), induced relaxation (relaxation attribution), or was not mentioned (control). Study 2 featured similar attribution conditions; however, targets were explicitly instructed to lie or tell the truth about a witnessed event (i.e. behavioral choice was eliminated). As predicted, observers' deception detection improved in the arousal and relaxation attribution conditions (vs. control) only when targets' behaviors were volitional. This work provides preliminary evidence that misattributions of arousal might affect deception under high-choice conditions. In turn, attribution manipulation is a promising theory-based approach to improving deception detection that merits further investigation.
Although labeling theory has regained prominence in recent years, empirical research on the role of informal labeling in adolescent deviance remains limited, particularly regarding the psychological mechanisms linking social reactions to behavioral outcomes. This study investigates the mediating role of deviant self-identity in the relationship between informal labeling by others and adolescent deviant behavior. Using three waves of longitudinal data from a nationally representative sample of South Korean adolescents, generalized structural equation modeling (GSEM) and multilevel modeling were conducted. Findings indicate that informal labeling significantly predicts the formation of deviant self-identity, which, in turn, increases the likelihood of engaging in deviant behavior for adolescents. Furthermore, it was found that deviant self-identity significantly mediates the effect of informal labeling on adolescent deviance. The results highlight the importance of identity-based interventions to foster positive self-concept and mitigate the adverse effects of stigmatizing social responses.
This study examined the beliefs and practices of police investigators regarding interviewing and interrogation processes across six European countries. To assess investigators' perspectives, we administered a survey adapted from Kassin et al. (2007). Police interviewing and interrogation: A self-report survey of police practices and beliefs. Law and Human Behavior, 31(4), 381-400 addressing (1) recording practices, (2) length and frequency of suspect interviews, (3) suspects' use of their right to silence, (4) prevalence of true and false confessions, (5) confidence in detecting deception, and (6) interviewing and interrogation techniques. Results revealed substantial cross-national differences. Dutch officers conducted the longest interviews, while Norwegian officers were the most likely to record interviews. The use of suspects' rights varied significantly, with Spanish officers reporting the highest invocation of the right to silence. False confessions were recognized across all subsamples, though voluntary false confessions were most frequently reported. Except in Norway, investigators significantly overestimated their deception detection accuracy. Overall, coercive tactics were infrequent, and most officers endorsed ethical, rapport-based strategies, aligning with the information-gathering approach. Despite cross-country variations, these findings suggest a broad adherence to non-coercive interviewing methods across Europe.
