Minimization and maximization techniques: assessing the perceived consequences of confessing and confession diagnosticity

Horgan, Allyson J.; Russano, Melissa B.; Meissner, Christian A.; Evans, Jacqueline R.

doi:10.1080/1068316x.2011.561801

Cited by 80 publications

(103 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…When the evidence is strong, suspects are more likely to confess (Cassell and Hayman 1996;Moston et al 1992). Certain police techniques such as adoption of a humanitarian approach (Holmberg and Christianson 2002;Kebbell et al 2010), minimization and maximization (Horgan et al 2012), and showing understanding of the suspect's actions (Kebbell et al 2010) also help to elicit confessions from guilty suspects.…”

Section: Factors Related To Confessionsmentioning

confidence: 96%

Japanese Suspect Interviews, Confessions, and Related Factors

Wachi

Watanabe

Yokota

et al. 2015

J Police Crim Psych

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Two hundred and ninety-one new adult male inmates convicted of murder, robbery, arson, rape, forcible indecency, and kidnapping completed questionnaires about their pretrial interviews. Logistic regression analyses revealed that marital status, feelings of guilt, and perceptions of the strength of the evidence significantly affected the likelihood of confession by those who had already decided to confess prior to interview. By contrast, prior arrest history and interview style affected the likelihood of confession by those who had not previously decided to confess. Suspects who had no previous arrests and had undergone either Undifferentiated-high or Relationship-focused interviews were more likely to make full confessions. In Undifferentiated-high interviews, police officers employed all of the interviewing techniques examined: they listened closely to the suspects' accounts, attempted to build good relationships, and discussed the crimes, while also presenting evidence and confronting the suspects. In Relationship-focused interviews, police officers listened attentively to the offenders' accounts, tried to build good relationships, and discussed the crimes directly. Prisoners who experienced Relationship-focused interviews felt satisfied with their confessions and admitted guilt at trial.

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Section: Factors Related To Confessionsmentioning

confidence: 96%

Japanese Suspect Interviews, Confessions, and Related Factors

Wachi

Watanabe

Yokota

et al. 2015

J Police Crim Psych

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show abstract

“…The strong belief in "guilt" on the part of interrogators has been shown to lead to the use of longer interrogations that involve more psychologically manipulative tactics-ultimately leading to the elicitation of both true and false confessions that confirm the beliefs of the interrogator (see Kassin et al 2003;Kassin 2002, 2004;Narchet et al 2011). The psychological manipulation of consequences in this context, and the associated manipulation of perceived culpability on the part of the suspect, have been shown to directly influence the incidence of false confessions (see Horgan et al 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…,Beune et al (2009; see also Beune 2009), Forrest et al (2006,Horgan et al (2012),Horselenberg et al (2003),Kebbell and Daniels (2006),,Klaver et al (2008),Nash andWade (2009), andvan Bergen et al (2008). Three of these studies were conducted in the United States, two in Australia, three in the Netherlands, and one each in the United Kingdom and Canada.…”

mentioning

confidence: 94%

Accusatorial and information-gathering interrogation methods and their effects on true and false confessions: a meta-analytic review

et al. 2014

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Objectives We completed a systematic review and meta-analysis of the available empirical literature assessing the influence of accusatorial and information-gathering methods of interrogation in eliciting true and false confessions. Methods We conducted two separate meta-analyses. The first meta-analysis focused on observational field studies that assessed the association between certain interrogation methods and elicitation of a confession statement. The second meta-analysis focused on experimental, laboratory-based studies in which ground truth was known (i.e., a confession is factually true or false). We located 5 field studies and 12 experimental studies eligible for the meta-analyses. We coded outcomes from both study types and report mean effect sizes with 95 % confidence intervals. A random effects model was used for analysis of effect sizes. Moderator analyses were conducted when appropriate.Results Field studies revealed that both information-gathering and accusatorial approaches were more likely to elicit a confession when compared with direct questioning methods. However, experimental studies revealed that the information-gathering approach preserved, and in some cases increased, the likelihood of true confessions, while simultaneously reducing the likelihood of false confessions. In contrast, the accusatorial approach increased both true and false confessions when compared with a direct questioning method. Conclusions The available data support the effectiveness of an information-gathering style of interviewing suspects. Caution is warranted, however, due to the small number of independent samples available for the analysis of both field and experimental studies. Additional research, including the use of quasi-experimental field studies, appears warranted.

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“…Both minimization and maximization have been linked to false confessions (see Horgan et al, 2012). Kassin and McNall (1991) showed that the use of maximization and minimization changes participants' perceptions of the consequences of a suspect confessing.…”

Section: Situational Factors Associated With False Confessionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The rapport scripts were developed based on previous rapport studies (Vallano & Schreiber Compo, 2011; and on rapport building techniques that have been recommended by researchers and reportedly used by police investigators (Fisher & Geiselman, 1992;Kelly et al, 2013;Vallano et al, 2014). The interrogation scripts were developed based on the scripts used in previous interrogation studies (Horgan et al, 2012;Guyll et al, 2013;Russano et al, 2005).…”

Section: Materials and Measuresmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effect of Rapport Building in Police Interrogations: Can Rapport Improve the Diagnosticity of Confession Evidence?

Villalba¹

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Police investigators rely heavily on eliciting confessions from suspects to solve crimes and prosecute offenders. Therefore, it is essential to develop evidence-based interrogation techniques that will motivate guilty suspects to confess but minimize false confessions from the innocent. Currently, there is little scientific support for specific interrogation techniques that may increase true confessions and decrease false confessions. Rapport building is a promising possibility. Despite its recommendation in police interrogation guidelines, there is no scientific evidence showing the effect of rapport building in police interrogations. The current study examined, experimentally, whether using rapport as an interrogation technique would influence participants' decisions to confess to a wrongdoing. It was hypothesized that building rapport with participants would lead to more true confessions and fewer false confessions than not building rapport. One hundred and sixty nine undergraduates participated in the study.Participants worked on logic problems together and individually, with a study confederate. The confederate asked half of the participants for help in one of the individual problems -effectively breaking the rules of the study. After working on these vii problems, a research assistant playing the role of interviewer came into the room, built rapport or not with participants, accused all participants of cheating by sharing answers on the individual problems, and asked them to sign a statement admitting their guilt.Results indicated that guilty participants were more likely to sign the confession statement than innocent participants. However, there were no significant differences on participants' confession decisions based on the level of rapport they experienced. Results do not provide support for the hypothesis that building rapport increases the likelihood of obtaining true confessions and decreases the likelihood of obtaining false confessions.These findings suggest that, despite the overwhelming recommendation for the use of rapport with suspects, its actual implementation may not have a direct impact on the outcome of interrogations.

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Minimization and maximization techniques: assessing the perceived consequences of confessing and confession diagnosticity

Cited by 80 publications

References 11 publications

Japanese Suspect Interviews, Confessions, and Related Factors

Japanese Suspect Interviews, Confessions, and Related Factors

Accusatorial and information-gathering interrogation methods and their effects on true and false confessions: a meta-analytic review

The Effect of Rapport Building in Police Interrogations: Can Rapport Improve the Diagnosticity of Confession Evidence?

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