Holt GA, Palmer MA. How downplaying or exaggerating crime severity in a confession affects perceived guilt.
PSYCHIATRY, PSYCHOLOGY, AND LAW : AN INTERDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL OF THE AUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND ASSOCIATION OF PSYCHIATRY, PSYCHOLOGY AND LAW 2020;
28:599-611. [PMID:
35558144 PMCID:
PMC9090384 DOI:
10.1080/13218719.2020.1837027]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
This study investigates how judgments of guilt are influenced by factual errors in confessions that either amplify or downplay the severity of the crime. Participants read a confession statement and police report in which either the confession was consistent with the police report, the suspect admitted to a worse crime or the suspect admitted to a lesser crime. Mediation analyses showed that, compared to consistent confessions, both types of directional errors reduced judgments of guilt. Inconsistencies that made the suspect look better - but not those that made the suspect look worse -also increased judgments of guilt via a direct effect. Confessions that contain errors that appear to exaggerate the severity of the crime prompt no higher judgments of suspect guilt; however, errors in confessions that are perceived to downplay the severity of the crime can prompt an increased perception of suspect guilt compared to a consistent confession.
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