Why Do Psychologists Believe People Make False Confessions
People often make a confession to crimes they did not commit. This can be attributed to a number of reasons. Psychologists believe because people are responsive to reinforcements and thus are subject to principles of conditioning. In addition, people are by nature social beings and vulnerable to influences from other people. Modern day police interrogations use these biological responses to their advantage to elicit conformity, compliance, obedience, and persuasion in suspects. Furthermore, the use of trickery and deceit is not uncommon. With the widespread use of DNA evidence, many once guilty victims have been exonerated of their crimes and set free. If psychology has proven that certain practices can influence ideas and behaviors, …show more content…
o Physical Custody and isolation o Presentation of false evidence o Promises implied, but not spoken
How these tactics influence a person’s behavior.
• How interrogations have evolved, but still face controversies of methods used. o From third degree to the more professional, but psychological methods used today
• Why psychologists believe people make false confessions.
• Other countries no longer follow the psychological methods the United States does because of the tendency to produce false confessions.
• State a few cases where suspects were tricked into giving a confession, but later evidence exonerated them. o What police did to get a confession
How this influenced suspects into giving a false confession.
Conclusion
Psychology has proven methods the police use can produce false confessions. Other nations have already called for a reform in tactics that will not use deception and trickery to coerce a person into confessing. The United States needs to listen to what psychologists have discovered and modify the way interrogations are conducted.
Annotated Bibliography
Driver, E. D. (1968). Confessions and the social psychology of coercion. Harvard Law
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