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How downplaying or exaggerating crime severity in a confession affects perceived guilt
Citation
Holt, G and Palmer, MA, How downplaying or exaggerating crime severity in a confession affects perceived guilt, Psychiatry Psychology and Law ISSN 1321-8719 (2020) [Refereed Article]
Copyright Statement
© 2020 The Australian and New Zealand Association of Psychiatry, Psychology and Law
DOI: doi:10.1080/13218719.2020.1837027
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.
Item Details
Item Type: | Refereed Article |
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Keywords: | attribution theory, false confession, juror decision-making, inconsistencies, wrongful conviction |
Research Division: | Psychology |
Research Group: | Applied and developmental psychology |
Research Field: | Forensic psychology |
Objective Division: | Expanding Knowledge |
Objective Group: | Expanding knowledge |
Objective Field: | Expanding knowledge in psychology |
UTAS Author: | Palmer, MA (Associate Professor Matt Palmer) |
ID Code: | 143206 |
Year Published: | 2020 |
Deposited By: | Psychology |
Deposited On: | 2021-03-05 |
Last Modified: | 2021-05-26 |
Downloads: | 0 |
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