False Confessions: Social Psychology

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Social Psychology is a study of social influences to human beings, analyze and understand human social behavior. Social Psychology involves a part of Forensic Psychology because it mainly focus on social interaction. Though examining social systems, human behavior and criminal behavior, in order to discover the interaction between offenders and investigators, especially how social psychological inquiry and use in the courtroom. False confession is the acceptance of the guilt in a crime, that a person is not actually responsible for. Confessions are powerful evidence and play a vital role in law enforcement. Since the confession evidence alone, it is possible to ensure a conviction. Some people give false confessions willingly and knowingly…show more content…
From a psychological viewpoint (Kassin, 1997), coerced-compliant false confessions are explained by the innocent suspect’s wish to escape an aversive situation and ensure a pleasant consequence. Drake summarized previous researchers’ results of the relationship of between confessors’ characteristics and interrogations’ influences, In other words, the confessors’ experience adversity and interrogative suggestibility (Drake, 2011). Generally, the confessors, who do not present with any mental health issue or learning disability, share same characteristics, for example, poor memories, low self-esteem, lack of assertiveness and even high level of self-doubt (Murphy & Eckhardt, 2005). Those personality resulted by their early past negative experience. They might be though interpersonal negative events, familial issues, insecure attachment pattern or unsupportive parenting. In a result, those characteristics reinforced through mere exposure to negative environmental…show more content…
The interrogation room is small, barely furnished and soundproof. Its aim is isolate the suspect in order to increase the incentive to escape and insulate the suspect from external information sources and support. In addition, the investigators have high confidents result in subjectively overcome all objections like DNA test; therefore, they give lots of suggestive information in order to get the suspects’ confessions. During the interrogation, when they felt high level of anxiety, stress and social pressure, in their subconscious, they felt that they are not given the chance to tell the truth through sensitivity to perceived negativity. Then, the feeble suspects’ ego are tapping into an evolved tendency within them to seek confidants and preserve relationships (Williamson, 1993). At the same time, their pressure sensitivity can lead to the acceptance of misleading suggestions and the production of false statements and confessions (Gudjonsson, 2003). Their high level of self-doubt leads them to doubt their judgments and memories. Finally, the circumstances of the interrogation influenced their cognitive processing since the suspects believe those sell-made false memories and then to confess the

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