Individual Differences and False Confessions: a Conceptual Replication of Kassin and Kiechel (1996)

Individual Differences in the Formation of False Memories: Is Suggestibility a Predictive Factor?

Individual differences in the formation of false memories using suggestibility as a predictive factor were investigated. Undergraduate males and females were administered two false memory paradigms: the DeeseRoedinger-McDermott (DRM) (1995) word recognition task and the Kassin & Kiechel (KK) ALT key task (1996). Subsequently, participants were administered the Gudjonsson Suggestibility Scale (G...

Inside interrogation: the lie, the bluff, and false confessions.

Using a less deceptive variant of the false evidence ploy, interrogators often use the bluff tactic, whereby they pretend to have evidence to be tested without further claiming that it necessarily implicates the suspect. Three experiments were conducted to assess the impact of the bluff on confession rates. Using the Kassin and Kiechel (Psychol Sci 7:125-128, 1996) computer crash paradigm, Expe...

Sleep deprivation and false confessions.

False confession is a major contributor to the problem of wrongful convictions in the United States. Here, we provide direct evidence linking sleep deprivation and false confessions. In a procedure adapted from Kassin and Kiechel [(1996) Psychol Sci 7(3):125-128], participants completed computer tasks across multiple sessions and repeatedly received warnings that pressing the "Escape" key on th...

Internalized False Confessions

False Confessions: Causes, Consequences, and Implications for Reform

Despite the commonsense belief that people do not confess to crimes they did not commit, 20 to 25% of all DNA exonerations involve innocent prisoners who confessed. After distinguishing between voluntary, compliant, and internalized false confessions, this article suggests that a sequence of three processes is responsible for false confessions and their adverse consequences. First, police somet...