Death Priming in Investigations: The Effects on Worldview Threat, Out-Group Derogation, and Stereotyping

Terror Management Theory (TMT) hypothesizes that thinking about one’s own death creates a need to boost our worldview and our self-esteem in order to cope with this existential threat. Decades of research support the theory’s premises with findings in many different settings (Burke, Martens, & Faucher, 2010). The purpose of this dissertation is to extend the findings of TMT to research on decision making in investigations. In two studies, I evaluated how thinking about one’s death (Mortality Salience, MS) affected mock investigators’ reactions to the outcome of a case they investigated and their perceptions of a suspect, depending on their group memberships. In Study 1, participants (n = 299) were either death primed or not and asked to provide their assessment of a case as a police investigator. They were then told of the outcome of the case in court (either fair or unfair), asked how they felt about it. They were also asked how they would investigate a similar case in the future to assess for the impact of outcome on motivational bias. Results showed only an effect for outcome, where participants reacted more positively (and less negatively) to the fair outcome then the unfair outcome. Participants also showed a tendency to generally seek out more information in the unfair outcome condition; however, there was no sign of increased confirmation bias. In Study 2 (n = 403), I either primed participants with MS or not and manipulated what role they took on to investigate the case (police investigator or journalist), and the race of the suspect (either in-group or out-group member of different races (Black, Hispanic, or White) depending on their own). I then asked participants to provide their assessment of the suspect’s culpability and their overall impressions of him. Results showed that, contrary to predictions, MS decreased mock police investigators’ probability of guilt judgments as compared to those taking on the role of a journalist and those not death primed. There was also no clear evidence of increased stereotype use under MS. Results were discussed; limitations and avenues for future research were proposed

On the importance of a procedurally fair organizational climate for openness to change in law enforcement

Objectives Drawing on recent work in policing and organizational psychology, we examined factors related to openness to organizational change and to adopting evidence-based interview techniques among law enforcement investigators. Hypotheses We hypothesized that a procedurally fair organizational climate would predict outcomes tied to organizational change, mediated by organizational identification and perceived legitimacy. We also predicted that procedural justice factors would be stronger predictors than outcome-oriented factors (i.e., rewards and sanctions). Methods Study 1 surveyed law enforcement investigators (N = 711) about their attitudes towards and behaviors within their organization (i.e., perceived procedural fairness of one’s organization, identification, legitimacy, compliance, empowerment, and extra-role behavior). Study 2 conceptually extended this survey to interviewers (N = 71) trained in a new, evidence-based interviewing approach adding likelihood of future use of the novel interviewing approach as an outcome. Results In Study 1, the more investigators thought their organization had a procedurally fair climate, the more they identified with the organization and perceived it as legitimate. Framing compliance, empowerment and extra-role behavior as associated with openness to change, we found that legitimacy predicted compliance and tendency toward extra-role behavior (i.e., going “above and beyond”), while level of identification predicted feelings of empowerment and extra-role behavior. Study 2, partially replicated findings from Study 1, and found that motivation to attend the training also predicted likelihood of future use. Conclusions These studies highlight the value of a procedurally just organizational climate framework in understanding law enforcement interrogators’ propensity towards implementing new evidence-based interrogation techniques

Developing rapport and trust in the interrogative context: An empirically-supported and ethical alternative to customary interrogation practices.

Decades of behavioral science research consistently demonstrates the advantages of employing a rapport-based approach to investigative and intelligence interviewing. Evolving from identifying the problematic procedures of accusatorial approaches, current research has turned to a more proactive study of techniques and tactics that align with a rapport-based and information-gathering framework that is effective for eliciting comprehensive and reliable information. Despite a growing body of research supporting the use of this framework, it stands in contrast with an accusatorial approach that is common practice in North America (and other parts of the world). This chapter reviews empirically supported approaches for investigative interviewing (including aspects of effective elicitation and deception detection) and describes recent research on tactics for developing rapport and trust in interrogative context. Herein we distinguish how trust and rapport-based techniques differ from currently employed confrontational techniques, and provide operational examples of how these tactics have been employed in the field