Confessions and Denials When Guilty and Innocent: Forensic Patients' Self-Reported Behavior During Police Interviews

Several self-report studies together with analyses of exoneration cases suggest that suspects with mental disorder are especially prone to making false confessions. The present study asked 153 forensic patients in Germany about their behavior during suspect interviewing by the police. Self-reported ground truth of guilt and innocence was asked for, thereby taking into account that the risk of false confession is present only if a person has ever been interviewed when innocent. Indeed, surveying samples that include suspects who have never been interviewed when innocent may lead to underestimating the risk of false confessions. In the present study, all patients reported having been interviewed previously when guilty; and almost two-thirds (62%, n = 95), that they had also been interviewed at least once when innocent. These participants stated that they remained silent while being interviewed significantly more often when guilty (44%) compared to when innocent (15%). This corroborates laboratory research findings indicating that the right to remain silent is waived more often by innocent than by guilty suspects. Out of all 95 participants who were ever interviewed when innocent, 25% reported having made a false confession on at least one occasion. This result is in line with previous international research showing a high percentage of false confessions among suspects with mental disorder

Recovered memories in psychotherapy: a survey of practicing psychotherapists in Germany

Gefördert im Rahmen des Projekts DEA

Potential-based Evaluation for Initial Selection of Technologies

Due to the increasing internationalization of markets, rising cost pressure, and shortened product life cycles, manufacturing companies are facing increasing competition and innovation pressure. To secure competitiveness, the early development of new and innovative technologies and their implementation in the market as products or services is paramount. To use available resources for innovation efficiently, potentials of new technologies must be exploited at early stages. The main objective of this paper is to support companies in early decision-making processes regarding new technologies by providing a systematic approach to technology assessment. For this purpose, a model is developed which supports the evaluation of the technology potentials based on the limited information available at an early stage and, thus, creates the basis for an initial technology selection

How guilty and innocent suspects perceive the police and themselves: suspect interviews in Germany

Purpose: Suspects are central participants of a police interview and can provide crucial information on the interview interactions with the interviewers. This study examined how the way suspects perceive interviews relates to (a) their reported status of being guilty or innocent and (b) their decision to confess or deny. Methods: A total of 250 convicted offenders completed a two-part questionnaire on their perceptions during the most recent suspect interview in which they had confessed to or denied a crime they had committed (Part 1) or not committed (Part 2). Results: Participants reported a total of 334 police interviews – 223 for which they reported being guilty and 111 for which they reported being innocent. An exploratory factor analysis showed that three latent factors described how they viewed the interviewers and themselves: Respectful-Open Behaviors (non-accusatorial interviewer behaviour, and no pressure in suspects), Confession-Oriented Tactics by the interviewer (minimization and maximization tactics), and Suspects’ Psychological Distress (insecurity, fear, and lack of self-confidence). Suspects perceived less Psychological Distress and less Respectful-Open Behaviors in reported innocent (vs. guilty) interview situations. In reported guilty interview situations, confessions were associated positively with Respectful-Open Behaviors and Suspects’ Psychological Distress, whereas denials were associated positively with Confession-Oriented Tactics. Innocent interview situations showed a positive correlation between confessions and Suspects’ Psychological Distress. Conclusions: In this study, suspects deliver an important message to the police and the legal system: The findings substantiate the benefits of an open-minded interviewing approach, and fail to support a confession-oriented interrogation approach