False Confessions: A Case Study

Background: False confessions are a major issue in our criminal justice system. Organizations like the Innocence Project have shown that 20% of the people they exonerate falsely confessed. Because of that, Russano, Meissner, Narchet and Kassin strived to identify what factors and circumstances increase the likelihood of a false confession. Through Kassin and McNall research, maximization and minimization were categorized as interrogation methods (1991). Russano, Meissner, Narchet and Kassin have decided to study both minimization and how deal making affects false confessions. Through several variables, they have created a paradigm to test what contributes to a person being more likely to falsely confess. Method: The method of this study tested …show more content…
From there, the participant and confederate started to answer questions. If the participant was in the guilty group, the confederate in the experiment asked the participant what answer they put for an individual problem. Then the participant and confederate were told that there was a problem that needed to be discussed with each of them individually. After being in the room alone for 5 minutes, the participant was informed by a blind experimenter that participant and the confederate had the same answer and accused the participant of sharing answers. The experimenter also told the participant that the professor leading the study had been notified and was frustrated with the situation and wanted a signed document from the participant admitting guilt. If the participant was in the minimization condition, they were told reassuring statements to calm them down. The last element of the method was that some participants were given deals. Those participants who did not receive a deal were told no matter what they do, the professor will decide what to do. The experimenter could repeat the script up to three times to try to convince the person to