Effects of the putative confession instruction on perceptions of children’s true and false statements
Date
2018
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Publisher
Applied Cognitive Psychology
Abstract
The putative confession instruction (“[suspect] told me everything that happened and wants you to tell the truth”) during forensic interviews with children has been shown to increase the accuracy of children’s statements, but it is unclear whether adult’s perceptions are sensitive to this salutary effect. The present study examined how adults perceive children’s true and false responses to the putative confession (PC) instruction. Participants (n = 299) watched videotaped interviews of children and rated the child’s credibility and the truthfulness of his/her statements. When viewing children’s responses to the PC instruction, true and false statements were rated as equally credible, and there was a decrease in accuracy for identifying false denials as lies. These findings suggest that participants viewed the PC instruction as truth-inducing. Implications for the forensic use of the PC instruction are discussed.
Description
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Keywords
putative confession, deception detection, child credibility, interviewing children, child sexual abuse, child testimony
Citation
Gongola, J., Scurich, N., & Lyon, T. D. (2018). Effects of the putative confession instruction on perceptions of children’s true and false statements. Applied Cognitive Psychology. Online ahead of print.