From devil’s advocate to crime fighter: Confirmation bias and debiasing techniques in prosecutorial decision-making
Date
2019
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Publisher
Psychology, Crime & Law
Abstract
This research examines the role of confirmation bias in prosecutorial
decisions before, during and after the prosecution. It also evaluates
whether confirmation bias is reduced by changing the decision
maker between arrest and prosecution. In Experiment 1, Swedish
prosecutors (N = 40) assessed 8 scenarios where they either
decided themselves or were informed about a colleague’s
decision to arrest or not arrest a suspect. Participants then rated
how trustworthy the suspect’s statement was as well as the
strength of new ambiguous evidence and the total evidence. They
also decided whether to prosecute and what additional
investigative measures to undertake. In Experiment 2 the same
method was used with Law and Psychology students (N = 60).
Overall, prosecutors’ assessments before the prosecution indicated
that they were able to act as their own devil’s advocate. Also,
their assessments while deciding about whether to prosecute
were reasonably balanced. However, after pressing charges, they
displayed a more guilt-confirming mindset, suggesting they then
took on the role as crime fighters. This differed from the student
sample in which higher levels of guilt confirmation was displayed
in relation to arrested suspects consistently before, during and
after a prosecution decision. The role of prosecutors’ working
experience is discussed.
Description
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Keywords
prosecution, bias, research, debiasing, arrest, International Resources, Sweden
Citation
Lidén, M., Gräns, M., & Juslin, P. (2019). From devil’s advocate to crime fighter: Confirmation bias and debiasing techniques in prosecutorial decision-making. Psychology, Crime & Law, 25(5), 494-526.