Week 2

Question 1

An abbreviated cognitive interview

Answer 1

Explain the purpose of the interview

Reinstate context

Initiate a free report

Ask if the witness can remember more

Ask open-ended questions

Follow-up with detailed questions

Closure

Question 2

Hypnotic interviewing

Answer 2

What is hypnotic interviewing?
Varies from situation to situation but some essential similarities (Hibbard & Worring, 1981)

The hypnotist establishes rapport

The hypnotist uses an induction procedure

The hypnotist uses a deepening procedure

Instructions are provided to enhance recall e.g. “age regression” and the “tv technique”

The witness is awakened

Question 3

What is hypnosis?

Answer 3

State theorists
—-Hypnosis can produce profound alterations in the participant’s state of awareness that is different from the waking state (Hilgard, 1986)

Non-state theorists
—-Reject state theory and contend that hypnotic phenomena is explicable through imagination, role enactment, compliance, conformity, attention, attitudes and expectancies (Wagstaff, 1981)

Question 4

Implications

Answer 4

State theorists are more likely to suggest hypnosis has some special capacity to enhance memory

Non-state theorists are likely to postulate that any enhancements are due to other factors associated with hypnotic rituals

Question 5

Laboratory studies
of hypnosis by kebbel and wagstaff 1999

found what issues?

Answer 5

• Accuracy Rates
• Confidence effects
• Suggestibility
• Juror effects

Question 6

Field studies

Factors that may create the impression of memory enhancement

Answer 6

Accuracy Rates
Confidence effects
Suggestibility
Juror effects

Question 7

Accuracy Rates

Answer 7

Erdelyi (1994) categorised experimental studies into memory enhancement with hypnosis into four types

• low sense (e.g., inkblots, nonsense sylables)
• high sense (e.g., filmed crimes)
• testing conditions (e.g., recognition or recall)

this is 3 types? WTF Mark!

Question 8

Accuracy rates

recognition, low sense, high sense

Answer 8

No hypermnesia shown for recognition (e.g., Putman, 1979)

or recall of low sense stimuli (e.g., Salzberg & De Piano, 1980)

But for recall of high sense material there is some indication that hypnosis can improve recall (e.g., Cooper and London, 1973)

Question 9

Accuracy rates

not all studies show improvements in?

when response criteria is what, what happens?

Answer 9

However, not all studies show improvements in recall (e.g., McConkey and Nogrady, 1984) and none of these studies control for accuracy rates

When response criteria is controlled for (e.g. by making everyone guess) no improvement with hypnosis is found (e.g., Dinges, et al. (1992).

Question 10

Accuracy rates

state vs non state explanations

Answer 10

Non-State explanation: pressure causes a lowering of criterion for report, report imaginings as being real.

State: Hilgard (1986) for example, argues that hypnosis creates a process of dissociation in which the control structures that normally detect and monitor memory a perception are dissociated from consciousness. Thus imagination may be confused with reality.

Question 11

Confidence

hypnotic subjects tend to show?

Answer 11

Hypnotic subjects tend to show and increase in confidence regardless of accuracy and this is particularly the case for those high in hypnotic suggestibility (e.g., Dywan & Bowers, 1983).

Question 12

Confidence”

state v nonstate

Answer 12

Non-state explanation: implicit and explicit pressures to be a good witness cause the witness to express high confidence. See Redston & Knox (1983) who had participants fake being a good subject- expressed even higher levels of confidence than hypnotic group.

State: Again problems with memory monitoring, accept everything as accurate.

Question 13

Suggestibility

Answer 13

Results have been varied. Some show increases (e.g., Dywan and Bowers, 1983).
Others have not (Yuille & McEwan, 1985)

Nevertheless, those high in hypnotic suggestibility seem more suggestible (relate to GSS (gudjonsson sugestibility scale) and methodolgy

Question 14

Legal implications

Answer 14

Prevents cross-examination

Adversely influences the jury (Wagstaff, et al. 1992).

Question 15

Reasons for success

what other reasons may explain hypnosis being successful?

Answer 15

Absence of negative factors
Presence of positive factors
Face saving

Question 16

False confessions

johnny lee wilson example

Answer 16

• neighbour had been murdered
• Johnny Lee Wilson, learning disabled
• Confessed and fed the answers
• Explained confessed because frightened when officers grabbed his face.
• -“A cop said ‘if you confess… we can all go home’ I thought he meant me too”

Question 17

Andrew Mallard

False confession

Answer 17

Police notes of interviews with Mallard during which, the police claimed, he had confessed. These notes had not been signed by Mallard.

A video recording of the last twenty minutes of Mallard’s eleven hours of interviews. The video shows Mallard speculating as to how the murderer might have killed Pamela Lawrence; police claimed that, although it was given in third-person, it was a confession.

Question 18

Andrew mallard cold case review in 2006 found what

Answer 18

A police cold case review of the Mallard investigation in 2006 found Mrs Lawrence was most likely murdered by Simon Rochford.

Rochford was serving a jail sentence for the murder of his girlfriend, Brigitta Dickens, who was killed about seven weeks after Mrs Lawrence.

Rochford was found dead in his cell at Albany Prison in May 2006.

He committed suicide after being named in the media as a new suspect in the murder.

Question 19

Why would someone make a false confession?

Answer 19

To get out of having to study

Question 20

Types of false confession

Three general categories of false confession have been identified

Answer 20

voluntary false confession

coerced-compliant confession

coerced-internalised confession

(Gudjonsson, 2003).

Question 21

Voluntary false confessions

Answer 21

Voluntary false confessions occur without any external pressure or coercion.

Reasons for confessing to a crime he did not commit may include a desire for attention or punishment or a genuine belief that they committed the crime.

Question 22

Voluntary false confessions

various examples and reasons why someone might falsely confess voluntarily

Answer 22

Man confessing to impress his girlfriend (Colin Stagg)

A woman with schizophrenia who believed auditory hallucinations

To protect the real criminal

As they believe they will be convicted anyway

To cover up other criminal and non-criminal acts

Question 23

Coerced-compliant false confessions

Answer 23

Result from the nature of the police interview. Although the suspect knows that he is not guilty he confesses as a result of the coercive nature of the questioning

While suspects know that they have not committed the crime, they confess as a result of the coercive nature of police questioning coupled with the belief that they will achieve some advantage from confessing:

• -to stop the interview
• -the truth will come out later
• -a lawyer will be able to clear up matters at a later time.

Question 24

Coerced-compliant false confessions

factors might include what?

Answer 24

Suggestive and aggressive questioning, repeated questioning, prolonged questioning over a period of time.

Questioning whilst the suspect is tired, violence or threats of violence, social isolation, and absence of a solicitor (see Kebbell & Wagstaff, 1999).

Essentially all these factors are likely to make the interrogation more unpleasant, reduce the suspect’s ability to make appropriate decisions, and increase the suspect’s belief that the only way to terminate the interrogation is through confessing.

Question 25

Coerced-compliant false confessions

who is more likely?
what impact does psych chars of the individual have?

Answer 25

Young adults are more likely to confess, as are suspects with little life experience in general and who have limited experience of being questioned by the police in particular.

Psychological characteristics of the individual have an impact on the likelihood of a confession. In particular, cognitive skills (e.g., intelligence, reading ability, memory), personality (e.g., suggestibility, compliance to those in authority, low self-esteem, emotional loneliness), specific anxiety problems (e.g., fear of incarceration, fear of the police) and mental illness (e.g., clinical depression, schizophrenia).

All serve to reduce the individuals’ ability to understand their current situation, to generate appropriate problem-solving strategies, and to consider the long-term consequences of making a false confession.

Question 26

Coerced-compliant false confessions

inbau and reid 1981 said what about the factors that may lead to a false confession?

Answer 26

The more of these factors that are present in an interrogation and concern the suspect, the greater the likelihood of a false confession. Nevertheless presence of these factors does not make a false confession inevitable, simply more likely (c.f., Inbau and Reid, 1981).

Question 27

Sofia Rodriguez-Urrutia Shu

2006/7

Answer 27

Eight year-old-girl murdered in the toilets of a shopping centre in Western Australia
Dante Arthurs, previously investigated for an attack on an eight year-old-girl. His police interview was inadmissible—why?

arthurs was not convicted of earlier crime (2003) due to bad police interview

Also for 2007 crime :
On 31 August 2007, Justice Peter Blaxell ruled that the bulk of the admissions made by Arthurs in a video recorded interview with police on the morning after the offence, would be inadmissible at his trial on ground of “persistent importunity, or sustained or undue insistence or pressure

Question 28

Coerced-internalised confessions

Answer 28

Coerced-internalised confessions occur where suspects come to believe their own guilt. These confessions may occur when the suspect has memory failure, for instance because of alcohol or drug use or have strong religious beliefs.

The suspect may think, “If the police say I did it and they have evidence, I must have done it”. Alternatively, the suspect may have a clear recollection that they did not commit the offence but comes to distrust his memory after a coercive interview.

Question 29

Coerced-internalised confessions

Examples

Answer 29

Ofshe (1989)
Tom Sawyer
Neighbour murdered
Nervous, sweaty, blushed a lot
Previously an alcoholic suffered blackouts
Asked how would do it told this happened
Faked polygraph and hair sample
Came to believe he committed the murder

Question 30

How to prevent false confessions

Answer 30

Identify at risk suspects

Be prepared to contemplate the suspect is innocent

Reduce police pressure and tricks

Record interviews

Suspects are likely to immediately retract

Compare details from the confession with known facts- withhold guilty knowledge

Question 31

Gudjonsson Suggestibility Scale

Answer 31

The Gudjonsson Suggestibility Scale (GSS2) measures memory, suggestibility and confabulation which can relate to the quality of evidence that a witness is able to give in court and the likelihood of a false confession (Gudjonsson, 1997).

Question 32

False allegations?

Answer 32

It is difficult to get reliable information concerning the number of false allegations that are made.

Can be made for a variety of reasons (Aiken, Burgess, & Hazelwood, 1995; Kanin, 1994):
Desire for attention
Sex stress situations
To obtain a gain
Because of genuine but misguided belief that they were offended against

Question 33

Dangers of innocence (Kassin et al., 2003)

Answer 33

Overall, investigators who were led to expect guilt rather than innocence asked more guilt-presumptive questions, used more techniques, exerted more pressure to get a confession, and made innocent suspects sound more anxious and defensive to observers. They were also more likely to see suspects in incriminating terms, exhibiting a 23% increase in post-interrogation judgments of guilt.

Question 34

Detecting Deception

vocal chars

Answer 34

Vocal characteristics (Vrij, 1998)

• Ah-speech
• Non-ah speech (slips of tongue, incomplete)
• Pitch of voice
• Speech rate
• Latency of response

Question 35

Theory of deception detection

Answer 35

The emotional approach suggests that deception can result in guilt, fear and/or excitement (Ekman, 1985).

The cognitive approach suggests that lying is complex and requires cognitive resources causing general disruption (Kohnken, 1989)

Control approach suggests that liars are aware of their body movements and try to over-control them.

Question 36

Wright-Whelan, Wagstaff & Wheatcrowt

Answer 36

High stakes lies more easy to detect
?????

some video

Question 37

Detecting deception
"
cues to nerves
being accused
poor detectors

Answer 37

What are the cues to nervousness?

Being accused of lying is likely to make someone nervous.

People are poor detectors of deception and become overconfident with training in this area.

Accusations and beliefs that someone is guilty may make them look more guilty (e.g., Kassin & Gudjonsson, 2004).

Question 38

The Polygraph

Answer 38

Interviewing to elicit information
Control question test
Guilty knowledge test
Some effectiveness

Question 39

Why do people confess?

Moston, Stephenson & Williamson (1992) looked at 1,067 interviews, looked at:

Answer 39

Suspect (age, criminal history)

Offence (type, severity)

Context (evidence, legal advice)

Interview (interview style)

Evidence is the major factor (perception)

Question 40

Evidence….

Answer 40

If you were a suspect, what would make you think the investigating officer would be able to collect a great deal of evidence?

Question 41

What do sex offenders say would help them confess (Kebbell, Hurren, & Mazerolle, 2006)?

Answer 41

‘evidence’ “the only thing they could put in front of them is the evidence, their past history…”)

‘compassion’ (e.g., “to be compassionate…be understanding. When people commit a crime, there are typically factors underlying that crime…” and “police officers could be more understanding…instead of coming on to you like you are the worst of the worst),

‘neutrality’ (e.g., “I think if they made them feel relaxed, not judged. The usual thing to do would be to make people feel more open…” and, “ask their side of the story, try to find more evidence”)

Question 42

confessors vs deniers

Table

Answer 42

see slide 48

more likely to deny when cop is dominant
more likely to confess when cop is ethical and appreciates suspects humanity
more likely to confess when strength of evidence shown

Question 43

hostile, evasive, sympathy triangle thing

Answer 43

no idea wtf its meant to represent but its on slide 49

Question 44

hostile behaviours and percentages that they occur in the suspect

Answer 44

State Poor Memory 32

Repeating Question Back 20

Respond With Question 13

Aggressive Response 8

Defiance 8

Fail To Acknowledge Question 7

Act Don’t Understand Question 6

Question 45

Sympathy behaviours and % of

Answer 45

Minimize Actus Rea 35

Implausible Statement 34

Minimize As Act Of Love 34

Appeal for Sympathy 25

Claim Prior Good Character 25

Show Remorse 20

Ignorance Of Law 11

Emotional Response 9

Question 46

Evasive

Answer 46

Fail To Answer Question 53

Blame the Complainant 21

Evasiveness 14

Controlling Interview 9

Complain Unfair Treatment 6

Change Subject 5

Question 47

Inbau & Reid’s nine step approach

Answer 47

1. Positive confrontation
2. Theme development
3. Handling denials
4. Overcoming objections
5. Retain suspect’s attention
6. Handling the suspects mood
7. Creating an opportunity to confess
8. Oral confession
9. Converting an oral confession into a written confession

Question 48

Example from Reid Associates (2012)

Answer 48

It was presented that a forensic interview of the victim had been conducted, which meant we knew that the child had told the truth. It was presented as fact that the suspect had inappropriate activity with the victim.
The first theme presented was simply a choice between detectives trying to determine whether the suspect doesn’t understand boundaries or is a pedophile that doesn’t care about the victim. The scenario posed to the suspect was in helping us determine if he needed help or if he was a danger to the community. The suspect said he was not a danger to anybody.
The theme of a 39-year-old man with an instant family and an inability to cope was presented as opposed to the suspect targeting the victim’s mother for marriage solely to access the victim. The suspect denied targeting the victim and her mother.
The theme of the suspect possibly having been victimized in his past was presented, which the suspect denied.
The theme of the victim making sexual advances was presented. The suspect responded by blaming the victim - first saying the victim had grabbed his penis, and that was the extent of the incident. It was reinforced that detectives were not intending to judge him, we just wanted him to be honest and we wanted to be able to tell people who looked at the case that he was honest.
The suspect eventually began admission by saying he was disgusted with himself. He said he was aroused when the victim was laying on him watching TV. The victim asked what “it” was and he told her. Suspect said victim pulled his pants down and went on to characterize the victim as participating in activity as if she was a consenting adult on more than one occasion.