Christian A. Meissner, Ph.D.

The Cognitive Interview: A meta-analytic review and study space analysis of the past 25 years

Amina Memon et al. — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 13:30:33 PDT

The Cognitive Interview (CI) is a well-established protocol for interviewing witnesses. The current article presents a study space analysis of laboratory studies of the CI together with an empirical meta-analysis summarizing the past 25 years of research. The study space comprises 57 published articles (65 experiments) on the CI, providing an assessment of the boundary conditions underlying the analysis and application of this interview protocol. The current meta-analysis includes 46 published articles, including 20 articles published since the last meta-analysis conducted a decade earlier (Ko¨hnken, Milne, Memon, & Bull, 1999). Reassuringly for practitioners, the findings of the original meta-analysis were replicated with a large and significant increase in correct details and a small increase in errors. In addition we found that there were no differences in the rate at which details are confabulated. Importantly, the effect sizes were unaffected by the inclusion of recent studies using modified versions of the CI. The CI appeared to benefit older adult witnesses even more than younger adults. We highlight trends and gaps in research and discuss how our findings can inform policy and training decisions.

Minimization and maximization techniques: Assessing the perceived consequences of confessing and confession diagnosticity

Allyson J. Horgan et al. — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 07:00:02 PST

Identifying interrogation strategies that minimize the likelihood of obtaining false information, without compromising the ability to elicit true information, is a challenge faced by both law enforcement and scientists. Previous research suggests that minimization and maximization techniques may be perceived by a suspect as an expectation of leniency and a threat of harsher punishment, respectively, and that these approaches may be associated with false confessions. The current studies examine whether it is possible to distinguish between minimization and maximization techniques that do or do not influence a suspect’s perceptions of the consequences of confessing. Results indicate that techniques that manipulate the perceived consequences of confessing influence both the decision to confess and the diagnostic value of confession evidence.

Modeling the influence of investigator bias on the elicitation of true and false confessions

Fadia M. Narchet et al. — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 09:04:06 PST

The aim of this study was to model various social and cognitive processes believed to be associated with true and false confessions by exploring the link between investigative biases and what occurs in the interrogation room. Using the Russano et al. (Psychol Sci 16:481–486, 2005) paradigm, this study explored how perceptions of guilt influenced the frequency and type of interrogation tactics used, suspect’s perceptions of the interrogation process, the likelihood of confession, and investigator’s resulting perceptions of culpability. Results suggested that investigator bias led to the increased use of minimization tactics and thereby increased the likelihood of false confessions by innocent participants. In contrast, the manipulation of investigator bias had no direct or indirect influence on guilty participants. These findings confirm the important role of investigator bias and improve our understanding of the decision-making process associated with true and false confessions.

The need for a positive psychological approach and collaborative effort for improving practice in the interrogation room

Christian A. Meissner et al. — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 16:27:17 PST

The White Paper suggests important reforms that will reduce the likelihood of false confessions resulting from police interrogation. The research underlying these suggested reforms has yielded significant advances in our understanding of factors associated with false confessions. As we move forward, we encourage the development of empirically based approaches that provide a viable alternative to current practice. In doing so, we suggest that researchers pursue a positive psychological approach that involves partnering with practitioners to systematically develop interrogative methods that are shown to be more diagnostic. By taking such an approach, we believe that the recommendations offered in the current White Paper can be supplemented by methods that carry the support of both scientific and law enforcement communities.

Interrogation and torture

Christian A. Meissner et al. — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 09:55:20 PDT

Modeling the role of social-cognitive processes in the recognition of own- and other-race faces

Kyle J. Susa et al. — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 15:37:01 PDT

Known as the cross-race effect (CRE), psychological research has consistently shown that people are less accurate at identifying faces of another, less familiar race. While the CRE has most often been demonstrated in recognition memory, its effects have also been found in temporally preceding social-cognitive stages – including racial categorization, perceptual discrimination, and higher-level cognitive processing. Using path models of own- and other-race face processing, the current study sought to estimate how temporally preceding processes might mediate the CRE established in recognition memory. Results demonstrated that racial categorization and higher-level cognitive processes primarily mediate the CRE in recognition memory, and that the degree of interracial contact moderated the incidence of repetition errors on other-race faces.

The need for expert psychological testimony on eyewitness identification

Roy S. Malpass et al. — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 08:41:28 PDT

Perceptual identification and the cross-race effect

Jessica L. Marcon et al. — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 08:38:19 PDT

The current research examined whether the cross-race effect (CRE) was evident in perceptual identification tasks and the extent to which certain boundary conditions moderated the effect. Across two experiments, a significant CRE was observed in measures of accuracy and response latency. As predicted, Experiment 1 showed that the CRE was exacerbated when encoding time was brief and test set size was increased. Experiment 2 replicated the effect of set size, but also showed that the CRE was more pronounced when the retention interval was lengthened. The theoretical and practical implications of the results are discussed.

Criminal versus HUMINT interrogations: The importance of psychological science to improving interrogative practice.

Christian A. Meissner et al. — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 08:22:42 PDT

The discovery of many cases of wrongful conviction in the criminal justice system involving admissions from innocent suspects has led psychologists to examine the factors contributing to false confessions. However, little systematic research has assessed the processes underlying Human Intelligence (HUMINT) interrogations relating to military and intelligence operations. The current article examines the similarities and differences between interrogations in criminal and HUMINT settings, and discusses the extent to which the current empirical literature can be applied to criminal and/or HUMINT interrogations. Finally, areas of future research are considered in light of the need for improving HUMINT interrogation.

Can intuition improve deception detection performance?

Justin S. Albrechtsen et al. — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 08:19:03 PDT

Two studies examined the role of processing style (intuitive vs. deliberative processing) in a deception detection task. In the first experiment, a thin slicing manipulation was used to demonstrate that intuitive processing can lead to more accurate judgments of deception when compared with traditional deliberative forms of processing. In the second experiment, participants who engaged in a secondary (concurrent) task performed more accurately in a deception detection task than participants who were asked to provide a verbal rationale for each decision and those in a control condition. Overall, the results converge to suggest that intuitive processing can significantly improve deception detection performance.

The importance of a laboratory science for improving the diagnostic value of confession evidence

Christian A. Meissner et al. — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 18:58:31 PDT

Assessing the influence of recollection and familiarity in memory for own- vs. other-race faces

Jessica L. Marcon et al. — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 20:49:58 PDT

The current research examined the contributions of recollection vs. familiarity in memory for own- and other-race faces. Experiment 1 used a repetition lag paradigm (Jennings & Jacoby, 1997) to demonstrate the typical cross-race effect with respect to discrimination accuracy and response bias. Participants were also more likely to commit the ‘repetition error’ by falsely recognizing repeated other-race faces. Experiment 2 used process-dissociation equations to estimate differences in recollection and familiarity. As predicted, results showed a greater reliance on recollection-based processing for own-race faces. The theoretical and practical implications of these finding are discussed.

Police interrogations and false confessions: Current research, practice, and policy recommendations

G. Daniel Lassiter et al. — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 09:55:35 PDT

A “middle road” approach to bridging the basic-applied divide in eyewitness identification research

Sean M. Lane et al. — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 09:48:17 PDT

Over a century of laboratory research has explored the mechanisms of memory using a variety of paradigms and stimuli. In addition, many researchers have taken up Neisser’s (1978) challenge to examine memory under real-world conditions, most prominently including the eyewitness identification problem. Unfortunately, these “high road” and “low road” perspectives rarely communicate with one another, with the eyewitness field largely adopting an approach that focuses on methodological adherence to conditions that mimic real-world situations. In the current paper we advocate for a “middle road” approach that includes a focus on theory development, an emphasis on the interaction between field and laboratory research, and the implementation of convergent approaches to investigating eyewitness identification. We argue that the field would be invigorated by such an approach, with benefits accruing to our understanding of eyewitness identification and to the development of procedures that will ultimately improve eyewitness accuracy.

Basic and applied issues in eyewitness research: A Münsterberg centennial retrospective

Brian H. Bornstein et al. — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 09:44:12 PDT

Recognising faces across continents: The effect of within-race variations on the own-race bias in face recognition

Patrick M. Chiroro et al. — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 09:34:45 PDT

People are better at recognising faces of their own-race than faces of other racial groups. This own-race bias (ORB) in face recognition manifests in some studies as a full cross-over interaction between race of observer and race of face, but in others the interaction is accompanied by main effects or other complexities. We hypothesised that this may be due in part to unacknowledged within-race variation and the implicit assumption that the terms ‘white’ and ‘black’ describe perceptually homogenous race categories. We therefore tested white and black South Africans on their recognition of black and white American faces and black and white South African faces. Our results showed the expected interaction, but only for South African faces. This finding supports explanations of the ORB that are premised on inter-group contact and perceptual experience and highlights the danger of assuming homogeneity of appearance within groups.

False confessions

Christian A. Meissner et al. — Tue, 06 May 2008 16:08:07 PDT

Cross-racial lineup identification: The potential benefits of context reinstatement

Jacqueline R. Evans et al. — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 10:06:04 PST

The current research examined the potential benefit of context reinstatement on the cross-race effect in lineup identification. Participants viewed a series of own- and other-race faces and subsequently attempted identification of these faces from target-present and target-absent lineups. The traditional cross-race effect was found on measures of discrimination accuracy and response bias; however, discrimination accuracy across own- and other-race faces was shown to interact with context reinstatement such that only own-race faces benefited from the provision of contextual information. This finding is discussed in light of encoding-based theories of the cross-race effect, and with regard to the theoretical and practical limitations of mitigating the phenomenon at the time of identification.

The effects of accomplice witnesses and jailhouse informants on jury decision making

Jeffrey S. Neuschatz et al. — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 15:41:44 PDT

The present study presents one of the first investigations of the effects of accomplice witnesses and jailhouse informants on jury decision-making. Across two experiments, participants read a trial transcript that included either a secondary confession from an accomplice witness, a jailhouse informant, a member of the community or a no confession control. In half of the experimental trial transcripts, the participants were made aware that the cooperating witness providing the secondary confession was given an incentive to testify. The results of both experiments revealed that information about the cooperating witness’ incentive (e.g., leniency or reward) did not affect participants’ verdict decisions. In Experiment 2, participant jurors appeared to commit the fundamental attribution error, as they attributed the motivation of the accomplice witness and jailhouse informant almost exclusively to personal factors as opposed to situational factors. Furthermore, both experiments revealed that mock jurors voted guilty significantly more often when there was a confession relative to a no confession control condition. The implications of the use of accomplice witness and jailhouse informant testimony are discussed.

Special issue on forensic science (Part 1)

Kenneth G. Furton et al. — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 15:41:43 PDT