Authorities' perceptions of fairness as a cause of wrongful conviction

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Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/1959.3/238175

Title: Authorities' perceptions of fairness as a cause of wrongful conviction
Author(s): Sivasubramaniam, Diane; Heuer, Larry; Schmidt, Hannah; Silva, Hanna Noronha
Abstract: We hypothesised that interrogators would perceive coercive interrogations to be fairer than suspects and observers. Participants (n = 179) read descriptions of an interrogation procedure, in which five factors were manipulated: Role (Police, Suspect, Observer), Procedure (Coercive, Non-coercive), Confidence of interrogator (High, Low), Accuracy of procedure (High, Low), and Outcome (suspects innocent, suspects guilty). Compared to suspects and neutral observers, police officers considered coercive procedures and the outcomes they would produce to be fairer, and were more satisfied with coercive procedures and their outcomes. Results are discussed in terms of their implications for procedural justice theories and police interrogation behavior.
Publication type: Conference paper
Source: Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Psychology-Law Society, San Antonio, Texas, United States, 04-07 March 2009
Publication year: 2009
Keyword(s): Coersive procedures; Fairness judgments; Police interrogation behavior; Procedural fairness
Publisher: American Psychology-Law Society
Publisher URL: http://www.ap-ls.org/conferences/apls2009/index.html
Peer reviewed