Interrogative suggestibility and delinquent boys: An empirical validation study

This study has several aims. First, to validate the Gudjonsson Suggestibility Scale (GSS) among delinquent and adolescent boys placed in an assessment and short-term treatment centre. Second, to test the hypothesis that adolescent boys are particularly susceptible to suggestions when they are ‘pressured’ by negative feedback and instructions. Finally, to investigate the hypothesis that suggestibility is related to memory recall and self-esteem. The GSS was administered to 31 boys (ages 11 to 16 yr) who had been independently rated by two teachers on measures of suggestibility and self-esteem. Suggestibility as measured by the GSS was found to correlate significantly with the teachers' ratings of suggestibility, supporting empirically the criterion-related validity of the GSS. Compared with young ‘normal’ adults the boys were no more likely to give in to suggestive questions than the adults, unless their performance was subjected to criticism and negative feedback. The results suggest that deliquent adolescents may be particularly responsive to interpersonal pressure during interrogation. The findings have important implications for police interrogation procedures.     

Confession evidence,psychological vulnerability and expert testimony

There have been major changes in English Law with regard to confession evidence, which followed the implementation of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE) in January 1986. This paper reviews the main legal changes that are relevant to the admissibility and reliability of confessions and their psychological importance within the context of both research and expert testimony.     

Personality patterns of British police officers

This study investigates personality patterns in four different British police groups. The subjects comprised: (i) 84 police recruits; (ii) 84 probationary constables; (iii) 73 experienced constables; and (iv) 112 officers of senior rank. Of particular interest were personality traits measured by the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ) and the Eysencks' I5. The former measures Psychoticism (P), Extraversion (E) and Neuroticism (N), whereas the latter monitors Impulsiveness (Imp), Venturesomeness (Vent) and Empathy (Emp). All groups tended to be low on P, but whereas the recruits were highly extraverted, venturesome and impulsive, the remaining groups were more reserved, controlled and exhibited fewer empathetic responses. The findings are discussed in terms of ‘wastage’ and occupational socialization.     

The ‘Notice to Detained Persons’, PACE Codes,and reading ease

This paper looks at the reading ease of the ‘Notice to Detained Persons’ and the PACE Codes of Practice. The documents were analysed by using the Flesch formula for reading ease (Flesch, 1948). The results indicate that the leaflet of Notice, given to arrested persons at police stations in order to advise them of their legal rights, would be fully understood by fewer than one in four of the general population. The Codes of Practice are even more complicated, and require substantially above-average intelligence and comprehension. An exploratory study into the comprehension complexity of the Notice to Detained Persons was carried out on 15 offenders with IQ values below 100. The results support the findings obtained by the Flesch formula, indicating that the Notice is far too complicated for the intellectually disadvantaged to understand their rights fully as outlined in the document. The implications of the findings are discussed.     

The relationship between false confessions and perceptions of parental rearing practices

The main aim of the study was to investigate the relationship between a history of having made a false confession and reported parental rearing practices. It was hypothesized that the reporting of rejection and absence of warmth by parents would be associated with the making of a false confession. The participants were 804 college students in Iceland. Each was asked about false confessions made to teachers and parents in the past, as well as about false confessions made to the police during questioning. The participants completed questionnaires relating to perceived parental rearing practices (EMBU), proneness to antisocial behavior (the Gough Socialization Scale), personality (EPQ), self-esteem (Rosenberg), and compliance (GCS). Only eight participants (1% of those interrogated) claimed to have made false confessions to the police, whereas 10% claimed to have made false confessions to teachers or parents. False confessions were significantly associated with proneness to antisocial behavior and the EMBU Rejection and Warmth scales for both fathers and mothers.     

A validation of a computerised task of risk-taking and moral decision-making and its association with sensation-seeking,impulsivity and sociomoral reasoning

The aim of this study was to investigate the reliability and validity of the computer based application of the Secret Agent (SA) task of risk-taking and moral decision-making. The participants were 100 male patients in a maximum security hospital (50 with severe mental illness and 50 with personality disorder) and 50 community based healthy controls. All participants completed the SA task, the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT), and measures of IQ, antisocial personality traits, sensation-seeking, impulsivity and sociomoral reasoning. The SA risk-taking and moral decision-making scales had satisfactory levels of reliability (Cronbach’s alpha). Risk-taking correlated significantly with sensation-seeking across all three participant groups. In contrast, risk-taking only correlated with impulsivity among the severe mental illness group. Moral decision-making correlated with sociomoral reasoning among the personality disorder group. No correlation was found between the SA scores and the IGT score and the IGT did not correlate with sensation-seeking or impulsivity. IQ and antisocial personality traits did not correlate with the SA or IGT scales. The study highlights the importance of context, the nature of the risk-taking task, and ‘problem framing’ of the instructions in their relationship with individual differences.