Interviewing Strategically to Elicit Admissions From Guilty Suspects

Journal article


Tekin, S., Granhag, P. A., Stromwall, L.A., Mac Giolla, E., Vrij, A. and Hartwig, M. (2015). Interviewing Strategically to Elicit Admissions From Guilty Suspects. Law and Human Behavior. 39 (3), p. 244 –252. https://doi.org/10.1037/lhb0000131
AuthorsTekin, S., Granhag, P. A., Stromwall, L.A., Mac Giolla, E., Vrij, A. and Hartwig, M.
Abstract

In this article we introduce a novel interviewing tactic to elicit admissions from guilty suspects. By
influencing the suspects’ perception of the amount of evidence the interviewer holds against them, we
aimed to shift the suspects’ counterinterrogation strategies from less to more forthcoming. The proposed
tactic (SUE-Confrontation) is a development of the Strategic Use of Evidence (SUE) framework and
aims to affect the suspects’ perception by confronting them with statement-evidence inconsistencies.
Participants (N 90) were asked to perform several mock criminal tasks before being interviewed using
1 of 3 interview techniques: (a) SUE-Confrontation, (b) Early Disclosure of Evidence, or (c) No
Disclosure of Evidence. As predicted, the SUE-Confrontation interview generated more statementevidence inconsistencies from suspects than the Early Disclosure interview. Importantly, suspects in the
SUE-Confrontation condition (vs. Early and No disclosure conditions) admitted more self-incriminating
information and also perceived the interviewer to have had more information about the critical phase of
the crime (the phase where the interviewer lacked evidence). The findings show the adaptability of the
SUE-technique and how it may be used as a tool for eliciting admissions.

Keywordsadmissions, statement-evidence inconsistency, strategic use of evidence
Year2015
JournalLaw and Human Behavior
Journal citation39 (3), p. 244 –252
PublisherAmerican Psychological Association
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1037/lhb0000131
Publication dates
Print06 Apr 2015
Publication process dates
Submitted09 Jul 2014
Deposited15 Oct 2019
Accepted author manuscript
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All rights reserved
File Access Level
Open
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