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Intelligence, previous convictions and interrogative suggestibility: A path analysis of alleged false‐confession cases
Author(s) -
Sharrock Robert,
Gudjonsson Gisli H.
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
british journal of clinical psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.479
H-Index - 92
eISSN - 2044-8260
pISSN - 0144-6657
DOI - 10.1111/j.2044-8260.1993.tb01041.x
Subject(s) - suggestibility , interrogative , psychology , confession (law) , path analysis (statistics) , social psychology , developmental psychology , linguistics , philosophy , statistics , mathematics , political science , law
The main purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between interrogative suggestibility and previous convictions among 108 defendants in criminal trials, using a path analysis technique. It was hypothesized that previous convictions, which may provide defendants with interrogative experiences, would correlate negatively with ‘shift’ as measured by the Gudjonsson Suggestibility Scale (Gudjonsson, 1984 a ), after intelligence and memory had been controlled for. The hypothesis was partially confirmed and the theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.