Interrogation and Suspect Decision Making

The fact that innocent suspects falsely confess to crimes they did not commit (or in some cases did not even happen) is counterintuitive and a decision that most people find unbelievable. Yet research makes clear and hundreds of exonerations clearly prove that innocent people confess to murders, sexual assaults, and other crimes that they did not commit. Our research team examines the complex social cognitive underpinnings that can can cause any person--healthy or unhealthy, youth and adults, intellectually impaired or not--to confess to crimes they did not commit. Our research examines the effects of social influences, cognitive factors (such as short-sighted decision making), physiologic reactivity, and the naivete that often accompanies innocence on people's willingness to falsely confess to criminal wrongdoing. Our research team also examines the effect of the stigma associated with instances of false confession and how the stigma continues to disadvantage innocent individuals long after they leave the interrogation.

Related Publications

Madon, S., Scherr, K. C., Ditchfield, R. (in press). The psychological causes of criminal confessions. In R. Hollander-Blumoff (Ed.), Research Handbook in Law and Psychology. Cheltenham, United Kingdom: Elgar.

Scherr, K.C., & Normile, C.J. (2022). False confessions predict a delay between release from incarceration and official exoneration. Law and Human Behavior, 46, 67-80. (Recipient of APA's Article Spotlight)

Scherr, K. C., Redlich, A. D., & Kassin, S. M. (2020). Cumulative disadvantage: A psychological framework for understanding how innocence can lead to confession, wrongful conviction, and beyond. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 15, 353–383.

Scherr, K.C., Normile, C.J., Luna, S., Redlich, A.D., Lawrence, M., & Catlin, M. (2020). False admissions of guilt associated with wrongful convictions undermine people’s perceptions of exonerees. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 26, 233-244.

Mindthoff, A., Evans, J. R., Perez, G., Woestehoff, S. A., Olaguez, A. P., Klemfuss, J. Z., Normile, C. J., Scherr, K. C., Carlucci, M. E., Carol, R. N., Meissner, C. A., Michael, S. W., Russano, M. B., Stocks, E. L., Vallano, J. P., & Woody, W. D. (2020). Juror perceptions of intoxicated suspects’ interrogation-related behaviors. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 47, 222–246.

Kassin, S. M., Scherr, K. C., & Alceste, F. (2020). The right to remain silent: Realities and illusions. The Handbook of Legal and Investigative Psychology.

Scherr, K. C., Normile, C. J., & Putney, H. (2018). Perpetually stigmatized: False confessions prompt underlying mechanisms that motivate negative perceptions of exonerees. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 24, 341-352.

Normile, C. J. & Scherr, K. C. (2018). Physiologic reactivity, police tactics, and resisting confession: Individuals' unique experiences during interrogations. Law and Human Behavior, 42, 497-506.

Mindthoff, A., Evans, J. R., Perez, G., Woestehoff, S. A., Olaguez, A. P., Klemfuss, J. Z., Normile, C. J., Scherr, K. C., Carlucci, M. E., Carol, R. N., Meissner, C. A., Michael, S. W., Russano, M. B., Stocks, E. L., Vallano, J. P., & Woody, W. D. (2018). A survey of potential jurors' perceptions of interrogations and confessions. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 24, 430-448.

Scherr, K. C., Normile, C. J., Bierstetel, S. J., Franks, A. S., & Hawkins, I (2018). Knowingly but naively: The overpowering influence of innocence on interrogation rights decision-making. Law and Human Behavior, 42, 26-36.

Smalarz, L., Scherr, K. C., & Kassin, S. M. (2016). Miranda at 50: A psychological analysis. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 25, 455-460.

Scherr, K. C., Alberts, K. A., Franks, A. S., & Hawkins, I. (2016). Overcoming innocents’ naiveté: Pre-interrogation decision-making among innocent suspects. Behavioral Sciences and the Law, 34, 564-579.

Scherr, K. C., Ashby, J., & Agauas, S, J. (2016). The text matters: Eye movements reflect the cognitive processing of interrogation rights. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 30, 234-241.

Scherr, K. C., & *Franks, A. S. (2015). The world is not fair: An examination of innocent and guilty suspects' waiver decisions. Law and Human Behavior, 39, 142-151.

Scherr, K. C., Miller, J. C., Kassin, S. M. (2014). "Midnight Confessions": The effect of chronotype asynchrony on admissions of wrongdoing. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 36, 321-328.

Scherr, K. C. & Madon, S. (2013). "Go Ahead and Sign": An experimental examination of Miranda waivers and comprehension". Law and Human Behavior, 37, 208-218.

Guyll, M., Madon, S., Yang, Y., Lannin, D., Scherr, K. C., & Greathouse, S. (2013). Innocence and resisting confession during interrogation: Effects on physiological activity. Law and Human Behavior, 37, 366-375

Madon, S., Yang, Y., Smalarz, L., Guyll, M., & Scherr, K. C. (2013). How factors present during the immediate interrogation situation produce short-sighted confession decisions. Law and Human Behavior, 37, 60-74.

Scherr, K. C., & Madon, S (2012). You have the right to understand: The deleterious effect of stress on Miranda comprehension. Law and Human Behavior, 36, 275-282.

Madon, S., Guyll, M., Scherr, K. C., Greathouse, S., & Wells, G. L. (2012). Temporal discounting: The differential effect of proximal and distal consequences on confession decisions. Law and Human Behavior, 36, 13-20.