The Psychology of False Confessions

A contemporary discussion of the science of false confessions with landmark case analysis

Now in its Second Edition, The Psychology of False Confessions: Current Challenges, Practice, and Evidence Base builds on the foundational first edition that contributed to Iceland's Supreme Court acquitting five men in the landmark Reykjavik Confessions case. This updated edition summarizes those pivotal lessons and advances the field with recent cases, research developments, and new directions for translating findings into practice.

New to this edition is expanded coverage of psychological vulnerabilities during police interviews, including both ‘immediate’ and ‘delayed’ suggestibility. The book examines how coerced-internalized false confessions occur and their lasting effects on memory. Uniquely, it describes the development and application of a ‘best practice’ five-level process model for evaluating risk factors for false confession. It concludes with strategies for collaborating with law enforcement agencies to translate research findings into good police interview practice.

The book also covers:

• Analysis of the Reykjavik Confessions, including their resolution and the subsequent apology and compensation awarded to the sixth appellant
• Mechanisms underlying coerced-internalized false confessions and their detrimental, lasting effects on memory formation and recall accuracy
• Current literature on risk factors that increase susceptibility to producing unreliable statements during custodial police interviews
• Lessons drawn from recent high-profile cases demonstrating how the science of false confessions continues to evolve and develop
• The past, current and future challenges facing ‘confession experts’

Written for confession experts, lawyers, judges, law enforcement personnel, and students of psychology and law, this Second Edition provides the scientific foundation and case-based analysis needed to identify, understand, and prevent false confessions. It connects forensic research directly to legal and investigative practice.