Why People Waive Their Miranda Rights: The Power of Innocence

In a laboratory experiment, 72 participants who were guilty or innocent of a mock theft were apprehended for investigation. Motivated to avoid prosecution and trial, they were confronted by a neutral, sympathetic, or hostile male "detective" who sought a waiver of their Miranda rights. Later, 72 other participants watched videotapes of these sessions and answered questions about the detective and suspect. Strikingly, results showed that although the detective's demeanor had no effect, participants who were truly innocent were significantly more likely to sign a waiver than those who were guilty. Naively believing in the power of their innocence to set them free, most waived their rights even in the hostile detective condition, where the risk of interrogation was apparent. The conceptual and policy implications of these results are discussed.     

公安机关办案笔录质量调查实证分析

公安机关办案笔录涉及面很广,包括各种各样的笔录。其中使用频率最高、制作数量最多的是询问笔录和讯问笔录。当前笔录制作中所存在的问题可归纳成三大类:笔录制作实体问题类、笔录制作程序问题类、笔录制作管理问题类。     

侦查讯问的博弈性探究

博弈论是研究理性行动者相互作用的形式理论,它正深入到经济学、政治学等社会科学,其原理也被广泛应用于这些学科。侦查讯问学本身也是一门研究参与双方决策互动的应用学科。讯问双方存在利益均衡点,运用讯问策略体现了博弈论原理,犯罪嫌疑人在讯问中面临不同“期望支付”的抉择,侦查讯问实际上是一个信息不对称的博弈。讯问的博弈性充分说明供述原理存在着博弈论根据。     

An Examination of the Relationship Between Competency to Stand Trial,Competency to Waive Interrogation Rights,and Psychopathology

This study compared the legal abilities of defendants (N = 212) with current primary psychotic disorders (n = 44), affective disorders (n = 42), substance abuse disorders (n = 54), and no diagnosed major mental illness (n = 72). Defendants with primary psychotic disorders demonstrated more impairment than did other defendants in their understanding of interrogation rights, the nature and object of the proceedings, the possible consequences of proceedings, and their ability to communicate with counsel. Psychosis was of limited value as a predictor however, and high rates of legal impairment were found even in defendants with no diagnosed major mental illness. Sources of within-group variance were examined to further explain this finding. Policy and clinical implications of these results are discussed.     

“He's guilty!”: Investigator Bias in Judgments of Truth and Deception

Detecting deception is an inherently difficult task, but one that plays a critical role for law enforcement investigators in the interrogation room. In general, research has failed to indicate that performance in this domain is improved by training or prior experience. A signal detection framework is applied to the paradigm to better conceptualize the influence of these two factors. We found that although neither factor influenced discrimination accuracy, there was an effect on response bias such that training and prior experience appeared to increase the likelihood of responding deceit as opposed to truth. This investigator bias was observed both in a review of the literature and in this study of North American law enforcement investigators who took part in a forensically based deception-detection task. Possible theoretical mechanisms and practical implications of these findings are discussed.     

Behavioral Confirmation in the Interrogation Room: On the Dangers of Presuming Guilt

A two-phased experiment tested the hypothesis that the presumption of guilt that underlies police interrogations activates a process of behavioral confirmation. In Phase I, 52 suspects guilty or innocent of a mock theft were questioned by 52 interrogators led to believe that most suspects were guilty or innocent. Interrogators armed with guilty as opposed to innocent expectations selected more guilt-presumptive questions, used more interrogation techniques, judged the suspect to be guilty, and exerted more pressure to get a confession—particularly when paired with innocent suspects. In Phase II, neutral observers listened to audiotapes of the suspect, interrogator, or both. They perceived suspects in the guilty expectations condition as more defensive—and as somewhat more guilty. Results indicate that a presumption of guilt sets in motion a process of behavioral confirmation by which expectations influence the interrogator's behavior, the suspect's behavior, and ultimately the judgments of neutral observers.     

心理测试技术由仪器讯问向仪器测试的自然转变

心理测试技术经历了仪器讯问和仪器测试两个发展轨迹。仪器测试比仪器讯问有更多的优点和可操作性规范,仪器测试是世界各国心理测试技术发展的必然结果和科学归属。心理测试技术在中国近20多年的发展经历了较长时间的仪器讯问时期,这有其存在的实践背景和认识因素,目前中国心理测试技术正实现由仪器讯问向仪器测试的自然转变。中国心理测试技术作为一项刑事技术应该按照仪器测试的特性进行技术规范。     

讯问笔录常见毛病举隅

讯问笔录作为诉讼证据之一,或作为记载固定违法犯罪证据的手段之一,具有不可替代的作用。而在办案实践中,不少讯问笔录不符合写作和法律规范,或质量不高,存在这样那样的问题。了解讯问笔录写作中常见的毛病并引以为戒,对提高笔录写作水平和办案质量,不失为一种捷径。     

论侦查讯问中精确语言与模糊语言的运用

侦查讯问中使用精确语言与模糊语言是一种正常的讯问语言运用方式，本文列举实例分别论证了精确语言和模糊语言在侦查讯问中的运用．     

侦讯相关特征及其教材编写

侦讯概念的界定,应该抓住其区别特征。在结合现行侦讯教材中有关讯问主体、讯问对象、讯问目的与任务等问题,批判性地探索了侦讯的实质性定义。由此论及侦讯对策中的策略手段、用证原则,以及教材编写中的相关问题。从现有教材的问题中,找到廓清侦讯理论迷雾的聚焦点,指出了探索侦讯活动及其教学活动规律、编写侦讯教材的实践途径。