Post by bistro on Feb 13, 2015 19:44:06 GMT -5
You Can Be Persuaded To Confess To An Invented Crime, Study Finds
Jan 29, 2015 by Nathan Siegel www.npr.org/2015/01/29/382483367/you-can-be-convinced-to-confess-to-an-invented-crime-study-finds?utm_campaign=storyshare&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social
A 28-year-old investment banker was brutally raped and beaten while jogging in New York's Central Park in April 1989. The city went berserk.
Five boys of color,ages 14 to 16, soon confessed and were convicted — but not before being called "animals," "crazed misfits" and "park marauders" by anyone with a mouth or pen. Indeed, the boys were treated like animals, and they served up to 13 years in prison before being exonerated based on "shocking" new DNA evidence and a real confession from serial rapist Matias Reyes.
The Central Park Five had falsely confessed — because, they said, they'd been coerced by police.
Don't think that it could happen to you? Sorry, but a first-of-its-kind study shows that it could — easily. With a little misinformation, encouragement and three hours, researchers were able to convince 70 percent of the study's participants that they'd committed a crime.
And the college-aged students who participated in the study didn't merely confess — they recalled full-blown, detailed experiences, says lead researcher Julia Shaw, a lecturer in forensic psychology from the University of Bedfordshire. The results were "definitely unexpected," says Shaw, who predicted only a 30 percent rate.
So, how did they plant false memories of a crimes in young adults who never had even been in contact with the police?
Shaw and Stephen Porter, a forensic psychologist at the University of British Columbia, first got a few facts about the faux criminal's teen years — the name of her best friend, hometown, etc. — from parents or a guardian. (An ethical committee said it was OK.) Then, during three 45-minute interviews, Shaw extracted information from the students about one true experience (which they remembered) and one fabricated experience (of which she convinced them).
After a few hours of feeding the students tidbits of the verified info, she added them up to equal her fabricated crime — and a majority of students were persuaded: They were criminals.
More at the link above.
Jan 29, 2015 by Nathan Siegel www.npr.org/2015/01/29/382483367/you-can-be-convinced-to-confess-to-an-invented-crime-study-finds?utm_campaign=storyshare&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social
A 28-year-old investment banker was brutally raped and beaten while jogging in New York's Central Park in April 1989. The city went berserk.
Five boys of color,ages 14 to 16, soon confessed and were convicted — but not before being called "animals," "crazed misfits" and "park marauders" by anyone with a mouth or pen. Indeed, the boys were treated like animals, and they served up to 13 years in prison before being exonerated based on "shocking" new DNA evidence and a real confession from serial rapist Matias Reyes.
The Central Park Five had falsely confessed — because, they said, they'd been coerced by police.
Don't think that it could happen to you? Sorry, but a first-of-its-kind study shows that it could — easily. With a little misinformation, encouragement and three hours, researchers were able to convince 70 percent of the study's participants that they'd committed a crime.
And the college-aged students who participated in the study didn't merely confess — they recalled full-blown, detailed experiences, says lead researcher Julia Shaw, a lecturer in forensic psychology from the University of Bedfordshire. The results were "definitely unexpected," says Shaw, who predicted only a 30 percent rate.
So, how did they plant false memories of a crimes in young adults who never had even been in contact with the police?
Shaw and Stephen Porter, a forensic psychologist at the University of British Columbia, first got a few facts about the faux criminal's teen years — the name of her best friend, hometown, etc. — from parents or a guardian. (An ethical committee said it was OK.) Then, during three 45-minute interviews, Shaw extracted information from the students about one true experience (which they remembered) and one fabricated experience (of which she convinced them).
After a few hours of feeding the students tidbits of the verified info, she added them up to equal her fabricated crime — and a majority of students were persuaded: They were criminals.
More at the link above.