Search

Recent research has examined predictors of false confessions in criminal investigations. By incorporating a commonly utilized social rejection paradigm (Cyberball), the current study adds to the list of personality and situational predictors by examining the role of social exclusion—which is a likely by-product of long-lasting interrogation sessions—on the likelihood of false confessions. Results confirm the hypothesis that individuals experiencing social exclusion are more likely to confess than individuals who are not socially excluded. These results suggest that situational variables in interrogations (specifically ostracism and exclusion) that emphasize important personality considerations (such as the need to belong) are important for police organizations to consider reducing the likelihood of false confessions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explored a bidirectional impact on the recognition accuracy of various facial expressions deriving from both the observer and sender in a sample of Chinese participants. A facial manipulation task was used to examine the ability of an observer's facial feedback to modulate the recognition of various facial expressions. Furthermore, the effect of a sender's facial expression with an open or closed mouth on recognition accuracy was investigated. The results showed that only recognition accuracy of a sad facial expression was influenced simultaneously by bidirectional sources from a sender and observer. Moreover, the impact of the unidirectional cue of a sender's facial feature (i.e., mouth openness) on happy and neutral faces was found to influence the recognition accuracy of these faces, but not the observer's bodily state. These findings indicate that the bidirectional impact derived from an observer and sender on facial expression recognition accuracy differs for emotional and neutral expressions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]