Interrogations-and-Confessions-Handbook

128 A Psychology of Interrogations and Confessions
‘soften up’ suspects (i.e. weaken their resistance) and make them more responsive
to interrogation. On the other hand, familiarity with police procedures and
interrogation is likely to provide suspects with knowledge and experience that
make them more able to understand and assert their rights.
The immediate situational consequence commonly associated with a confession
is that the suspect is charged with the alleged offence, after which he is
allowed access to a solicitor when this has been previously denied. The longterm
consequences relate to possible prosecution and judicial proceedings.
Physiological Events
The physiological antecedent to a confession is undoubtedly heightened arousal,
which includes increased heart rate, blood pressure, rate and irregularity of
respiration, and perspiration. These occur because suspects are commonly apprehensive,
worried and frightened. Once the suspect has confessed there is
likely to be sharp reduction in his level of physiological and subjective arousal
because of greater certainty about the immediate future. Physiological arousal
may then return to its normal level, although it should be noted that uncertainties
about the pending court case and outcome may lead to an increased
subjective and physiological state of arousal.
CONCLUSIONS
There are a number of reasons why it is difficult for people to confess to crimes
they have committed. These are due to fear of legal sanctions, concern about
one’s reputation, not wanting to accept what one has done, not wanting friends
and family to know and fear of retaliation. The reluctance to confess is not
surprising when one considers the potential consequences of confessing for the
offender and his family. In view of this it is perhaps surprising that a large
proportion of suspects confess to the crime of which they are accused (i.e. in
England over half make confessions; see Chapter 6). There are various models
available to explain this phenomenon. Five different models or groups of model
about confessions were discussed in this chapter. These are:
1. the Reid model of confession, where interrogation is construed as a psychological
manipulation of overcoming resistance and deception;
2. a decision-making model of confession, where an attempt is made to draw
attention to the kind of factors that influence the suspects’ decision-making
during interrogation;
3. psychoanalytic models of confession, where confessions are seen as arising
from internal conflict and feelings of guilt;
4. an interaction process model of confession, where the outcome of interrogation
is seen as resulting from the interaction of background variables and
contextual characteristics, and
5. a cognitive–behavioural model of confession, where confessions are viewed
in terms of their ‘antecedents’ and ‘perceived consequences’.