Deck 2: Section 3: Interrogations and Confessions

Question 1

Research by Lassiter and colleagues had people evaluate a confession from three camera angles: showing suspect only, interrogator only, and both interrogator and suspect. It was found that:

A) the camera angles had no effect on the evaluation of the confession.
B) in the interrogator only angle, the confession was rated as much less coerced.
C) in the interrogator and suspect angle, the confession was rated as much less coerced.
D) in the suspect only angle, the confession was rated as much less coerced.

Answer 1

in the suspect only angle, the confession was rated as much less coerced.

Question 2

Confessions are generally ruled inadmissible for all of the following reasons EXCEPT:

A) lying by the police during interrogations.
B) promises of lenient sentences.
C) the use of physical force and threats of violence.
D) sleep or food deprivation.

Answer 2

lying by the police during interrogations.

Question 3

According to researchers, the most significant individual vulnerability in cases involving false confessions is:

A) mental illness.
B) youth.
C) old age.
D) physical disability.

Answer 3

youth.

Question 4

In the United States, all of the following interrogation techniques are legal EXCEPT:

A) telling the suspect that he will get a reduced sentence if he confesses to the crime.
B) assembling a phony lineup and telling the suspect he was identified by a witness.
C) holding the suspect in a cell without visitors or phone calls for 16 days.
D) having an informant pose as an inmate to the suspect offering protection from other inmates for a confession.

Question 5

Studies show that when jurors clearly understand that the confession was coerced, they:

A) are still more likely to convict the defendant.
B) discount the confession and tend to acquit the defendant.
C) take more time to deliberate and sometimes don't reach a verdict.
D) break the rules and talk to the press.

Question 6

All of the following are valid reasons for police to prefer confessions to other types of evidence. The only EXCEPTION is that:

A) confessions make gathering other evidence less critical.
B) juries almost always convict defendants who have confessed to committing a crime.
C) confessions mean the person is guilty of the crime they confessed to committing.
D) lengthy trials can be avoided because a confession is likely to lead to a plea deal.

Question 7

What was traditionally called "the third degree" refers to:

A) interrogation tactics that included direct physical violence.
B) interrogation tactics that used purely psychological means of coercion.
C) the good cop-bad cop approach.
D) having three officers present during an interrogation.

Question 8

The main goal of applying the Reid technique during interrogations is to:

A) make suspect feel guilty about the crime he committed.
B) offer the suspect some possible excuses for the crime.
C) elicit a full confession from the suspect.
D) find out more information about the crime.

Question 9

Which of the following is NOT an example of an exculpatory scenario?

A) "Did you plan this, or did it just happen on the spur of the moment?"
B) "Was this your own idea or did someone talk you into it?"
C) "I'm sure you took the money to help your family."
D) "Have you done this type of thing before?"

Question 10

Which of the following is NOT presented in Chapter 2 as a potential solution to the problem of false confessions?

A) Video recording of interrogations.
B) Retraining police departments on interrogation procedures.
C) Setting time limits on interrogations.
D) Having expert testimony on interrogations and confessions.

Question 11

The fundamental attribution error, or the tendency to attribute other people's behavior to dispositional forces rather than situational pressures, is evident in the following scenario:

A) Colin often lies and so it is surprising that he told the truth about stealing the bicycle.
B) The weather was terrible and so the burglar decided not to use the fire escape.
C) Matthias was very tired and that is why he has quit the competition mid-way through.
D) The robber stumbled because he was clumsy and not because the road was slippery.

Question 12

After a long interrogation, an innocent suspect comes to believe he has committed a crime despite having no memory of doing so. His interrogators have told him that he must have either "blacked out" during the commission of the crime or "repressed" his memory because the experience was so traumatic. His subsequent confession would be classified as an:

A) instrumental-coerced false confession.
B) instrumental-voluntary false confession.
C) authentic-coerced false confession.
D) authentic-voluntary false confession.

Question 13

In the case of Colorado v. Connelly (1986), Supreme Court Justice Brennan considered _____ to be the strongest piece of evidence in a trial.

A) eyewitness testimony
B) scientific evidence
C) a confession
D) the defendant's prior record

Question 14

The ruling by a judge that a confession is inadmissible because it was coerced is:

A) common.
B) illegal.
C) rare.
D) poor.

Question 15

If a man falsely claims to have committed a crime to cover up an affair, he would be making an:

A) instrumental-coerced confession.
B) instrumental-voluntary confession.
C) authentic-coerced confession.
D) authentic-voluntary confession.