Why Do People Wrongfully Confess To Crimes?

Why Do People Wrongfully Confess To Crimes? False confession and self-incriminating admittance made to the police by innocent suspects which is clearly against their self- interest is usually a combination of factors which are associated with various circumstances and nature of the custodial interrogation, the suspects personality factors and psychological vulnerabilities. What is more there are serious consequence that follow from confession and this also applies to the case of false confession. The study from the United States shows that around half of the confessions which eventually were established to be false led to criminal conviction (Howitt, 2006). A confession, defined as a written or oral statement acknowledging guilt, in criminal law is a very powerful form of evidence an irresistible confirmation of guilt. While most confessions are true, some people have been known to confess to a crime they did not commit. According to Kassin (2008 cited in Hewstone, 2005), 20 to 25% of all DNA exonerations involve innocent prisoners who confessed. Among many of the studies of Gudjonsson (2003) and The Innocent Project, a long list of cases is provided in which people have been imprisoned for a long period or even executed on the basis of false confession. In the United Kingdom these include the cases of the Guildford Four and Birmingham Six, two cases from the mid 1970s in which innocent people received a long prison sentence based on the evidence that included false confession. But the reason or question of why people make false confessions is more of a psychological issue which according to Hewston (2005) can be broken into two types of confession; voluntary ( which occurs in the absence of any obvious external pressure ) and coerced. Furthermore coerced false confession can be broken down into two sub-types: coerced-compliant (in which an individual confesses in order to escape from a stressful situation) and coerced-internalized false confession(confession where the person becomes convinced, at least in the short term, that she or he did commit the crime). Centuries ago, a confession was treated as a conviction Conti (1999). In order to obtain the confession, the use of physical torture was common, and all confessions were routinely disclosed into evidence without question. But slowly over the centuries, the act of confession in the legal system changed from the obtaining of confession by physical torture, in the mid 1700s, to totally excluding coerced confession by the mid to late 1800s. By the 19th century, the courts were sceptical of all confessions and tended to dismiss them if questionable Conti (1999) . According to Munsterberg (1908 cited in Gudjonsson, 2003) the principal cause for false confession is emotional shock which falsifies peoples memory, especially during the police interrogation. Moreover psychoanalyst and criminologist Theodor Reik (1959 cited in Conti, 1999), argue that the process of making a false statements originates from the unconscious compulsive need to confess. He argues that if instinctual impulses striving for expression are spurned or condemned by the external world, the still feeble ego can manage only to express them in the form of confession. Hence, the inclination to confess is a modified urge for the expression of the drives. However, researchers such as (Ofshe, 1991; Zimbardo, 1967 cited in Gudjonsson,2003; Conti, 1999, Hewstone, 2005) claim that the false confession is a consequence of police incompetence and maliciousness. The primary aim of the questioning of suspects by the police is to obtain a confession from them or to gain information which m ay be relevant to lead to a conviction. Therefore skilful interrogation requires the use of psychological principles and concepts. Experienced police questioning uses a variety of methods and techniques. As a consequence, in order to obtain confessions from suspects, police interrogators may use lies and some forms of deception. For example telling the suspects that they have evidence linking them to the crime when in fact no such evidence exists. Radically speaking there are a lot of different psychological reasons why people do confess to crimes they did not commit. Based on this, Kassin and Wrightsman (1985 cited in Gudjonsson, 2003, Howitt, 2005, Conti, 1999) indicate three different psychological types of false confession: voluntary, coerced-compliant and the coerced-compliant false confession. A voluntary false confession occurs in a case, when an individual in the absence of any obvious external pressure presents themselves to the police and admits to a crime they did not commit. In doing so people report themselves, claiming that they are the perpetrators after having seen the report of an event on television or read about it in the press. There may be several reasons for this according to Kassin and Wrightsman(1985 cited in Gudjonsson, 2003; Howitt, 2005; Conti, 1999; Hewston, 2005 ): Firstly the pathological desire to gain fame, which from the psychological perspective would be seen as the need to increase ones self-esteem even if it means having to face the cost of imprisonment. As an example Kassin and Wrightsman use the fact that over 200 people falsely confessed to the famous Lindbergh kidnapping as a result of a desire for recognition (Charles Lindbergh an American hero who was the first person to fly across the Atlantic Ocean alone, On 1st March 1939 his first b orn baby was kidnapped for ransom and later found dead. Although the suspect was found and later convicted and executed for the crime, doubts about his guilt have persisted around the case for years as a consequence of the large number of other individuals who confessed to the crime in order to receive recognition and fame). Moreover seeking to alleviate the guilt, which often occurs in depressed people (the person may feel guilt about previous events in their life , and believe that they deserve to be punished). There is inability to distinguish fact from fantasy, in other words they are unable to distinguished between real event and events which derive from their imagination. This type of behaviour is often associated with disorders such as schizophrenia. Furthermore they believe that it is not possible to prove their own innocence, and therefore the confession to the crime is to mitigate the punishment. As well as a desire to protect the real criminals and the desire to conceal a nother, more serious offence or offences. Coerced-compliant false confession, in other word forced confession, is the result of pressure exerted during interrogations. In this case the potential suspect does not confess voluntary but admits to it in order to avoid the difficult and stressful situation. According to Vennard, (1984 cited in Hewston, 2005) this happens for several different reasons such as the suspect might wish to please the interrogator, avoid further detention and interrogation, avoid physical harm( real or imagined) or strike a deal with the interrogator that brings some reward for making a confession. What is more the suspect is fully aware of the consequences arising from making a self-incriminating confession , but naively believes that somehow the truth will come out later or that their defence lawyer will be able to correct their false confession (Gudjonsson, 1993) The third type of false confession is coerced -internalization. In other words enforced, internalized confession. This is where the suspect begins to believe that he committed the alleged offence, even though he does not have any actual memory of having committed the crime. According to Kassin, (1997 cited in Gudjonsson, 2003) this type of false confession is associated with two kinds of factors. Firstly the vulnerability of the suspect such as suggestibility, low intelligence, alcohol and drug use, age and stress. Secondly the presentation of false evidence by police, such as manipulated polygraph or other forensic tests such as fingerprints or bloodstains, testimony theoretically made by an accomplice, or a theatrical eyewitness identification, as a way to convince the suspect that they are guilty. Until recently, there was no empirical evidence for the concept of coerced-internalized false confessions. However, eyewitness memory researchers have found that misleading post-event in formation can alter actual or reported memories of observed events (Cutler Penrod, 1995; Loftus, 1979; Loftus Ketcham, 1994 cited in Conti, 1999). Furthermore contemporary studies suggest that it is even possible to implant false recollections of unrepeated experiences from childhood, such as being lost in a shopping mall, that theoretically had been forgotten, but in reality never happened (Loftus Ketcham, 1994). What is more Kassin and Kiechel (1996 cited in Gudjonsson, 2003, Howitt, 2005, Conti, 1999) have demonstrated in a laboratory experiment that false evidence presented to the innocent suspect can lead them to accept guilt for a crime they did not commit. In their studies Kassin and Kiechel invited 75 students to participate in what was introduced as a computer task. It was emphasized that during the task, they should not hit the ALT-key. After around one minute, the computer supposedly crashed and the experimenter accused participants of having pressed the forbidden ALT- key which all denied doing. At this stage the false evidence was introduced for some participants. In their study, Kassin and Kiechel (1996 cited in Gudjonsson, 2003, Howitt, 2005, Conti, 1999) found that 69% of them were willing to sign a false confession, 28% internalized guilt, and 9% confabulated details to support their false beliefs. As results the studies show that false confessions can be easily elicited. Furthermore according to Costanzo, Krauss and Pezdek, (2006) there are several other facts which may lead to false confession. These facts usually involve youths many of the well-known examples of false confession involve a juvenile or young suspect. In Dnzin and Leo(2004 cited in Costanzo et al, 2006) 32 per cent of proven false confessions were made by those under the age of 18 and 63 per cent were under the age of 25. Other factors include mental illness in the findings of Dnzin and Leo (2004 cited in Costanzo, Krauss and Pezdek, 2006) 10 per cent of the sample were diagnosed with some form of mental illness. He argues that mental illness suspects may suffer from the inability to foresee the long term consequence of a statement made during the questioning. Lastly there is the vulnerable personality people differ in their ability to oppose persuasion. Although there may be several aspects of personality that make people vulnerable to false confession such as the need for approval and social anxiety , the most powerful factors specially investigated because of their strong relation to false confession pointed out by Constanzo et al (2006) involve high suggestibility and compliance to authority. In addition to stable personality vulnerabilities a variety of reasons may influence the increase risk of false confession. Sleep deprivation lowers our opposition to oppression. Grief also can have an impact on false confessions. Several false confessions have involved a suspect who in a state of grief confessed to a crime they did not commit. All of these temporary states may lead to mental confusion hence false confession. In conclusion, there are several different reason why innocent people may confess to the crime they did not commit which involves psychological ,emotional and outside pressure such as police questioning. What is more we may distinguish between three different types of false confession which are voluntary, coerced-compliant and coerced-internalized. Each of those types of confession has a distinctive set of conditions and psychological consequences. According to Gudjonsson, (1993) in order to better understand false confession and avoid it in the future what is needed is more detailed and careful study of cases where people falsely confessed to serious crimes, and of particular importance would be the careful analysis of the techniques and methods used by the police during the interrogation which may be one of the many reasons for the false confession. Bibiography: Bartol, A.M. (2004) Introduction to forensic psychology. London: Sage Publication. Conti, R.P. (1999) The Psychology of False Confessions, The Journal of Credibility  Assessment and Witness Psychology, Vol. 2, No. 1. Costanzo, M., Krauss, D., Pezdek, K.(eds)(2006) Expert Psychological Testimony for the Courts. New Jersey: Psychology Press. Gudjonsson, G.(1993) The psychology of interrogations, confessions and testimony.  Chichester: John Wiley and sons. Hewston, M., Finchman, D., Foster, J.(2005) Psychology. Oxford: BPS Blackwell. Horselenberg, R., Merckelbach, H., Josephs, S.(2003) INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES AND FALSE CONFESSIONS: A CONCEPTUAL REPLICATION OF KASSIN AND KIECHEL (1996) Psychology, Crime Law, 9( 1) , pages 1 8. Howitt, D. (2006) Introduction to forensic and criminological psychology. Harlow: Pearson Longman. Newburn, T., Williamson, T., Wright, A. (eds)(2007) Handbook of criminal investigation.Devon: Willan Publishing. Newburn, T. (2007) Criminology. Devon: Willan Publishing. Weiner, I. B.(2003) Handbook of psychology. Hoboken: NJ Wiley.

Compare and Contrast 1984-Brave New World Essay

â€Å" Do you see, then, what kind of world we are creating? † (Orwell, 1950 p. 267)George Orwell, author of 1984 released in 1950, present the idea of a society that proves to be a dystopia as it is completely based on fear and rarely does one see happiness while in the other hand, Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World presents the idea of a functional utopia were feelings are destroyed and no one is unhappy because they don’t know happiness but all this could change by the hands of one outcast. These two societies ruled in different ways-one through fear and the other through psychological and physical manipulation- present successful ways to maintain order and power, although they differ greatly and outcasts have different aims and uses. In a society where fear is predominant, physical and mental capacities reach a stagnant state as the will to survive and loyalty become predominant. In a different society where men are created to the liking of their rulers and are controlled with drugs instead of fear, the meaning of a utopia can disappear but yet subjects will think everything is perfect. Finally a sense of false equality, manipulation, and fear allow total and utter control. In societies like the ones depicted in these two books, nothing is perfect and nothing is true. Members of these communities cannot know what is true because this will make them become dangerous to their leaders. The use of fear in 1984 and the idea of Big Brother facilite control as the idea of constant surveillance and Thought Police puts everything a member of this society does to the test and when they make a false move, they know they are done for. The scene where Winston talks about two plus two not being for or if Gravity is a force that works really depicts the kind of fear installed by the party. â€Å"The heresy of heresies was common sense. And what was terrifying was not only that they would kill you for thinking otherwise, but that they might be right. For, after all, how do we know that two and two make four? Or that the force of gravity works? † (Orwell, 1950 p. 80). As explained by the quote, doubting whatever the party said could end up in negative ramifications. It is incredible how people can adjust to these changes. Things that seem so simple be questioned and believed, which is even worse. The mutability of the party’s adherents is astonishing as they change whenever the part needs them to follow the most ridiculous ideas as if they were normal and all of this is achieved through fear. Winston also mentions the fact that your mind can fail you. â€Å"The most deadly danger of all was talking in your sleep. There was no way of guarding against that, so far as he could see. † (Orwell, 1950 p. 64). Even thinking erroneously about the parties flaws and going against their ideas can be lethal as sleep talking cannot be controlled and can always be heard. The third example of fear and its installment in Winston’s mind is when he receives the letter from Julia. â€Å"One, much the more likely, was that the girl was an agent of the Thought Police (†¦) the thing that was written on the paper might be a threat, a summon, an order to commit suicide, a trap of some description. (Orwell, 1950 p. 106). This displays how fear can make something normal seem completely hazardous and how reliance on others can be purged as you do not know what to expect from anyone. Even though people may be unhappy, this demonstrates to be successful as no one goes against the status quo. In contrast to 1984, Brave New World doesn’t need fear since if they want change, they create new beings to change or just bring out soma but still, control is maintained. Physical and psychological manipulation gives a sense of order even though it is non-existent, and drug use maintains a false control that seems alright to everyone inside that sphere however, when someone notices this false control, he will become a problem. In Huxley’s Brave New World, which is supposed to be a Utopia, equality is not present and this is what a utopia is supposed to be about. Within the social classes, the top ones still think of the lower ones as useless and basically inferior. Lenina demonstrates this through the following quote. â€Å"What a hideous colour khaki is,† remarked Lenina, voicing the hypnopaedic prejudices of her caste. † (Huxley, 1946, p. 42). This quote demonstrates that even messages coming from the government promote separatist ideas and at the same time they promote equality. Drug use and psychological manipulation allows this to maintain epsilons happy with how they are, also maintaining absolute control over society. Hypnopaedia as seen before, doesn’t always promote the values of a Utopia as it should. Another hypnopaedic message demonstrating this is â€Å"Every one works for everyone else. We can’t do without any one. Even Epsilons are useful. We couldn’t do without Epsilons. Every one works for everyone else. We can’t do without anyone. † (Huxley, 1946, p. 50). The use of Soma is a very important factor as it is a way of escaping the reality of a supposed utopia that in reality is everything but a utopia. â€Å"Why you don’t take soma when you have these dreadful ideas of yours. You’d forget all about them. And instead of feeling miserable, you’d be jolly. So jolly,† she repeated and smiled (†¦)† (Huxley, 1946, p. 62). It is very important to realize how this method of control still proves to be successful and allows organization for the government to preserve. Whether it’s installing fear, secret organizations, and complete surveillance or actually creating subjects, it is evident that both methods are thriving as they sustain order and undemanding management of society. Winston, who was the soul and heart of change in 1984 , ended up failing and the idea, person, or whatever Big Brother is, who he hated the most actually ended up taking over him and it is mentioned in the novel. He won the victory over himself. He loved Big Brother. † (Orwell, 1950 p. 268) The only man who was capable of causing change and denouncing the artificiality his government was based on. Fear has now proved to be a functioning method of control. In comparison to Brave New World, the outsider and only man capable of making others realize the lie they lived in ended up killing himself. â€Å"Slowly, very slowly, like two unhurried compass needles, the feet turned towards the right; north, north-east, east, south-east, south, south-south- west; then paused, and, after a few seconds, turned as unhurriedly back towards the left. South-south-west, south, south-east, east.. † (Huxley, 1946 p. 176) This also verifies the effectiveness of this method and according to this, both men failed to change the status quo. By the end of both novels, no change was made and both fear and manipulation proved to be effective ways of maintaining control. As the predominance of both fear and manipulation grow, methods of changing society and its governance method become scarce and even those who go to extremes find themselves with unfeasible situations where physical and mental capacity will be pushed to new limits but yet, not enough to revolutionize their societies. This is mainly due to most of those who have been subjected and accepted the reality in which they live in, which is what both Winston and John go through but their ways to accept it, were vastly different. Even though there are some with strong minds and others who have not been toyed with, it will never be enough to fight fear nor manipulation of the human being.

The History of Archaeology Part 1 - The First Archaeologists

The history of archaeology as a study of the ancient past has its beginnings at least as early as the Mediterranean Bronze Age. Archaeology as a scientific study is only about 150 years old. Interest in the past, however, is much older than that. If you stretch the definition enough, probably the earliest probe into the past was during New Kingdom Egypt [ca 1550-1070 BC], when the pharaohs excavated and reconstructed the Sphinx, itself originally built during the 4th Dynasty [Old Kingdom, 2575-2134 BC] for the Pharaoh Khafre. There are no written records to support the excavation--so we dont know which of the New Kingdom pharaohs asked for the Sphinx to be restored--but physical evidence of the reconstruction exists, and there are ivory carvings from earlier periods that indicate the Sphinx was buried in sand up to its head and shoulders before the New Kingdom excavations. The First Archaeologist Tradition has it that the first recorded archaeological dig was operated by Nabonidus, the last king of Babylon who ruled between 555-539 BC. Nabonidus contribution to the science of the past is the unearthing of the foundation stone of a building dedicated to Naram-Sin, the grandson of the Akkadian king Sargon the Great. Nabonidus overestimated the age of the building foundation by 1,500 years--Naram Sim lived about 2250 BC, but, heck, it was the middle of the 6th century BC: there were no radiocarbon dates.  Nabonidus was, frankly, deranged (an object lesson for many an archaeologist of the present), and Babylon was eventually conquered by Cyrus the Great, founder of Persepolis and the Persian empire. Excavating Pompeii and Herculaneum Most of the early excavations were either religious crusades of one sort or another, or treasure hunting by and for elite rulers, pretty consistently right up until the second study of Pompeii and Herculaneum. The original excavations at Herculaneum were simply treasure-hunting, and in the early decades of the 18th century, some of the intact remains covered by nearly 60 feet of volcanic ash and mud 1500 years before were destroyed in an attempt to find the good stuff. But, in 1738, Charles of Bourbon, King of the Two Sicilies and founder of the House of Bourbon, hired antiquarian Marcello Venuti to reopen the shafts at Herculaneum. Venuti supervised the excavations, translated the inscriptions, and proved that the site was indeed, Herculaneum. Charles of Bourbon is also known for his palace, the Palazzo Reale in Caserta. And thus was archaeology born. Sources A bibliography of the history of archaeology has been assembled for this project. History of Archaeology: The Series Part 1: The First Archaeologists  --- You are here Part 2: The Effects of the Enlightenment Part 3: Is the Bible Fact or Fiction? Part 4: The Astounding Effects of Orderly Men Part 5: The Five Pillars of Archaeological Method Bibliography

House by Tracy Kidder, A Short Review of the Book

House by Tracy Kidder is the compelling true story of the construction of a home in Massachusetts. He takes his time with details, describing it all in over 300 pages—the evolution of the design, the negotiations with builders, the groundbreaking, and the roof raising. But, dont look to this book for floor plans or building instructions. Instead, author Tracy Kidder focuses on the human aspirations and struggles behind the project. Facts That Read Like Fiction Tracy Kidder is a journalist who is renown for his literary nonfiction. He reports on actual events and real people by creating a story for the reader. His books include the best-selling Soul of a New Machine, Home Town, Old Friends, and Among School Children. When Kidder worked on House, he immersed himself into the lives of the key players, listening to their squabbles and recording minute details of their lives. He is a reporter who tells us the story. The result is a non-fiction work that reads like a novel. As the tale unfolds, we meet the clients, the carpenters, and the architect. We eavesdrop on their conversations, learn about their families, and peek into their dreams and self-doubts. Personalities often clash. The complex dynamics are dramatized in five sections, spanning from the signing of the contract to the moving day and the uneasy final negotiations. If the story seems real, its because it is real life. Architecture as Drama House is about people, not floor plans. Tensions mount as contractor and client quibble over small sums. The architects search for an ideal design and the clients selection of decorative details take on a sense of rising urgency. As each scene unfolds, it becomes apparent that House is not only the story of a building: The construction project is the framework for exploring what happens when we put a running meter on a dream. Truth Behind the Story Although House reads like a novel, the book includes just enough technical information to satisfy a readers architectural curiosity. Tracy Kidder researched the economics of housing, the properties of lumber, the architectural styles of New England, Jewish building rituals, the sociology of building, and the development of architecture as a profession. Kidders discussion of the importance of Greek Revival styles in America could stand on its own as a classroom reference. Yet, as a testament to Kidders craftsmanship, the technical details do not bog down the plot of the story. History, sociology, science, and design theory are woven seamlessly into the narrative. A comprehensive bibliography closes the book. You can get a flavor for Kidders prose in a short excerpt published in The Atlantic, September 1985. Decades later, well after Kidders book and the house was built, the reader can continue the story, because, after all, this is nonfiction. Kidder already had a Pulitzer Prize under his belt when he took on this project. Fast forward to the homeowner, lawyer Jonathan Z. Souweine, who died of leukemia in 2009 at the young age of 61. The architect, Bill Rawn, went on to create an impressive portfolio for William Rawn Associates after this venture, his first residential commission. And the local building crew? They wrote their own book called The Apple Corps Guide to the Well-Built House. Good for them. The Bottom Line You wont find how-to instructions or construction manuals in House. This is the book to read for insight into the emotional and psychological challenges of building a home in 1980s New England. It is the story of well-educated, well-to-do people from a specific time and place. It will not be everyones story. If you are now in the midst of a building project, House may strike a painful chord. The financial woes, the strained tempers, and the deliberation over details will seem uncomfortably familiar. And, if you are dreaming of building a home or pursuing a career in the building professions, watch out: House will shatter any romantic illusions you may have. But while the book spoils the romance, it may save your marriage ... or at least, your pocketbook. Buy on Amazon Originally published by Houghton Mifflin, October 1985, House has become a staple at library book sales. Paperback by Mariner Books, 1999. ~Reviewed by Jackie Craven Related Books: The Apple Corps Guide to the Well-Built House by Jim Locke, 1988Buy on Amazon The Architecture of Happiness by Alain De Botton, 2008Buy on Amazon Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell, 2008Buy on Amazon The Soul of a New Machine by Tracy Kidder, 1981, 2000Buy on Amazon