Perceived Credibility of the Communicator: Studies of Perceptual Bias in Police Officers Conducting Rape Interviews; Police Officers' Beliefs About Cues Associated with Deception in Rape Cases (From Psychology and Law: International Perspectives, P 219-233, 1992, Friedrich Losel, Doris Bender, et al

• NCJ Number: 148240
• Author(s): F W Winkel; L Koppelaar; L Greuel
• Date Published: 1992
• Length: 15 pages
• Sale Source: Walter de Gruyter & Co
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: Germany (Unified)

Annotation

Two studies of police officer beliefs and perceptions in rape cases are reported: the first study found that a numbed style of communicating about victimization, prior information about victim unreliability, and an extraverted style in suspect denial of rape charges had an adverse impact on victim credibility; the second study showed that police officers based their victim credibility judgments on both valid and invalid cues to deception.

Abstract

The design of the first study involved victim reporting on exposure to videotaped presentations, one controlled and one emotional, on a rape case. When perceived victim credibility was measured, it was determined that the emotional victim made a considerably more credible impression than the controlled victim. Referral bias (transfer of prior credibility information) and demeanor bias (impact of suspect characteristics) were also evaluated. The second study involved the investigation of 51 police inspectors from eight police departments in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. All subjects were interviewed concerning their beliefs about cues associated with deception in rape cases. Results demonstrated that police officers used both valid and invalid cues to deception in making victim credibility judgments. Logical consistency and plausibility of the complaint represented the primary statement-related cue mentioned in detecting deception. Interview data also indicated that police officers were somewhat aware of the relevance of criteria-based statement analysis. Analysis of authentic interrogation protocols, however, found that police inspectors oriented more toward victim behavior and other statement-unrelated cues than the statement itself when assessing victim credibility in a particular case. A significant relationship was observed between subjective confidence in the accuracy of lie detection and subjective beliefs about cues associated with lie detection in rape cases. 73 references, 7 tables, and 4 figures