What are the three major categories of false confessions? Explain each

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Psychologists categorize false confessions into three groups (Gudjonsson, 2017):
1. Voluntary False Confessions. People may voluntarily give a false confession due to a pathological desire for notoriety, a conscious or unconscious need to relieve guilt over prior wrongdoings, an inability to distinguish fact from fantasy, or a desire to aid and protect the real criminal. Individuals offer voluntary false confessions without any external pressure from the police. These people simply turn themselves into the authorities, claiming they have committed a crime.
2. Pressured-Compliant False Confessions. Some suspects will confess falsely to escape an aversive situation, avoid an explicit or implied threat, or gain a promised or implied reward. Examples of this exist in cases of physical or psychological torture. Coerced-compliant false confessions may result from the pressures during the interrogation process. Because such a suspect perceives immediate gains that outweigh the long-term consequences, this person will confess despite knowing that he or she did not commit the crime.
3. Pressured-Internalized False Confessions. Some suspects are susceptible to believing during interrogation that they committed the crime, even though they did not. Persons who are particularly vulnerable are those who are young, tired, confused, suggestible, and exposed to false information.