A Biphasic Process of Resistance Among Suspects: The Mobilization and Decline of Self-Regulatory Resources

We conducted two experiments to test whether police interrogation elicits a biphasic process of resistance from suspects. According to this process, the initial threat of police interrogation mobilizes suspects to resist interrogative influence in a manner akin to a fight or flight response, but sus...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Law and human behavior 2017-04, Vol.41 (2), p.159-172
Main Authors: Madon, Stephanie, Guyll, Max, Yang, Yueran, Smalarz, Laura, Marschall, Justin, Lannin, Daniel G.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adaptation, Psychological
Criminal Law
Criminal Offenders
Criminals - psychology
Female
Human
Humans
Interpersonal Influences
Interrogation
Interviews as Topic
Law Enforcement
Male
Resistance
Self-Control
Self-Regulation
Stress
Suggestibility
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Summary:We conducted two experiments to test whether police interrogation elicits a biphasic process of resistance from suspects. According to this process, the initial threat of police interrogation mobilizes suspects to resist interrogative influence in a manner akin to a fight or flight response, but suspects' protracted self-regulation of their behavior during subsequent questioning increases their susceptibility to interrogative influence in the long-run. In Experiment 1 (N = 316), participants who were threatened by an accusation of misconduct exhibited responses indicative of mobilization and more strongly resisted social pressure to acquiesce to suggestive questioning than did participants who were not accused. In Experiment 2 (N = 160), self-regulatory decline that was induced during questioning about misconduct undermined participants' ability to resist suggestive questioning. These findings support a theoretical account of the dynamic and temporal nature of suspects' responses to police interrogation over the course of questioning.
ISSN:0147-7307
1573-661X
DOI:10.1037/lhb0000221