Attributional Complexity and the Camera Perspective Bias in Videotaped Confessions

• Published in: Basic and applied social psychology 2005-03, Vol.27 (1), p.27-35
• Main Authors: Lassiter, G. Daniel, Munhall, Patrick J., Berger, Ian P., Weiland, Paul E., Handley, Ian M., Geers, Andrew L.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Attributional style; Biological and medical sciences; Confessions; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Judgments; Perspectives; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Social attribution, perception and cognition; Social psychology; Suspected offenders; Video; Videotaped information; Voluntariness
• ISSN: 0197-3533; 1532-4834
• DOI: 10.1207/s15324834basp2701_3

Prior research has established that simply altering the perspective from which a videotaped confession is recorded influences judgments of the confession's voluntariness and the suspect's guilt. This study examined whether, when evaluating a videotaped confession, a higher degree of attributional complexity would buffer people from the contaminating effects of camera perspective. We found that although people high and low in attributional complexity differed in their overall verdicts and voluntariness assessments, they were comparably swayed by the camera's perspective. That is, consistent with prior demonstrations of the camera perspective bias, the proportion of guilty verdicts and the proportion assessing the confession was voluntary were both significantly greater when the camera focused on the suspect rather than focused equally on the suspect and the interrogator. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.