Race, Interrogation and the Perception of Guilt Meredith ElliottSeyram Kekessie

Introduction• Race remains a socially powerful characteristic

that can often influence people’s perception, judgment, and decision-making

• Most research on the topic of race and law enforcement examines the race of the criminal defendant and overlooks the race of the police investigators

• Black male officers face unique challenges because of racial stereotypes regarding aggression

“Angry Black Man” phenomenon • Same level of aggression in a Black man seen

as more out-of-control than in a White man.• One cause could be the stereotype linking

Black males with hostility• Bargh, Chen, and Burrows (1996)

▫Participants who had been subliminally primed with a black male face showed more hostility when frustrated than Ps subliminally primed with a White face.

▫Because of that stereotype, people are more likely to expect hostility from a Black man than from a White man. 

Police Interrogation • Interrogations are an important part of the legal

process not only because they often generate useful information but also because they create the opportunity for confessions.

• The accuracy and courtroom admissibility of a confession can be influenced by several factors including the interrogation technique or style of the interrogator

Harsh vs. Mild Interrogation Techniques•Harsh Interrogation techniques:

▫Verbal Abuse and harsh rhetoric that puts suspect under pressure to confess

Mild Interrogation techniques:They include “softball” tactics aimed at gently lowering the stakes to persuade the suspect to confess

(Kassin & McNall, 1991).

Research Question

•Will Black interrogators using a harsh style be seen differently from White interrogators using a harsh style?

HypothesisBlack interrogators using harsh

interrogations will be seen as more aggressive and out-of-control than White interrogators using the same style.

Method

•Participants ▫ 90 participants

67 White 14 Black Other: 9

▫55Female ▫35 Male

•Mean Age = 25.4▫18-61

Materials

•Web Based Experiment •There are 3 factors

▫Race of Interrogator (Black or White)▫Harshness of Interrogation Style (Harsh or

Mild)▫Race of Suspect (Black or White)

(Same race effects) Each approximately 2 minutes Participants randomly assigned to 1 of 8

conditions

Interrogator Suspect

Audio

Script – Interrogation SessionsHarsh Mild

I: We’re working on a murder that happened out there today.

S: I don’t know anything about a murder. I don’t know anything about anything. The only thing I know, the dude that was killed was Mike.

I: When’s the last time you saw Mike?S: At St. Elmo. I spoke to him, he spoke to me, I left.I: What are you all arguing about man?S: We were not arguing sir.I: We have it on video. He tells you, “I got my pistol

with me. You make sure you got yours (yelling). The person who was last seen in a verbal altercation with the victim prior to his death was you (banging on the table, also yelling).

S: When Mike pushed the door open and said, “Shit I got mine,” he didn’t show me no pistol. He was just, “I got mine. You need to have yours.” I don’t know anything about the shooting. I was gone.

I: We saw you there! (bang on the table for emphasis). If you don’t tell us what you know your gonna get locked up as soon as I walk out that door. I got solid evidence that will hold up in court, you are gonna be gone for a long long time.

S: Damn. This is some fucked up shit.

I: We’re working on a murder that happened out there today. Do you know anything about that? If you do you could really be helping us out if you could tell us what you know.

S: I don’t know anything about a murder. I don’t know anything about anything. The only thing I know, the dude that was killed was Mike.

I: When’s the last time you saw Mike?S: At St. Elmo. I spoke to him, he spoke to me, I left.I: What are you all arguing about man?S: We were not arguing sir.I: We have it on video. He tells you, “I got my pistol with me.

You make sure you got yours . The person who was last seen in a verbal altercation with the victim prior to his death was you.

S: When Mike pushed the door open and said, “Shit I got mine,” he didn’t show me no pistol. He was just, “I got mine. You need to have yours.” I don’t know anything about the shooting. I was gone.

I: We saw you there. You would really be helping yourself out if you just told us what’s up. Think about the family of that dead man, you want his kids to never know what happened to their dad? And listen, I know it’s a rough world out there, you gotta make your own way, and sometimes people foul it up. Everyone makes mistakes, but you gotta man up.

S: Damn. This is some fucked up shit.

Questionnaire• Immediately rate perception of guilt of

suspect ▫Scale from 1-6

1 – low perception of guilt 6 – high perception of guilt

• Also measured characteristics of interrogator and suspect ▫Example of manipulation checks: What was the

race of the interrogator?▫How out of control was the interrogator?▫How guilty was the suspect?

• Demographic Questionnaire

Questionnaire, continued

•Modern Racism Scale

▫Sample Question: Over the past few years, Blacks have gotten

more economically than they deserve. 1 (Strongly Disagree) – 6 (Strongly Agree)

•Angry Black Man Syndrome the result of racist attitudes or similar across all participants

Expected Results

In the harsh Black interrogator and white suspect condition we expected jurors to see the interrogator as inappropriately aggressive and the suspect as less guilty as compared to when the harsh interrogator was White.

Results

•Between-Subjects ANOVA•Main Effect of Harshness •α = .88

Discussion •Holding Angry Black Man phenomenon to

be true may result in a non-objective rating of harshness.▫Threshold to appear harsh may differ

across race•Participant with knowledge of hypothesis

may overcompensate harshness ratings for White Interrogator

•Function of actors•Future Direction

▫Third level of extremely harsh condition