Deborah Davis

Davisetal2021 On the synergy between pretext caller and police interrogator

Criminal Investigations of Sexual Offenses: Investigative Techniques and Operational Challenges, 2021

Deception Induced Confession: Strategies of Police Interrogators and Their Lay Collaborators

Handbook of Deceptive Communication, 2019

Aspiring to become the master interrogator of his generation, a new US law enforcement officer wa... more Aspiring to become the master interrogator of his generation, a new US law enforcement officer walks into the office of the reigning master interrogator of his day to ask his advice. The master interrogator tells him: Son, you're trying to convince your targets to do something that they firmly believe will have terrible consequences for them, and maybe their whole group or country. They have really good reasons to believe this. And indeed, if they confess or provide intelligence, it will actually be terrible for them and others they might be protecting. They aren't going to start out liking you or trusting you. They'll assume you're the enemy and that you just want to hurt them. All their suspicions are right. They should fear and distrust you, and they shouldn't follow any of your advice. So, how do you get past that? Well, you're going to

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Do Jurors Understand the Causes of False Confession, and Do They Adjust Their Perceptions of Suspects' Confessions Appropriately

Interviewing and interrogation: A review of research and practice since WWII, 2024

, 11-year-old Sabrina Buie's body was found in a soybean field in Red Springs, North Carolina, wh... more , 11-year-old Sabrina Buie's body was found in a soybean field in Red Springs, North Carolina, where she had been raped and murdered. Based solely on 17-year-old high school student Ethel Furmage's report of a rumour, the Red Springs Police suspected 19-year-old Henry McCollum of the murder and interrogated him overnight on 28-29 September 1983 for approximately five hours. During that time, according to McCollum, three police interrogators repeatedly accused him of the rape and murder and yelled at him, with one detective calling McCollum, who is African American, by use of the 'N-word'. The detectives repeatedly and falsely told McCollum that they had a witness who had seen him rape and murder Buie; they threatened McCollum with the death penalty if he did not confess to the rapemurder; and the detectives told McCollum, who had an intelligence quotient ('IQ') of 51, that they could make him a witness and promised he could go home if he signed a police-written confession to the crime. The detectives also suspected Leon Brown, McCollum's 15-year-old brother who was also mentally challenged (with an IQ of 49), as a coparticipant in the rape and murder. According to Brown, the detectives repeatedly yelled and pressured him to confess; they also called him by the 'N-word'; and they threatened him with the death penalty by gas chamber if he did not confess in their overnight interrogation on 28-29 September 1983. As with their interrogation of McCollum,

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Davis & Leo A damning cascade of investigative errors

The Handbook of Homicide, First Edition. Edited by Fiona Brookman

Explores errors in investigation due to tunnel vision/confirmation biases: ranging from initial c... more

format_quoteForensic sciences face scandals and criticisms regarding validity, which can significantly influence wrongful convictions.format_quote

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Interrogation by Proxy: The Growing Role of Lay and Undercover Interrogators in Eliciting Criminal Confessions

Criminal Law Bulletin, 2023

Scientific research on police interrogations and confessions has mushroomed since the 1990s. This... more Scientific research on police interrogations and confessions has mushroomed since the 1990s. This wealth of theoretical and empirical work is restricted almost exclusively to circumstances where suspects are interrogated by persons they know to be police officers. However, suspects are often interrogated by, and offer incriminating statements or confessions to, persons who are not (or who are believed not to be) law enforcement personnel. We refer to these practices as "interrogations by proxy." In this Article we explore four such practices: (1) pretext calls, where lay persons (often alleged victims) make recorded phone calls to suspects under the supervision of police using a pretext to elicit incriminating statements (the suspect is unaware that police are listening to the call and that the call is being recorded); (2) Perkins Operations, where undercover police officers pretend to be fellow jail inmates in a deceptive attempt to seduce suspects into making incriminating statements about their alleged crimes; (3) Mr. Big Operations, where undercover officers attempt to elicit confessions to crimes in the context of involving them in fake criminal organizations and activities; and (4) school-* Portions of an earlier draft of this Article were presented at the 2022 American Psychology-Law Society Annual Meeting, Denver, Colorado, United States. We have no conflicts of interest to disclose. We thank Jacqueline Nemanich for excellent research assistance, and Connor McDermott for his editorial assistance. We are especially grateful to Hank Fradella for his exceptionally thoughtful comments, suggestions, and editorial assistance on earlier drafts of this Article.

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The Multiple Roles of Emotion in Interpretation and Memory of Sexual Consent

by Deborah Davis and Gage Miller

Topics in Cognitive Psychology, 2023

In this paper, we explore the role of emotion in the interpretation and memory of sexual encounte... more In this paper, we explore the role of emotion in the interpretation and memory of sexual encounters. We consider situations likely to generate negative emotions during sex, and the mechanisms through which the experience of negative emotions can lead to false memories of coercion and mislabeling of an encounter as sexual assault. Specifically, we consider the role of emotion in directing attention during a sexual encounter and the effects of emotion as context for interpretation at the time of the encounter, and for retrieval and interpretation when the encounter is later recalled and reported. Our intent is to provide a greater understanding of the processes of interpretation and memory through which false claims of sexual assault might arise, if and when they do arise.

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Myths of trauma memory: on the oversimplification of e ects of attention narrowing under stress

by Deborah Davis and Alexis A. Hogan

Frontiers in Psychology, 2024

The present article addresses claims commonly made by prosecution witnesses in sexual assault tri... more The present article addresses claims commonly made by prosecution witnesses in sexual assault trials: that attention narrows under stress, and that these attended aspects of the event are encoded in a way that ensures accuracy and resistance to fading and distortion. We provide evidence to contradict such claims. Given that what is encoded is largely the gist of one's interpretation of experience, we discuss the way in which attention and emotion can bias the interpretation of experience. We illustrate with issues of memory reports in cases of acquaintance rape, where the primary issue is the presence or absence of consent. We provide some specific illustrations concerning e ects of emotion on interpretation of sexual consent. Finally, based on what is known regarding priming e ects on memory retrieval and judgment, we conclude with discussion of the potential of some "trauma-informed" interviewing strategies to promote false memories (such as FETI: Forensic Experiential Trauma Interview).

format_quoteClaims by counterintuitive behavior experts about the accuracy of central traumatic memories are contradicted by substantial evidence of memory distortion.format_quote

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Title IX and "Trauma-Focused" Investigations: The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly

Journal of Applied Research on Memory and Cognition, 2019

Beginning in earnest during the Obama era, campus, state, and federal authorities have struggled ... more Beginning in earnest during the Obama era, campus, state, and federal authorities have struggled to find Title IX rules, regulations, and investigatory procedures that would balance the needs and rights of those who allege sexual harassment or assault against those of the accused. The "dear colleague" letter issued in 2011 (US Department of Education, 2011) reminded campuses of requirements under Title IX and issued guidelines for their enforcement, including those concerning the nature of campus policies, the operation of Title IX offices and officials, and the process of resolution of complaints. Although the letter specified-as does Title IX itself-that "equitable" procedures should be used, it did not require that due process protections be adopted (such as allowing lawyers to participate, access to all evidence), but merely stated that if allowed at all, both parties must be able to use them. It specified that due process must be provided for the accused, but at the same time, these protections must not restrict or unnecessarily delay Title IX protections for the complainant. It also required that the relatively lax "preponderance of the evidence" standard of proof be employed to assess any claim, thereby making it easier to find in favor of the complainant. In September of 2017, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos rescinded Obama era regulations. In November of 2018 DeVos proposed changes designed to eliminate restrictions in the investigations, to bolster the rights of the accused, to encourage more equitable investigations, and to allow the option to choose a higher standard of proof for allegations (such as "clear and convincing" rather than "preponderance of evidence"). Changes included options that either had not been mentioned or not required in Title IX regulations or DOE guidance, or not adopted or permitted in specific campus regulations. These included the Author Note.

format_quoteA rise in lawsuits against universities highlights claims of biased Title IX investigations favoring complainants over the accusedformat_quote

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Interrogation by Proxy: The Growing Role of Lay and Undercover Interrogators in Eliciting Criminal Confessions

by Deborah Davis and Hayley Cleary

Criminal Law BUlletin, 2023

Scientific research on police interrogations and confessions has mushroomed since the 1990s. This... more Scientific research on police interrogations and confessions has mushroomed since the 1990s. This wealth of theoretical and empirical work is restricted almost exclusively to circumstances where suspects are interrogated by persons they know to be police officers. However, suspects are often interrogated by, and offer incriminating statements or confessions to, persons who are not (or who are believed not to be) law enforcement personnel. We refer to these practices as "interrogations by proxy." In this Article we explore four such practices: (1) pretext calls, where lay persons (often alleged victims) make recorded phone calls to suspects under the supervision of police using a pretext to elicit incriminating statements (the suspect is unaware that police are listening to the call and that the call is being recorded); (2) Perkins Operations, where undercover police officers pretend to be fellow jail inmates in a deceptive attempt to seduce suspects into making incriminating statements about their alleged crimes; (3) Mr. Big Operations, where undercover officers attempt to elicit confessions to crimes in the context of involving them in fake criminal organizations and activities; and (4) school-* Portions of an earlier draft of this Article were presented at the 2022 American Psychology-Law Society Annual Meeting, Denver, Colorado, United States. We have no conflicts of interest to disclose. We thank Jacqueline Nemanich for excellent research assistance, and Connor McDermott for his editorial assistance. We are especially grateful to Hank Fradella for his exceptionally thoughtful comments, suggestions, and editorial assistance on earlier drafts of this Article.

format_quoteInterrogation by proxy involves suspects being led to confess by individuals perceived as non-law enforcement, raising ethical concerns.format_quote

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Relationships between sexual arousal, relationship status, and men's ratings of women's sexual willingness

Violence and Gender, 2022

Legal scholars and psychological researchers have identified the visceral state of sexual arousal... more Legal scholars and psychological researchers have identified the visceral state of sexual arousal as a potential contributing factor to the perpetration of sexual violence. Visceral states such as sexual arousal might systematically influence social perception and perhaps lead to misinterpretations of behavior, such as overestimates of others' willingness to have sex. The current study used an experimental design to assess effects of sexual arousal and relationship status on men's perceptions of the extent to which women's behaviors indicate sexual willingness. Our manipulation of sexual arousal was successful only among single men. Among these single men, sexual arousal was associated with ratings of the extent to which women's behaviors indicate sexual willingness. We consider explanations for why men in relationships responded differently to manipulations of sexual arousal and how this effect might contribute to equivocal findings in this literature. Results suggested that sexually aroused single men are uniquely motivated to misinterpret women's sexual willingness. These findings underscored the importance of interventions that identify and address the sources of sexual misunderstanding.

Rerick et al 2022 Let’s just do it: sexual arousal’s effects on attitudes regarding sexual consent

Journal of Social Psychology, 2022

Misperception of others’ sexual willingness or consent is widely considered to contribute to sex... more Misperception of others’ sexual willingness or consent is widely considered
to contribute to sexual coercion. Sexual arousal is commonly present among
those in situations with potential to result in sexual assault. The current
research tests the effects of sexual arousal on related attitudes: including
those toward token resistance, assertive sexual strategies, and affirmative
consent. Sexual arousal was primed through a narrative writing paradigm.
Results indicate sexual arousal led all participants to be more likely to
endorse belief in female token resistance, and led women to more strongly
endorse men’s assertive sexual strategies. Implications for research on sexual consent are discussed.

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Rerick et al 2020 Effects sexual arousal on perceived sexual consent

Journal of Social Psychology, 2020

Disputes over acquaintance rape typically center on the issue of whether the alleged victim conse... more Disputes over acquaintance rape typically center on the issue of whether the alleged victim consented to sex. A pervasive context in which disputed sexual encounters take place is sexual arousal. Although sexual arousal may contribute to sexual assault via several pathways, among them is the possibility that it provides a lens through which aroused men may honestly perceive female behaviors to reflect greater sexual willingness than women intend. Two studies tested the effects of sexual arousal on men’s interpretations of the extent to which 25 hypothetical female behaviors reflect sexual willingness. Study 1 manipulated arousal by asking men to write arousing versus non-arousing dating fantasies. Study 2 manipulated arousal by having men rate arousing versus non-arousing photos of women. In both studies, men then indicated their perceptions of the extent to which the hypothetical female behaviors reflect willingness to have sex. For each study manipulated arousal and individual differences in rated arousal were both associated with greater perceptions of female sexual willingness. Manipulated arousal was significant only for single men in Study 2. In neither study did individual differences in sexual experiences explain observed relationships between individual differences in arousal and perceived sexual willingness, nor did sexual experiences themselves relate to perceived sexual willingness. Findings suggested that men rely on present-state sexual arousal rather than preexisting attitudes and life experiences when making judgments about sexual willingness. Given that disagreements in sexual consent sometimes reflect honest differences in interpretations of women’s behaviors, male sexual arousal might prominently contribute to such misunderstandings.

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Power Affects Perceptions of Sexual Willingness: Implications for Litigating Sexual Assault Allegations

Violence and Gender, 2020

How potential sexual partners and third-party observers perceive women's sexual intentions can af... more How potential sexual partners and third-party observers perceive women's sexual intentions can affect the propensity to commit or excuse sexual aggression. We examined the effect of feelings of power on interpretations of women's behaviors. We expected manipulated feelings of power to systematically influence perceivers' interpretations of sexual intent from women's ambiguous behaviors. Data from 314 undergraduates supported hypotheses that powerholders (vs. the powerless) and men (vs. women) would perceive greater sexual intent from women's ambiguous behaviors. Additional analyses demonstrated that men felt more powerful than did women, and that high-(vs. low) power women, like men, perceived greater sexual intent. Results revealed relationships between power, gender, and sexual perceptions that can contribute to misunderstandings and sexual violence. Power might promote the perpetration of sexual violence and subsequent excusemaking by powerful lay observers. These findings have unique implications for litigating sexual assault in that powerful (vs. powerless) decision-makers (e.g., judges, jury forepersons) might differentially interpret women's ambiguous behaviors.

format_quoteANOVA indicated a significant effect of power manipulation (F(310) = 2.0, p = 0.047) on sexual willingness ratings, supporting theoretical predictions.format_quote

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Interrogation by Proxy: The Growing Role of Lay and Undercover Interrogators in Eliciting Criminal Confessions

Scientific research on police interrogations and confessions has mushroomed since the 1990s. This... more Scientific research on police interrogations and confessions has mushroomed since the 1990s. This wealth of theoretical and empirical work is restricted almost exclusively to circumstances where suspects are interrogated by persons they know to be police officers. However, suspects are often interrogated by, and offer incriminating statements or confessions to, persons who are not (or who are believed not to be) law enforcement personnel. We refer to these practices as "interrogations by proxy." In this Article we explore four such practices: (1) pretext calls, where lay persons (often alleged victims) make recorded phone calls to suspects under the supervision of police using a pretext to elicit incriminating statements (the suspect is unaware that police are listening to the call and that the call is being recorded); (2) Perkins Operations, where undercover police officers pretend to be fellow jail inmates in a deceptive attempt to seduce suspects into making incriminating statements about their alleged crimes; (3) Mr. Big Operations, where undercover officers attempt to elicit confessions to crimes in the context of involving them in fake criminal organizations and activities; and (4) school-* Portions of an earlier draft of this Article were presented at the 2022 American Psychology-Law Society Annual Meeting, Denver, Colorado, United States. We have no conflicts of interest to disclose. We thank Jacqueline Nemanich for excellent research assistance, and Connor McDermott for his editorial assistance. We are especially grateful to Hank Fradella for his exceptionally thoughtful comments, suggestions, and editorial assistance on earlier drafts of this Article.

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Age and Functioning in the Legal System: Victims, Witnesses, and Jurors

Abstract: This chapter describes how, as the population of elderly citizens continues to increase... more Abstract: This chapter describes how, as the population of elderly citizens continues to increase in the United States, a greater number of older adults will become victims of crimes and later report their experiences to police, attorneys, and juries, and perhaps even attempt to identify the perpetrators. In fact, we already know that roughly 2 million elderly individuals become victims of crime each year. Likewise, older Americans will become disproportionately represented among accident victims, witnesses in civil and criminal ...

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Internal and External Sources of Misinformation in Adult Witness Memory

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The Problem of Interrogation-Induced False Confession: Sources of Failure in Prevention and Detection

Handbook of Forensic Sociology and Psychology, 2013

In October of 1988. 20-year-old Nancy DePriest was tied up, rapcd. and murdered at the Pizza Hut ... more In October of 1988. 20-year-old Nancy DePriest was tied up, rapcd. and murdered at the Pizza Hut where she workcd in Austin, Texas. Two weeks later, 22-year-old Christopher Ochoa, who worked at anothcr Pizza Hut. and his friend, 18-year-old Richard Danziger, ordcred a beer at the Pizza Hut where DePriest had been murdered. They spoke to the security guard about the killing. asked where DePriest's body had been found. and said they had come to drink a beer in her memory. Suspicious employees thcn called the police. Two days later, police picked up Ochoa, a former high school honor Student with no criminal record. and Danziger for qucstioning. For over 2 days. Austin police detectives interrogated Ochoa offtape. As later events proved, he was not actually involved in the crime. In Ochoa's recounting. the detectives yelled at, harassed, and threatened him for hours; denied his requests for an attomey; told him. lalsely. that he failed three separate polygraph tests; claimed that a codefendant was in the next room and about to implicate him; threatened to throw the book at him if he did not cooperate; thrcw a chair that missed him; threatened him with more violence if he continued

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Interrogation Through Pragmatic Implication: Sticking to the Letter of the Law While Violating its Intent

Oxford Handbooks Online, 2012

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From False Confession to Wrongful Conviction: Seven Psychological Processes

The Journal of Psychiatry & Law, 2010

A steadily increasing tide of literature has documented the existence and causes of false confess... more A steadily increasing tide of literature has documented the existence and causes of false confession as well as the link between false confession and wrongful conviction of the innocent. This literature has primarily addressed three issues: the manner in which false confessions are generated by police interrogation, individual differences in susceptibility to interrogative influence, and the role false confessions have played in documented wrongful convictions of the innocent. Although the specific mechanisms through which interrogation tactics can induce false confessions, and through which they can exert enhanced influence on vulnerable individuals have been widely addressed in this literature, the processes through which false confessions, once obtained by police, may lead to wrongful conviction have remained largely unaddressed. This article addresses this gap in the literature, examining seven psychological processes linking false confession to wrongful conviction and failures ...

The Judiciary and the Fundamental Attribution Error: Preference for Disposition Versus Situation Based Analyses of False Confessions

This article identifies some fundamentally mistaken assumptions underlying admissibility decision... more This article identifies some fundamentally mistaken assumptions underlying admissibility decisions favoring disposition-related expert testimony regarding individual vulnerability to false confession over situation-based testimony describing how the context or nature of interrogation can promote false confessions. The authors argue that it is important to understand both the forces of influence within police interrogations and the individual differences that enhance vulnerability to these forces. Most false confessions occur in the context of interrogation and in response to the sources of distress and persuasive tactics of the interrogation. For this reason, this article suggests that experts asked to evaluate an interrogation-induced confession should be able to answer the following questions during their testimony: 1) What are the sources of distress facing the suspect during interrogation and how strong are they'; 2) What has happened during the interrogation that might prom...

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