Interview and interrogation methods and their effects on true and false confessions: A systematic review update and extension

Background False confessions are often the product of an interrogation process, and the method by which an interrogation is conducted likely affects both the rate of truthful confessions and false confessions. An optimal interrogation method will maximize the former and minimize the latter. Objectives The current study was a partial update and extension of Meissner and colleagues' (2012) prior Campbell systematic review titled Interview and Interrogation Methods and their Effects on True and False Confessions. Our objective was to assess the effects of interrogation approach on the rates of true and false confessions for criminal (mock) suspects. Search Methods PsycINFO, Criminal Justice s, and 15 other databases were searched starting October 20, 2022, with the final search conducted on May 23, 2023; together with reference checking, citation searching, and contact with authors to identify additional studies. Selection Criteria All eligible studies experimentally manipulated interrogation approach (i.e., accusatorial, information‐gathering, or direct questioning) were conducted with mock suspects accused of wrongdoing where ground truth was known, and included information about confession rates. Data Collection and Analysis We used standard methodological procedures expected by The Campbell Collaboration for our selection of studies and data collection. However, we developed our own risk of bias items and analyzed our data using network meta‐analysis methods. Data were synthesized via random‐effects network meta‐analysis based on the logged odds ratio. Main Results Across the 27 research articles that provided statistical information sufficient to calculate an effect size, 29 individual studies provided a total of 81 effect sizes. Most studies were conducted with college students in the United States. Overall, our risk of bias assessment indicated that authors generally adhered to double‐blind procedures and avoided selective reporting of outcomes. Of note, however, it was often unclear how violations of the randomization process were dealt with. For true confessions, there were 12 studies estimating the effect between accusatorial and direct questioning, five estimating the effect between information‐gathering and direct questioning, and another five estimating the effect between accusatorial and information‐gathering. Compared to information‐gathering, on average, the accusatorial conditions observed fewer true confessions, although not statistically si