Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and Graduate Theses and Dissertations Dissertations 2018 Belief perseverance: The staying power of confession evidence Curt More Iowa State University Follow this and additional works at: https://lib.edu/etd Part of the Social Psychology Commons Recommended Citation More, Curt, "Belief perseverance: The staying power of confession evidence" (2018). Graduate Theses and Dissertations.edu/etd/16421 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and Dissertations at Iowa State University Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Iowa State University Digital Repository. For more information, please contact digirep@iastate.
Belief perseverance: The staying power of confession evidence by Curt Craig More A thesis submitted to the graduate faculty in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE Major: Psychology Program of Study Committee: Stephanie Madon, Co-Major Professor Max Guyll, Co-Major Professor Marcus Credé The student author, whose presentation of the scholarship herein was approved by the program of study committee, is solely responsible for the content of this thesis. The Graduate College will ensure this thesis is globally accessible and will not permit alterations after a degree is conferred. Iowa State University Ames, Iowa 2018 Copyright © Curt Craig More, 2018. All rights reserved.
ii DEDICATION This thesis is dedicated to my family. To my wife, Kimberly More, for her love and encouragement. To my parents, Susan More, Bruce More, and Joseph Kitzke, for their support, both emotional and financial. To the grandparents I have lost, Kay Brayshaw, Joe Kitzke, and George More, for their unconditional love.
And to the grandparents I still have, Don Brayshaw, Evona Kitzke, and Pat More, for their unwavering love and belief in me. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF FIGURES. v LIST OF TABLES. 1 Error and Bias.
3 The Power of Confession Evidence. 7 Research Overview and Hypotheses. 12 Perceptions of Impartiality. 16 Commitment Manipulation Check.
16 Confession Timing Manipulation Check. 17 Model 1: Total Effect of Confession Timing on Phase 2 Guilt Judgments. 18 Model 2: Belief Perseverance Effect. 19 Path a: Confession Effect.
19 iv Path b: Judgment Stability. 20 Path a × b: Belief Perseverance. 20 Path c: Adding Confession Evidence and Procedural Effects. 20 Moderation of Belief Perseverance by Commitment.
22 Model 1: Total Effect of Confession Timing. 22 Model 2: Belief Perseverance Effect. 23 Path a: Confession Effect. 24 Path b: Judgment Stability.
24 Path a × b: Belief Perseverance. 25 Path c: Adding Confession Evidence and Procedural Effects. 25 Path a × b + c: Total Effect of Confession Evidence. 25 Moderation of Belief Perseverance by Commitment.
PHASE 1 CRIME REPORT: CONFESSION EARLY. PHASE 1 CRIME REPORT: CONFESSION LATE. PHASE 2 CRIME REPORT. PERCEPTIONS OF IMPARTIALITY.
INSTITUTIONAL REVIEW BOARD APPROVAL FORM. 58 v LIST OF FIGURES Page Figure 1. Participant Verdicts by Condition and Phase. Model 1: Examination of Total Effects.
Model 2: Mediated Model Examining Indirect Effects. 39 vi LIST OF TABLES Page Table 1. Correlations by Commitment Condition. Model 2 Path Coefficients.
44 vii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank some of the incredible mentors I have encountered leading up to this thesis. Leora Dahl for inspiring me to study forensic psychology rather than English. Linda Hatt and the late Dr. Claire Budgen for the opportunity to be a part of a research team as an undergraduate.
Michael Woodworth for his mentorship of my honours thesis. Jan Cioe for his friendship and guidance on how to be a better student, a better teacher, and a better person. Marcus Credé and Dr. Gary Wells for their advice throughout the crafting of this thesis.
And finally to my co-advisors, Dr. Max Guyll and Dr. Stephanie Madon, for their constant support and encouragement, without which this thesis would not have been possible. viii ABSTRACT This research examined whether a criminal confession causes people to discount subsequently encountered exculpatory evidence.