The psychological study of police investigations: Contributions from motivated social cognition research

• Some of the most common mistakes in criminal investigations include one-sided and confirmatory information seeking, and premature narrowing of potential suspects. Such activities appear somewhat comprehensible, considering the fact that investigators typically face considerable time pressure and work in a police culture that advocates efficiency, decisiveness and prestigeconditions that promote a need for investigative closure and undue partiality toward specific conclusions. The motivated social cognition framework accounts for how peoples wishes and needs affect social judgments, and a number of mechanisms for such influence have been identified. The present paper is a theoretical overview seeking to elucidate the direct implications that the mechanisms of motivated cognition have for the investigative process and the practical consequences that may follow. In addition, some initial experimental results generated from this approach are presented

Keyword

Motivation

police investigation

social cognition

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

kon (subject category)