Marion Stéphanie B, Burke Tara M
Faculty of Social Science and Humanities, University of Ontario Institute of Technology.
Ryerson University.
Behav Sci Law. 2017 Jan;35(1):37-59. doi: 10.1002/bsl.2269. Epub 2016 Dec 23.
Police investigators, judges, and jurors are often very skeptical of alibi witness testimony. To investigate when and why individuals lie for one another, we conducted two studies in which witnesses' support of a false alibi was observed. We varied the level of social pressure exerted on witnesses and the level of affinity between suspect-witness pairs. During a study session purportedly intended to investigate dyadic problem-solving ability, a mock theft was staged. When questioned, participants were provided the opportunity to either corroborate or refute a confederate's false alibi that the latter was with them when the theft occurred. Participants were more likely to lie for the confederate when the latter explicitly asked participants to conceal his/her whereabouts during the time of the theft (Study 1). How much participants liked the suspect did not impact lying; however, participants lied for a confederate more often when the latter was a friend rather than a stranger (Study 2). Results show that alibi witnesses often lie and that investigators and jurors may not accurately estimate the likelihood that such witnesses will lie for one another. Witnesses who lied also reported doing so more often because they believed that the suspect was innocent rather than guilty. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
警方调查人员、法官和陪审员通常对不在场证明证人的证词持高度怀疑态度。为了调查人们何时以及为何会相互说谎，我们进行了两项研究，观察证人对虚假不在场证明的支持情况。我们改变了施加在证人身上的社会压力水平以及嫌疑人与证人之间的亲密程度。在一场据称旨在调查二元问题解决能力的研究环节中，上演了一场模拟盗窃。当被询问时，参与者有机会证实或反驳一名同伙的虚假不在场证明，即盗窃发生时该同伙与他们在一起。当同伙明确要求参与者隐瞒其在盗窃发生时的行踪时，参与者更有可能为其说谎（研究1）。参与者对嫌疑人的喜欢程度并未影响说谎行为；然而，当同伙是朋友而非陌生人时，参与者更常为其说谎（研究2）。结果表明，不在场证明证人常常说谎，调查人员和陪审员可能无法准确估计此类证人相互说谎的可能性。说谎的证人还表示，他们这样做更多是因为他们认为嫌疑人是无辜而非有罪。版权所有© 2016约翰·威利父子有限公司。
