Committee Chair

Warren, Amye

Committee Member

Buck, Dave; Shelton, Jill T.

Department

Dept. of Psychology

College

College of Arts and Sciences

Publisher

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Place of Publication

Chattanooga (Tenn.)

Abstract

The Behavioral Analysis Interview (BAI) of the Reid Interrogation technique (Inbau, et al., 2013) consists of 15 questions to identify deception or truthfulness. Research indicates these cues are unreliable and trained officers are no better than chance at detecting deception (Kassin, Meissner & Norwick, 2005; Meissner & Kassin, 2002). This study aimed to examine how innocent autistic individuals’ response to the BAI in a mock arson case were perceived. College psychology students (n=218) rated the truthfulness/deceptiveness reading one of the two responses, with half informed of the diagnosis. Overall, the responses were rated as more deceptive when the suspect was not identified as autistic. Undisclosed autism led to higher ratings of deception, particularly when response contained nonverbal cues like long pauses or lacking eye contact. This research highlights the need for interview criteria adjustments for individuals with autism to prevent misinterpreting their innocent responses.

Degree

M. A.; A thesis submitted to the faculty of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Arts.

Date

8-2023

Subject

Police questioning--United States; Autistic people--Psychology

Keyword

Autism; Police Officer; BAI; Police Interview

Discipline

Other Psychology

Document Type

Masters theses

DCMI Type

Text

Extent

viii, 65 leaves

Language

English

Rights

http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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