Adverse inferences: The impact of suspect silence on lay perceptions.
Persistent URL
Author(s)
Catlin, Mary
Scherr, Kyle C.
Clow, Kimberley A.
Normile, Christopher J.
Allegheny College
Ben Ralph, Daniel
Date Issued
December 8, 2025
Abstract
Objectives: We conducted three studies that examined how preinterrogation rights decisions could impact lay people's perceptions of suspects. Hypotheses: Grounded in the literature on attribution errors and biases, we proposed that suspects who remained silent would be viewed and treated more negatively, generally, and especially when formal invocations were offered, compared to suspects who waived their rights. Method: Participants in Studies 1 and 2 acted as the lead detective in the investigation of an online murder simulation. Participants were randomly assigned to a 2 (informal silence: waived vs. exercised) x 2 (formal silence: waived vs. exercised) between-subjects design. Study 3 used an online vignette (adopted from previous research) where participants were randomly assigned to one of three levels in a between-subjects design: informed that the defendant had either waived or exercised their preinterrogation rights or were not informed of the defendant's decision. In all three studies, participants then judged the suspect's guilt and the interrogation procedures. Results: Overall, we found that suspects who remained silent were viewed and treated more negatively than those who waived their rights. Exploratory mediation analyses across all three studies suggest that the formal decision to remain silent negatively impacted perceptions of the suspect, which, in turn, increased guilt judgments. Conclusions: The results of the present studies suggest that preinterrogation decisions negatively impact judgments of guilt-not based on relevant legal factors, but assumptions arising from suspects' behavior.
Journal
Law and Human Behavior
Citation
Catlin, M., Scherr, K. C., Clow, K. A., Normile, C. J., & Ben Ralph, D. (2025). Adverse inferences: The impact of suspect silence on lay perceptions. Law and Human Behavior. Advance online publication. https://dx.doi.org/10.1037/lhb0000639
Publisher
American Psychological Association (APA)
Version of Article
Version of Record
DOI
10.1037/lhb0000639
ISSN
1573-661X
0147-7307
Rights
© 2025 American Psychological Association
Type of Publication
Journal Article
File(s)![Thumbnail Image]()
![Thumbnail Image]()
Name
2025_Normile_AdversePOSTPRINT.pdf
Description
Postprint
Size
1.68 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
edae76818c0828f447a1c24bc1bb76b2
Name
2025_Normile_Adverse.pdf
Description
Version of Record
Size
1.06 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
4f183af1eee582b33967606c1eb045d6