Research

Police Interrogations & 

False Confessions

Dr. Alceste's main research focus and area of expertise is the psychology of police interrogations and false confessions. She uses both experimental and survey methods to explore the social and cognitive psychological factors surrounding why someone might confess to a crime they did not commit, as well as how others judge interrogations and confessions.

Select Publications


Alceste, F. & Kassin, S. M. (2021). Perceptions of custody: Similarities and disparities among police, judges, social psychologists, and laypeople. Law and Human Behavior, 45(3), 197-214. doi: 10.1037/lhb0000448.


Luke, T. J., & Alceste, F. (2020). The mechanisms of minimization: How interrogation tactics suggest lenient sentencing through pragmatic implication. Law and Human Behavior, 44(4), 266–285. https://doi.org/10.1037/lhb0000410


Alceste, F., Jones, K. A. & Kassin, S. M. (2020). Facts only the perpetrator could have known?: A study of contamination in mock crime interrogations. Law and Human Behavior, 44(2), 128-142. https://doi.org/10.1037/lhb0000367


Alceste, F., Luke, T. J., & Kassin, S. M. (2018). Holding yourself captive: Perceptions of freedom in interviews and interrogations. Journal of Applied Research on Memory and Cognition, 7(3), 387-397.

 

Kassin, S.M., Redlich, A., Alceste, F. & Luke, T. (2018). On the "general acceptance" of confessions research: Opinions of the scientific community. American Psychologist, 73, 63-80.

Select Media Coverage

Moon, J. (Host). 2023, April 3. This side of the line (No. 7) [Audio podcast episode]. In Bear Brook Season 2. New Hampshire Public Radio. https://www.bearbrookpodcast.com/season-two  

 

Pross, K. (2023, March 29). Bill making kid’s statements mostly inadmissible if law enforcement lied to them is advancing. https://indianapublicmedia.org/news/senate-bill-that-would-make-childrens-statements-mostly-inadmissible-if-law-enforcement-lied-to-them-passes-first-house-vote.php 


Versiones opuestas: Melissa Lucio, hispana condenada a muerte en Texas, también enfrenta la división de su familia (2022, April). https://www.univision.com/shows/aqui-y-ahora/versiones-opuestas-melissa-lucio-hispana-condenada-a-muerte-en-texas-tambien-enfrenta-la-division-de-su-familia-video

 

Wicklander-Zulawski. (2022, March). WZ Asks Remarkable Women. w-z.com. https://www.w-z.com/wz-asks-remarkable-women/ https://www.w-z.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Fabiana-2-1024x1024.png

 

Seguro, L. & Smith, J. (2022, March 5). Rush to judgment: Is Texas sending Melissa Lucio to die for a crime that never happened? https://theintercept.com/2022/03/05/melissa-lucio-texas-death-penalty/


Hager, E. (2020, June 20). Your Zoom interrogation is about to start. https://www.themarshallproject.org/2020/07/20/your-zoom-interrogation-is-about-to-start