Those Who Protest Too Much are Seen as Guilty

Abstract

160 students listened to a tape recording in which a target person was or was not accused of damaging a typewriter. The target person either denied damaging the typewriter or admitted damaging it, or the tape was stopped before his response was heard. Observers rated a target person who denied having damaged the typewriter as more likely to be guilty when his denial occurred in the absence of an accusation than when his denial followed an accusation.