Interrogative suggestibility, confabulation, and acquiescence in people with mild learning disabilities (mental handicap): Implications for reliability during police interrogations

Abstract

In order to assess a criminal suspect's ability to make a reliable statement, performance on three measures--interrogative suggestibility, confabulation and acquiescence--may be used. This paper presents preliminary data on these measures for people with mild learning disabilities (Full Scale IQ [FSIQ]: 57-75). It was found that they were more suggestible than their average ability counterparts (FSIQ: 83-111) because they were much more susceptible to 'leading questions'. They also confabulated more and were more acquiescent. Overall, the data emphasized their potential vulnerability to giving erroneous testimony during interrogations.