research method of Psychology

Psychologists study a wide range of topics, such as language development in children and the effects of sensory deprivation on behavior. They use scientifically testable models and methods to conduct their research.

Describing Research Scientists use the following terms to describe their research:

• Variables: the events, characteristics, behaviors, or conditions that researchers measure and study.
• Subject or participant: an individual person or animal a researcher studies.
• Sample: a collection of subjects researchers study. Researchers use samples because they cannot study the entire population.
• Population: the collection of people or animals from which researchers draw a sample. Researchers study the sample and generalize their results to the population.

The Purpose of Research

Psychologists have three main goals when doing research:

• To find ways to measure and describe behavior
• To understand why, when, and how events occur
• To apply this knowledge to solving real-world problems

Read More

Difference between Sociology and Psychology

Many students back a major in the social sciences ask what the main differences are amid psychology and sociology because they seem thus connected. In some ways, these two fields go hand in hand for uncovering the scientific strong more or less humans. Both have the overall intend of helping people improved take the puzzling dynamics of mental processes, emotions, behaviors, and social relationships. However, there are several unique nuances to each of these human-focused fields that should be noted. Below well admit an in-severity see at the significant differences that remove psychology from sociology in the social science auditorium.

All About Psychology

The distinguishing feature of psychology is that it involves the chemical analysis of the human mind in regards to the individual or little outfit rather than work as a build up. Psychology usually focuses on the subject of studying one person at a era to craft general principles that can be applied towards promise mental health trends, human behaviors, or societal problems. Psychologists are concerned subsequent to conducting research upon specific cognitive processes, such as emphasize, grief, attack, depression, penetration, and high regard. Most studies in psychology concern evaluating each persons brain functions without necessarily when the impact upon accessory people. Psychologists intend to discover the reasoning at the previously emotional reactions in order to fragment together sections of larger psychological puzzles for boosting individual skillfully-bodily.

Sociology Defined

On the new hand, sociology looks to the lead-thinking than individual beings to scrutinize group as a amassed through specific social relationships. Sociologists focus upon learning roughly societal behavior by settlement how gender, ethnicity, religion, socioeconomic status, and flavor can stroke out-war-engagement a prominent role in overall culture. Sociology seeks to bring social problems in the appearance of economic injustice, marriage inequality, social stratification, loathe crimes, alcohol addiction, obesity, environmental racism, and healthcare disparity to the public eye. Instead of blazing upon individual human thought, sociology inherently deals behind how people relate behind one unorthodox and take steps towards others. Sociologists observe certain populations, research current issues, and explore how the problems will sham the wellness of group.

Choosing the Right Career Fit

Though these fields overlap in their studies approximately human behavior, they are unconditionally exchange in their foci and attract every second types of professionals. If youmore or less keen in researching the ways societies fabricate and organize at the macro level, along with earning a degree in sociology could be the best option. If you sore spot to specialize in helping individuals upon a micro level by studying specific mental and behavioral reactions, plus psychology could be the better scholarly passageway. For students unsure, its often advised that you taking office a course in social psychology, which is quite along along furthermore sociology in studying how outfit affects the thoughts of individual people.
Ultimately, there are numerous ways that sociology and psychology relate to and insert each new to auspices us comprehend why humans play a role and interact as they make a get grip of of. Earning an undergraduate degree in either of these social sciences will prepare you as soon as a variety of interpersonal skills that can be transferred to careers in human facilities, social put it on, research, healthcare, and matter. Psychology and sociology simply come happening once the maintenance for a complimentary reply two vary approaches to figuring out what makes human beings tick, therefore majoring in either one could be unmodified for anyone rosy more or less vibrant following others.

Read More

Relation between Sociology & Psychology

Society & Psychology:
Psychology studies the mental process of behavior i.e. the effect of the individual mind on the behavior of group of man and vise versal.

Society is related to psychology because what it studies is a important part of society & social studies society.

Psychology depends on society and social studies. Society and psychology has to get the knowledge of society. Society is general science and psychology is a specific science. According to Megyver "Society gives special aid to psychology and psychology gives special aid to psychology relationship of society and psychology is shown by social psychology". Lapiere and Fransworth – "Social psychology is to society and psychology as bio-chemistry is to Biology & Chemistry".

Karl Pearson 'There is no distinction between society and social psychology. They are two sides of the same coin". According to Ward "There are some topics which are subject matters of both society and psychology such as socialization, Leadership psychology – mental process and society – social process.

Relation between Sociology & Anthropology

Relation between Sociology & Geography

Read More

Dogs sensing earthquakes

There is a long-held belief about dogs’ abilities to predict earthquakes, although it’s not clear how long this has been a belief. Many websites cite a Greek historian describing dogs fleeing the city of Helice in Greece before it was destroyed by an earthquake in 373 BCE, but there are no reliable sources for this. A later Roman historian wrote in the second century BCE about rodents and insects fleeing the city, but not dogs.

Still, there are many anecdotal references to dogs acting strange in the days or hours leading up to major earthquakes, and some scientists have tried to study the phenomenon. A Japanese researcher, Dr. Kiyoshi Shimamura, looked at records of dog bites and other dog-related complaints before and after earthquakes, and noticed an 18% jump in unusual activity, like excessive barking and biting, before the 1995 Kobe temblor, although he did not make a guess as to how the dogs could predict quakes.

Stanley Coren, writing in Psychology Today, wound up accidentally compiling data on a number of dogs and their behavior before an earthquake, and he concluded that dogs must have been hearing the high frequency sounds made by rocks shifting and cracking underground before a quake.

He based his conclusion on traits of the dogs — those that were deaf showed no reaction beforehand, while those with floppy ears were less likely to show anxiety than dogs with pointy ears. Head size was also a factor. The smaller a dog’s head, the bigger a reaction they showed. Coren concluded that this is because animals with smaller heads are more sensitive to high frequency sound — although seismologists, like Sarada Sarma, say that this is unlikely because rocks underground don’t make these sounds.

Read More

The sixth sense

1. What is sixth sense?

Sixth sense, or subtle perception ability, is our ability to perceive the subtle-dimension or the unseen world of angels, ghosts, Heaven (Swarga), etc. It also includes our ability to understand the subtle cause and effect relationship behind many events, which is beyond the understanding of the intellect. Extrasensory perception (ESP), clairvoyance, premonition, intuition are synonymous with sixth sense or subtle perception ability. Throughout this website we use the words sixth sense, ESP and subtle perception ability interchangeably.

2. What do we perceive and understand with sixth sense?

The SSRF defines the word 'subtle world' or 'spiritual dimension' as the world which is beyond the understanding of the five senses, mind and intellect. The subtle world refers to the unseen world of angels, ghosts, heaven, etc. which can only be perceived through our sixth sense.

We perceive the gross or seen world through the five physical senses (i.e. smell, taste, sight, touch and sound), our mind (our feelings), and our intellect (decision making capacity). When it comes to the unseen world or the subtle-world, we perceive it through the five subtle-senses, the subtle-mind and the subtle-intellect – this is what is known as our sixth sense. When the sixth sense is developed or activated, it helps us to experience the subtle-world or subtle-dimension. This experience of the subtle-world is also known as a ‘spiritual experience’.

In the above picture, we see a lady who smells a bunch of roses. This would constitute an experience as there is a definite source to the fragrance of roses i.e. the bunch of roses. In the other picture, we see a lady not smelling roses, pondering over the start of her working day. All of a sudden and with no apparent cause, she gets a strong fragrance of sandalwood. She initially dismisses it, as she cannot see where it is coming from and goes on to ponder her work day. However, the fragrance follows her to her work place and lingers with her throughout the morning. She asks other people if they can smell the fragrance, but no one does. This would constitute a spiritual experience. In this case, the lady actually perceived a fragrance emanating from the subtle-dimension and experienced the fragrance through the medium of her subtle sense organ of smell. The ability to perceive or experience the subtle-dimension through the five subtle-senses, subtle-mind and subtle-intellect is what is known as one’s sixth sense.

3. What is sixth sense perception through the five subtle sense organs?

The world is made from the five Absolute Cosmic Principles (Panchatattva). These Cosmic Principles cannot be seen but make up all of creation. When our sixth sense gets activated, we begin to perceive these Absolute Cosmic Principles progressively, beginning from the most gross to the most subtle. Thus, we are able to perceive them in the order of the Absolute Earth (Pruthvī), Water (Āpa), Fire (Tēj), Air (Vāyu) and Ether (Ākāsh) elements through our subtle-sense of smell, taste, vision, touch and sound respectively.

The following table provides examples of positive and negative spiritual experiences that we may perceive through our sixth sense, that is, through the medium of the five subtle-senses.

When a person perceives something through a subtle sense organ, e.g. smell, the source could be from a positive energy like a deity or a negative energy like a ghost.

4. How does one develop the sixth sense?

The subtle-world is all around us. However, we cannot perceive this world. Even though we cannot perceive the subtle-world, it impacts our lives to a great extent. In order to tune into this world we need a ‘spiritual antenna’, i.e. our sixth sense needs to be awakened. Our sixth sense grows when we do spiritual practice.

Universal mind and intellect: Just as God’s creation such as humans, animals etc. have a mind and intellect, so does God’s entire creations, the Universe has a Universal Mind and Intellect which contains absolutely genuine information of all things in the Universe. It can be thought of as God’s Mind and Intellect. As one progresses spiritually one’s subtle mind and intellect merge with the Universal Mind and Intellect and thus that is how one is able to access information about the whole of God’s creation.

5. What is the relationship between sixth sense and spiritual level?

The extent (proportion) of the known world as compared to the subtle world or subtle dimension is 1 to infinity.

As our spiritual level goes on increasing, we are able to progressively perceive a greater extent of the subtle-world through our subtle perception ability, that is, our sixth sense. The following table shows the relationship between our sixth sense and our spiritual level.

From the above table, we can see that the maximum that can be perceived by the subtle sense organs is achieved at the 70% spiritual level. Hence, with further increase in spiritual level, there is no further increment in the subtle-perception through the five subtle sense organs. However, the subtle-mind and subtle-intellect continue to increasingly tune into the Universal Mind and Universal Intellect until the 100% spiritual level is achieved. The table below shows the minimum spiritual level necessary to be able to perceive each of the individual five subtle-senses if one’s sixth sense was purely a function of the spiritual level. For example, one can perceive the subtle-sense of smell at the 40% spiritual level.

While this bar graph serves as a guide to explain what the direct relationship between the spiritual level and sixth sense is, we should also note the following:

• When somebody acquires a spiritual experience of subtle-smell, it does not necessarily mean that he or she has attained the spiritual level of 40%. More often than not, it is a case of momentary or transient rise in spiritual level or ability either because of intense spiritual practice like chanting the Name of God, or being in the company of Saints, etc.
• It also does not mean that these persons can perceive up to 100% of all the varieties of subtle-smells available or that they can perceive it all the time and at any time.

You can also see from the graph that the subtle-sense of touch and sound are only perceived at higher spiritual levels. The reason for this is that they are more subtle among the five subtle-senses.

6. What is the relationship between sixth sense (ESP) and gender?

Women, in general, have a stronger sixth sense than men. An extrasensory perception (ESP) ability comes more naturally to women and women are more likely to be intuitive than men. One of the main reasons for this is that men are more intellectually oriented and tend more towards the rational side.

7. Spiritual experiences involving the subtle mind and subtle intellect

Sometimes one experiences a strange feeling of homecoming when seeing a totally unknown house, a premonition of impending disaster, or feels unending love for a person who is otherwise contrary to one’s liking. These are experiences through the subtle-mind. We cannot comprehend the reason behind these feelings. Sometimes we hear about people who get information from the subtle-dimension and who converse with beings in the subtle-regions. The following paragraphs will explain this phenomenon in more detail.

7.1 How do people perceive this information?

People who receive knowledge from the subtle-dimension generally receive it in three ways:

• By letting a subtle-entity use one’s hand to write their message (known as automatic writing)
• By a vision where they can actually see the words or passages in front of their eyes
• Through thoughts

Among the above methods, receiving the answer in thoughts is most subtle among the three ways.

7.2 What is the source of the knowledge that sixth sense gives access to?

People who receive knowledge from the subtle-dimension receive it either:

• Automatically due to their ability to tap into the Universal Mind and Intellect, or
• As answers to questions specifically asked by them to subtle-entities. They are able to do this through their sixth sense through the medium of their subtle-mind and intellect.

In both cases, the person understands the subtle-dimension, but only a spiritually evolved person can differentiate whether the knowledge received is due to the first or second way. In most cases, the person converses with subtle-bodies from the various subtle-regions such as the Nether region (Bhuvarlok) and the Hell region (Pātāl), and very rarely from a God, that is the Universal Mind and Intellect.

The type and grade or level of information received depends on the spiritual level of the person receiving it.

Information from lower sources:

Absolute knowledge, also known as Divine knowledge is that knowledge which is complete, totally authentic and does not change or is the ultimate Truth.

The information received from subtle-bodies belonging to lower regions, i.e. from the Nether region or the Hell region, is mostly of a worldly nature and of importance only for a restricted part of the world and for a short time span. An example of this would be getting information about whether one would get married or get a job. Which political party would win the elections in any given country would be another example of such a type of knowledge received from lower level subtle-bodies in the spiritual dimension.

The information received by Nostradamus is an example of this category. Nostradamus, himself at the 50% spiritual level, received the information from a subtle-body at the 40% spiritual level. Many of the mediums fall in this category of receiving knowledge. A subtle-body at the 40% spiritual level may receive knowledge that is beyond him from higher-level subtle bodies. Also, subtle-bodies of the same or slightly higher level having the requisite knowledge, may pass it on. This is like a mason asking for knowledge about architecture or carpentry from another person.

Knowledge from higher sources:

The entire universe is made up of fourteen regions or planes (lokas) of existence, comprising seven positive and seven negative planes. Earth is the only physical plane while all the other planes are subtle in nature. Heaven is just one of the positive planes we can go after death.

Knowledge received from subtle-bodies from higher regions like the Maharlok (beyond Heaven) and above, is of a spiritual nature. The knowledge obtained is progressively of more universal need and of lasting importance in terms of a time span of centuries. Receiving divine knowledge from the Universal Mind and Universal Intellect (i.e. the mind and intellect aspects of God) is of the highest kind. As shown in the picture above, it is only possible for Saints to receive this knowledge. An example of this is the receipt of the knowledge contained in the Holy Vēdās by the Sages of ancient India.

To correctly ascertain what the source of the knowledge gathered through sixth sense is, one would need to be of a very high spiritual level i.e. a Saint of 90% or above.

7.3 What is the method of determining whether information received is from sixth sense or one’s own subconscious thoughts?

There are a few pointers which suggest that the knowledge is being received from an external source as opposed to one’s own imagination.

• When the content of the knowledge is totally alien to the receiver’s field of knowledge. For example, there is a seeker of God who barely scraped through high school and yet receives complex diagrams of machines.
• The quantity of knowledge amassed is another indicator. A seeker of the Spiritual Science Research Foundation (SSRF) has been receiving Divine Knowledge from the subtle-dimension since 28 October 2003. Each day she receives over 15 – 20 A4 size pages of knowledge. This spiritual knowledge is currently being analysed and categorised for the benefit of humanity.

7.4 What are the factors that decide which person receives knowledge through sixth sense and the subtle-intellect?

There is a combination of factors that goes into deciding what person receives knowledge from sixth sense. The spiritual level of a person is one of the key factors in deciding which person receives knowledge from the subtle. Besides the spiritual level, the factors that decide the acquiring of higher spiritual experiences, like the receipt of knowledge are:

• Motivation and intense yearning of the person
• Necessity for God’s mission
• Resolve and blessings of the Guru (a spiritual master and guide beyond the 70% spiritual level)
• Destiny of the person

It should be noted that if a person at a higher spiritual level is interested in acquiring knowledge of an inferior nature, for instance concerns about day-to-day happenings on Earth, even though he is capable of receiving knowledge from higher-level subtle-bodies, he would receive such knowledge through lower level subtle-bodies. In contrast, if a person at a comparatively lower spiritual level, e.g. 50%, has a deep motivation to learn the higher principles of spiritual sciences, he will receive knowledge from higher subtle-bodies or subtle-bodies from higher regions, especially if blessed by the Guru.

7.5 Sixth sense, premonitions and time and space

Sometimes people have premonitions about things to happen, or a gut feeling about events that have happened in the past. This is possible in two ways:

1. Through subtle-bodies: The premonition (information) has been put into their sub-conscious mind by subtle-bodies. In most cases, the subtle-bodies or entities are ghosts from the Nether Region or the Hell region. These subtle-bodies in some cases have the ability to see across time. If they themselves do not have this ability, they get the information from higher-level ghosts like subtle-sorcerers with this ability.
2. Accessing the Universal Mind and Intellect: There are seven layers to the Universal Mind and Intellect. Depending on what grade one’s sixth sense is, a person may be able to tap into a lower or higher layer of the Universal Mind and Intellect.

In almost all cases of premonition (a forewarning of the future), clairvoyance (information received from a distant place) and precognition (information received from a distant time), the information is received from subtle-bodies and not through one’s ability to access the Universal Mind and Intellect. The harm that subtle-bodies can cause is explained in the next section.

7.6 What is the accuracy of knowledge received via sixth sense?

A person generally receives knowledge from subtle-bodies with a spiritual level that is the same as the person’s, and the accuracy and grade of knowledge is also the same. To understand this concept, consider a scale of 0 to 100%, wherein no knowledge is 0%. The lowest knowledge understood by the intellect is 1% and that available from the Universal Intellect is 100%.

• A person at the spiritual level of 40% generally receives knowledge from a subtle-body of a corresponding spiritual level i.e. 40%, however the accuracy is also 40% and the grade of the knowledge is also 40%.
• Up to the spiritual level of 70%, the receipt of knowledge is more likely to be from ghosts (demons, devils, negative energies, etc.) and hence it is accompanied by a proportion of black energy. Those unaware of the mechanisms of the receipt of knowledge may be ignorant of this aspect and hence blindly believe implicitly in all the knowledge received. If the knowledge is received through subtle-bodies, there is a strong possibility that it may be incorrect in part or in entirety. The subtle-bodies usually give some correct knowledge in the beginning to garner belief. Once this is established, they go on to give varied degrees of incorrect or misleading information.Another important factor one has to consider is that the knowledge received from subtle-bodies is always cloaked in black energy. This affects the recipient adversely in various ways like failing health, psychological weakness, clouded intellect, etc. But this process is so gradual that it escapes the attention of the person and his family and friends. If this knowledge-receiving process continues for some time, slowly the person becomes a virtual puppet in the hands of the subtle-body to be used in various ways to further the interests of the subtle-body.
• But after the spiritual level of 70%,  the knowledge is given by positive subtle-bodies like Saints and Sages in the higher regions above Heaven, or is received through the media of the Universal Mind and Intellect, and there is no black energy accompanying the knowledge.
• After attaining the spiritual level of 70%, one starts receiving Absolute Knowledge from the Universal Mind and Intellect.

There are various levels to understanding the negative aspect of the subtle-dimension such as ghosts (demons, devils, negative energies, etc.), demonic possession and an attack by a ghost. Quite often, what people are able to experience is just the tip of the iceberg. It is only at a spiritual level of over 90% that one is able to perceive the entire spectrum of the subtle-dimension.

Please refer to the article on the depth of ability to perceive paranormal activity with our sixth sense.

8. What is the cost of misusing our sixth sense (ESP)?

Sixth sense is to be used only for spiritual growth towards God-realisation, the ultimate in spiritual growth. So, what is the cost of using sixth sense for worldly gain? From a pure spiritual perspective, it is considered misuse when sixth sense is used for anything besides spiritual growth. In other words, if a psychic uses his psychic ability to find out if a person is going to get married or get a job, it is considered misuse from a spiritual perspective.

When sixth sense (ESP) is misused by a person who is psychic, over time two things happen:

1. They lose their ability. This generally happens over a 30 year period.
2. They become targets for subtle-sorcerers of higher spiritual strength. Subtle-sorcerers initially give some genuine information, enough to gain the confidence of the person. However, they later mislead them and the people they are guiding. In such cases, their psychic ability lasts for longer periods and may in fact appear to have improved steadily. But this psychic ability is not by virtue of the person but because of the subtle-sorcerer who is guiding the psychic. In such cases, the rare gift of sixth sense available to the person that could have been utilised for God-realisation is wasted on lesser matters.

Read More

Psychological Variables of False Confessions

False confessions are not a new concept in America, and there have been hundreds of examples of false confessions. In Massachusetts in 1692 many colonists confessed to being witches in Salem. The trials resulted in at least nineteen executions before they were eventually stopped (Agar, 1999). Further along in American history, the Lindbergh kidnapping and murder became a public media skeptical in 1932. During that time, over 200 innocent people came forward and confessed to the kidnapping and murder of Charles Lindbergh’s child (Agar, 1999). More currently with the advancement of DNA techniques, confessed sentenced criminals are being released from prison for crimes they never committed. Why would anyone ever confess to a crime, especially a serious one, when they never committed the crime? Current criminal justice professionals, psychologists, and sociologists argue that the suspect’s mental and psychological condition may affect many false confessions. Suspect psychological characteristics, type of crime, and contextual characteristics of the interrogations can affect a suspect’s tendency to confess (Gudjonsson, 2003).

Gudjonsson (2003) discussed different psychological variables that effect confessions. These include current mental status, intellectual functioning, reading ability, interrogative suggestibility, state and trait anxiety, and the understanding of rights by questioned suspects (Gudjonsson, 2003). For these variables to be properly examined, investigators conducting a criminal interview must determine if the suspect is fit to be interviewed. Investigators must assess the cognition and intellect of the suspect to be best of their abilities. The investigators tasked with interviewing a suspect should be aware of any psychiatric disorder that will usually lead to unfitness for an interview and psychiatric disorders that might indicate a significant risk of unreliability (Rix, 1997).

 Psychiatric disorders that will usually lead to unfitness for interviews would be suspects that are experiencing acute organic reactions (including alcohol or drug withdrawals), mania, severe dementia, and severe mental handicap (Rix, 1997). Psychiatric disorders that may indicate a significant risk of unreliability would be milder forms of dementia, hypomania, schizophrenia, depressive disorders, mild or moderate mental handicap, and mild substance withdrawal states (Rix, 1997). While certain psychological disorders automatically should rule a suspect unfit for an interview; the theories of false confessions are endless and are currently being studied by criminal justice professionals.

The mental status of a suspect should always be considered when determining if and how a suspect should be interviewed. Individuals with diagnosed mental handicaps comprise of one to two percent of the general population, but in prison they comprise of approximately 4.2 percent (O’Connell, Garmoe, & Goldstein, 2005). Current studies have determined that individuals with diagnosed mental handicaps are often more easily caught by police and are more likely to be tricked by police during interview into confessing or taking the blame for criminal offenses (O’Connell, Garmoe, & Goldstein, 2005). Suspects who suffer from mental handicaps, even in mild cases, should at all costs understand their rights and understand what is happening to them. For example, if a suspect suffers from Down syndrome investigators should make sure that the suspect has proper representation and is aware of what is transpiring. A person with Down syndrome, if being interviewed, may not understand what certain questions are or what they are being accused of. Personally, I would never ask a suspect who has Down syndrome any questions until they have proper legal representation to represent them. I would also contact my district attorney to see if there is any way to conduct an intellectual assessment of the suspect prior to taking any voluntary statements. A person who lacks intellectual reasoning or articulation skills should never be held to statements that they do not understand or comprehend.

Another mental status that is currently being studied are individuals with ADHD. A study by Gudjonsson, Sigurdsson, Bragason, Newton, and Elinarsson (2008) studied 90 Icelandic prisoners who were currently serving prison sentences and diagnosed with ADHD. The study determined reasons why ADHD prisoners made false confessions for previous crimes that they did not commit. The reasons were: nine (43%) wanted to leave the police station or to avoid custody and six (29%) were protecting someone else (Gudjonsson, Sigurdsson, Bragason, Newton, and Elinarsson 2008). This study concluded that ADHD suspects are particularly vulnerable during police questioning and detention because of their restlessness, poor concentration, and impulsiveness (Gudjonsson, Sigurdsson, Bragason, Newton, and Elinarsson 2008). The findings of this study are not unexpected, as anyone with any experience with ADHD can understand. Besides certain mental status conditions another issue in confession is the understanding of legal rights during questioning and detention.

Understanding legal rights is another major psychological variable in confessions. It is estimated that 695,000 mentally disordered offenders are arrested and Mirandized annually in the Unites States (Rogers, Harrison, Hazelwood, & Sewell, 2007). Miranda v. Arizona (1966) established procedural safeguards to protect suspects in interviews to avoid making self-incriminating statements and to have an attorney present during questioning. The suspect must make a confession “knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily” (Miranda v. Arizona, 1966). A study conducted by O’Connell, Garmoe, and Goldstein (2005) determined that individuals with lower IQ scores had a higher tendency to be tricked by leading questions. The same study determined that individuals with mild mental retardation demonstrated difficultly understanding Miranda rights. If a suspect cannot understand their legal rights, then their rights can be violated—making any voluntary confession not admissible.  

Representation should always be present and if applicable a psychologist who specialized in the disorder should also be present to explain the suspect’s rights. In situations where the suspect suffers from ADHD, investigators should be trained in how to interview individuals with the condition and every effort should be made to make the interview short and brief. Personal statements from individuals affected by these conditions should not be discredited, since they may be telling the truth in a voluntary confession.

References

Agar, J. (1999). “The Admissibility of False Confession Expert Testimony”. The Army Lawyer; Aug. pp. 26-43.

Gudjonsson, G. (2003). The Psychology of Interrogations and Confessions. Wiley, England, 2003.

Gudjonsson, G., Sigurdsson, J., Bragason, O., Newton, A., & Elinarsson, E. (2008).

“Interrogative suggestibility, compliance and false confessions among prisoners and their relationship with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms”. Psychological Medicine (2008), 38, pp. 1037-1044.

Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966).

O’Connell, M., Garmoe, W., & Goldstein, N. (2005). “Miranda Comprehension in Adults with Mental Retardation and the Effects of Feedback Style on Suggestibility”. Law and Human Behavior, Vol. 29, No. 3, June 2005.

Rix, K. (1997). “Fit to be interviewed by the police?”. Advances in Psychiatric Treatment, vol. 3, pp. 33-40.

Read More