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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Mar 26, 2026

The Deese-Roediger-McDermott DRM Task: A Simple Cognitive Paradigm to Investigate False Memories in the Laboratory
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Sleep deprivation and false confessions.

Steven J Frenda1, Shari R Berkowitz2, Elizabeth F Loftus3

  • 1Department of Psychology, The New School for Social Research, New York, NY 10011;

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
|February 10, 2016
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Sleep deprivation significantly increases the likelihood of false confessions. Participants who stayed awake all night were 4.5 times more likely to sign a false statement admitting guilt compared to those who slept.

Keywords:
false confessionsleepsleep deprivation

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Area of Science:

  • Psychology
  • Forensic Psychology
  • Cognitive Neuroscience

Background:

  • False confessions are a leading cause of wrongful convictions in the U.S.
  • Understanding factors contributing to false confessions is crucial for legal reform.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the direct link between sleep deprivation and the occurrence of false confessions.
  • To examine how sleep deprivation influences an individual's susceptibility to confessing to a crime they did not commit.

Main Methods:

  • A modified Kassin and Kiechel procedure was employed, involving computer tasks and warnings about data loss.
  • Participants were divided into two groups: one group slept overnight in a lab, while the other remained awake.
  • Following the experimental manipulation, participants were asked to sign a false statement alleging they had caused data loss.

Main Results:

  • Sleep-deprived participants were 4.5 times more likely to sign the false confession statement after a single request compared to rested participants.
  • This provides direct empirical evidence linking acute sleep deprivation to increased false confession rates.

Conclusions:

  • Sleep deprivation is a significant risk factor that can impair judgment and increase vulnerability to making false confessions.
  • Further research is warranted to explore the multifaceted factors influencing true and false confessions in legal contexts.