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Saul Kassin

Saul Kassin is Distinguished Professor of Psychology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, in New York City. He received his Ph.D. at the University of Connecticut after which he spent most of his career at Williams College (from which he is currently on leave of absence). At various times, he was a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Kansas; a U.S. Supreme Court Judicial Fellow, working at the Federal Judicial Center; and a postdoctoral fellow and visiting professor in the Psychology and Law Program at Stanford University.

Dr. Kassin is author of the textbook Social Psychology (8th edition), published by Cengage Learning. He has also authored an introductory psychology textbook and co-authored or edited a number of scholarly books, including: Confessions in the Courtroom, The Psychology of Evidence and Trial Procedure, The American Jury on Trial: Psychological Perspectives, and Developmental Social Psychology.

Several years ago, Kassin pioneered the scientific study of police interviewing, interrogations, and confessions, and introduced a taxonomy to distinguish among types of false confessions. He has also studied the psychology of eyewitness testimony as well as the impact of these and other types of evidence on jury decision-making.

Dr. Kassin is Past President of the American Psychology-Law Society (APA Division 41). He is also a Fellow of the American Psychological Association (APA), the Association for Psychological Science (APS), and the Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP). He lectures frequently to judges, lawyers, psychologists, forensic psychiatrists, and law enforcement groups. He has also worked as an analyst for various news media and as a consultant and expert witness in federal, military, and state courts.

Primary Interests:

  • Causal Attribution
  • Law and Public Policy
  • Person Perception
  • Persuasion, Social Influence
  • Social Cognition
  • Causal Attribution
  • Law and Public Policy
  • Person Perception
  • Persuasion, Social Influence
  • Social Cognition

Research Group or Laboratory:

Books:

Journal Articles:

  • Appleby, S., Hasel, L., & Kassin, S. (in press). Police-induced confessions: An empirical analysis of their content and impact. Psychology, Crime and Law.
  • Hasel, L., & Kassin, S. (2009). On the presumption of evidentiary independence: Can confessions corrupt eyewitness identifications? Psychological Science, 20, 122-126.
  • Kassin, S. (2008). Confession evidence: Commonsense myths and misconceptions. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 35, 1309-1322.
  • Kassin, S. (2008). False confessions: Causes, consequences, and implications for reform. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 17, 249-253.
  • Kassin, S. (2008). The psychology of confessions. Annual Review of Law and Social Science, 4, 193-217.
  • Kassin, S. (2005). On the psychology of confessions: Does innocence put innocents at risk? American Psychologist, 60, 215-228.
  • Kassin, S. (1997). The psychology of confession evidence. American Psychologist, 52, 221-233.
  • Kassin, S., Appleby, S., & Perillo, J. (2010). Interviewing suspects: Practice, science, and future directions. Legal and Criminological Psychology, 15, 39-55.
  • Kassin, S., Bogart, D., & Kerner, J. (2012). Confessions that corrupt: Evidence from the DNA exoneration case files. Psychological Science, 23, 41-45.
  • Kassin, S., Drizin, S., Grisso, T., Gudjonsson, G., Leo, R., & Redlich, A. (2010). Police-induced confessions: Risk factors and recommendations. Law and Human Behavior, 34, 3-38. [Official White Paper of the American Psychology-Law Society]
  • Kassin, S., & Dunn, M. (1997). Computer-animated displays and the jury: Facilitative and prejudicial effects. Law and Human Behavior, 21, 269-281.
  • Kassin, S., & Fong, C. (1999). "I'm Innocent!": Effects of training on judgments of truth and deception in the interrogation Room. Law and Human Behavior, 23, 499-516.
  • Kassin, S., Goldstein, C., & Savitsky, K. (2003). Behavioral confirmation in the interrogation room: On the dangers of presuming guilt. Law and Human Behavior, 27, 187-203.
  • Kassin, S., & Gudjonsson, G. (2005). True crimes, false confessions: Why do innocent people confess to crimes they did not commit? Scientific American Mind, June, 24-31.
  • Kassin, S., & Gudjonsson, G. (2004). The psychology of confession evidence: A review of the literature and issues. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 5, Whole No. 2.
  • Kassin, S., & Kiechel, K. (1996). The social psychology of false confessions: Compliance, internalization, and confabulation. Psychological Science, 7, 125-128.
  • Kassin, S., Leo, R., Meissner, C., Richman, K., Colwell, L., Leach, A-M., & LaFon, D. (2007). Police interviewing and interrogation: A self-report survey of police practices and beliefs. Law and Human Behavior, 31, 381-400.
  • Kassin, S., Meissner, C., & Norwick, R. (2005). “I’d know a false confession if I saw one”: A comparative study of college students and police investigators. Law and Human Behavior, 29, 211-227.
  • Kassin, S., & Neumann, K. (1997). On the power of confession evidence: An experimental test of the "fundamental difference" hypothesis. Law and Human Behavior, 21, 469-484.
  • Kassin, S., & Norwick, R. (2004). Why people waive their Miranda rights: The power of innocence. Law and Human Behavior, 28, 211-221.
  • Kassin, S., & Sommers, S. (1997). Inadmissible testimony, instructions to disregard, and the jury: Substantive versus procedural considerations. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 23, 1046-1054.
  • Kassin, S., & Sukel, H. (1997). Coerced confessions and the jury: An experimental test of the "harmless error" rule. Law and Human Behavior, 21, 27-46.
  • Kassin, S., Tubb, V., Hosch, H., & Memon, A. (2001). On the "general acceptance" of eyewitness testimony research: A new survey of experts. American Psychologist, 56, 405-416.
  • Meissner, C., & Kassin, S.(2002). “He’s guilty!”: Investigator bias in judgments of truth and deception. Law and Human Behavior. 26, 469-480.
  • Perillo, J. & Kassin, S. (2011). Inside interrogation: The lie, the bluff, and false confessions. Law and Human Behavior, 35, 327-337.
  • Russano, M., Meissner, C., Narchet, F., & Kassin, S. (2005). Investigating true and false confessions in a novel experimental paradigm. Psychological Science, 16, 481-486.
  • Sommers, S., & Kassin, S. (2001). On the many impacts of inadmissible testimony: Selective compliance, need for cognition, and the overcorrection bias. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 27, 1368-1377.
  • Wallace, D., & Kassin S. (in press). Harmless error analysis: How do judges respond to confession errors? Law and Human Behavior.

Other Publications:

  • Kassin, S. (2002, November 1). False confessions and the jogger case. New York Times. [Op-Ed]
  • Kassin, S. (2007). Expert testimony on the psychology of confessions: A pyramidal model of the relevant science. In E. Borgida & S. T. Fiske (Eds.), Psychological Science in Court: Beyond Common Knowledge. Oxford, England: Blackwell Publishing.
  • Kassin, S., & Kovera, M. (in press). Forensic personality and social psychology. To appear in K. Deaux & M. Snyder (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Personality and Social Psychology. New York: Oxford University Press.

Courses Taught:

  • Confession Evidence
  • Introductory Psychology
  • Processes of Adjudication
  • Psychology and the Law
  • Social Psychology
  • Confession Evidence
  • Introductory Psychology
  • Processes of Adjudication
  • Psychology and the Law
  • Social Psychology

Saul Kassin
Department of Psychology
John Jay College of Criminal Justice
445 West 59 Street
New York, NY 10019
United States

Phone: (413) 597-2253
Fax: (413) 597-4240

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Last edited by profile holder: January 5, 2012
Visits since June 9, 2001: 44,239