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Saul Kassin

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. At various times, he was a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Kansas; a U.S. Supreme Court Judicial Fellow 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 with Steven Fein and Hazel Markus of the textbook Social Psychology (11th edition), published by Cengage Learning. He has also authored an introductory psychology textbook and written or edited several 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.

In his research, Dr. Kassin uses social psychology for the identification and prevention of wrongful convictions. Starting in the 1980’s, he pioneered the scientific study of false confessions by introducing a three-part taxonomy of false confessions that is universally accepted today. He also developed laboratory paradigms that are now used to examine why people are targeted for interrogation, why they waive their rights, why they confess, the corruptive effects of confessions on other evidence, the consequences of confessions in court, forensic confirmation biases, and the use of video recording to alleviate these problems. He has published numerous articles on the subject.

Dr. Kassin has received the American Psychological Association (APA) Award for Distinguished Contribution to Research in Public Policy (2017), the European Association of Psychology and Law (EAPL) – Award for Distinguished Lifetime Contribution (2017), the American Psychology-Law Society (AP-LS)-Award for Distinguished Lifetime Contribution (2014), and the International Investigative Interviewing Research Group (iiiRG)-Lifetime Achievement Award (2011). His work is cited all over the world—including by the U.S. Supreme Court and the Supreme Court of Canada.

Past President of the American Psychology-Law Society (AP-LS), Dr. Kassin has served as a consultant in a number of high profile cases and has testified in state, federal, and military courts. He is senior author of the 2010 AP-LS White Paper, “Police-Induced Confessions: Risk Factors and Recommendations” -- which has served as a template for several APA amicus briefs to state supreme courts. He lectures frequently to psychologists, judges, lawyers, law enforcement groups, and state criminal justice commissions and task forces; and he has appeared as a media consultant and guest for all major news networks, the Oprah Winfrey Show, National Public Radio, and in a number of podcasts and documentaries--including Ken and Sarah Burns' 2012 film, The Central Park Five.

Primary Interests:

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

Research Group or Laboratory:

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A Roomful of People Condemn Five Innocent Men

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  • 2:06

    A Roomful of People Condemn Five Innocent Men

    Length: 2:06

  • 2:58

    What Does Science Tell Us About False Confessions? (National Science Foundation)

    Length: 2:58

  • 18:12

    How Police Coerce You to Make False Confessions (NBC Nightly News)

    Length: 18:12

  • 4:49

    Human Factors in Wrongful Convictions: False Confessions (Innocence Project)

    Length: 4:49

  • 9:11

    False Confessions (Vera Insititute of Justice)

    Length: 9:11

  • 19:21

    Why Innocent People Confess to Crimes

    Length: 19:21

  • 23:56

    American Academy of Forensic Sciences Plenary Address (2015)

    Length: 23:56

  • 29:47

    Why Innocent People Confess (John Jay College Symposium)

    Length: 29:47

  • 1:47

    Introducing Dr. Saul Kassin

    Length: 1:47

  • 1:06:07

    Confessions in the Court Room

    Length: 1:06:07

Additional Videos



Books:

Journal Articles:

  • Alceste, F., Luke, T. J., & Kassin, S. M. (2018). Holding yourself captive: Perceptions of custody during interviews and interrogations. Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition, 7, 387-397.
  • Appleby, S., Hasel, L., & Kassin, S. (2013). Police-induced confessions: An empirical analysis of their content and impact. Psychology, Crime and Law.
  • Appleby, S., & Kassin, S. (2016). When self-report trumps science: Effects of confessions, DNA, and prosecutorial theories on perceptions of guilt. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 22, 127-140.
  • Hasel, L., & Kassin, S. (2009). On the presumption of evidentiary independence: Can confessions corrupt eyewitness identifications? Psychological Science, 20, 122-126.
  • Kassin, S. (2017). False confessions: How can psychology so basic be so counterintuitive? American Psychologist, 72, 951-964.
  • Kassin, S. (2017). The killing of Kitty Genovese: What else does this case tell us? Perspectives on Psychological Science, 12, 374–381.
  • Kassin, S. (2012). Why confessions trump innocence. American Psychologist, 67, 431-445.
  • 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., 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., Dror, I., & Kukucka, J. (2013). The forensic confirmation bias: The forensic confirmation bias: Problems, perspectives, and proposed solutions. Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition.
  • 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. (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., Kukucka, J., Lawson, V., & DeCarlo, J. (2017). On the accuracy of and perceptions elicited by police reports of suspect interrogations. Law and Human Behavior, 41, 230–243.
  • Kassin, S., Kukucka, J., Lawson, V., & DeCarlo, J. (2014). Does video recording alter the behavior of police during interrogation?: A Mock crime-and-investigation study. Law and Human Behavior, 38, 73-83.
  • 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., & Norwick, R. (2004). Why people waive their Miranda rights: The power of innocence. Law and Human Behavior, 28, 211-221.
  • Kassin, S., Redlich, A., Alceste, F., & Luke, T. (2018). On the general acceptance of confessions research: Opinions of the scientific community. American Psychologist, 73, 63-80.
  • Kassin, S., Russano, M., Amrom, A., Hellgren, J., Kukucka, J., & Lawson, V. (2019). Does video recording inhibit crime suspects?: Evidence from a fully randomized field experiment. Law and Human Behavior, 43, 44-55.
  • 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.
  • Marion, S., Kukucka, J., Collins, C., Kassin, S., & Burke, T. (2016). Lost proof of innocence: The impact of confessions on alibi witnesses. Law and Human Behavior, 40, 65-71.
  • 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.
  • Scherr, K., Redlich, A., & Kassin, S. (2020). Cumulative disadvantage: A psychological framework for understanding how innocence can lead to confession, wrongful conviction, and beyond. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 15, 353-383.
  • Smalarz, L., Scherr, K., & Kassin, S. M. (2016). Miranda at 50: A Psychological Analysis. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 25, 455-460.

Other Publications:

Courses Taught:

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

  • Phone: (646) 557-4505

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Last edited by user: June 10, 2020
Visits since June 9, 2001: 89,432

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