2026-09-15T22:26:25Zhttps://gredos.usal.es/oai/request

oai:gredos.usal.es:10366/1537992025-04-30T20:10:25Zcom_10366_4322com_10366_4200com_10366_3946com_10366_3823col_10366_4323

00925njm 22002777a 4500 dc Blandón‐Gitlin, Iris author Masip Pallejá, Jaume author Jiménez González, Ana Isabel author Herrero Alonso, María Carmen author 2023-11-30 The verifiability of a suspect's alibi is often interpreted as a sign of innocence. Because the police resources are limited, verifiability could be used to dismiss suspects of minor offenses. We examined whether alibi verifiability actually indicates innocence for minor crimes. In Experiment 1, participants imagined they were guilty or innocent suspects of minor crimes and selected a response to convince the police of their innocence. Compared to innocent suspects, guilty suspects were more likely to select pseudo-verifiable responses (which seemed verifiable but were not) rather than non-verifiable responses. Experiment 2 revealed that pseudo-verifiable responses increased observers' perceptions of innocence (rather than guilt). Experiment 3 suggested that people infer the police will not verify alibis of minor crimes, which may lead people to invent pseudo-verifiable responses. These results indicate that apparent verifiability does not necessarily indicate innocence. The police should systematically test alternative hypotheses whenever they encounter apparent verifiable responses. Jiménez-González, A., Masip, J., Blandón-Gitlin, I., & Herrero, C. (in press). “It wasn’t me, check the cameras!” Suspects’ apparent verifiable responses might not indicate innocence. Behavioral Sciences and the Law. https://doi.org/10.1002/bsl.2639 0735-3936 http://hdl.handle.net/10366/153799 10.1002/bsl.2639 1099-0798 alibies crime suspects deception detection investigative interviewing verifiability “It wasn't me, check the cameras!” Suspects' apparent verifiable responses might not indicate innocence