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The role of the oath in credibility assessment

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Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling

Published online on

Abstract

--- - |2 Abstract Based on the adaptive lie detector theory, this study is an examination of whether taking an oath, as context‐general information, increases the credibility of a suspect. The consistency of the testimonies of 6 eyewitnesses was manipulated so that it could be used as individuating information. There were 2 sets of testimonies: one that was consistent and one that was inconsistent. The results supported the adaptive lie detector theory. The participants judged those persons who took an oath to be more credible than those who did not, but this only happened in situations where the testimonies of the eyewitnesses were inconsistent. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings and future directions are then discussed. - Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, Volume 15, Issue 2, Page 249-254, June 2018.