Police interrogators often assume that persons brought in for questioning have important knowledge about the crime in question.If this leads an interrogator to ask questions that assume the guilt of a particular individual rather than asking questions that would exonerate him or her,__________ may occur.

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Confirmation bias is the tendency to favor information that confirms our preconceptions, beliefs, or hypotheses. Police interrogators may fall into this bias when they assume someone is guilty and only ask questions that support their assumption, while ignoring or downplaying information that could suggest their innocence. This can lead to false confessions and wrongful convictions.

Police Interrogators Often Assume That Persons Brought in for Questioning