University of Nebraska – Lincoln

 

The relationship of situated social cognition factors and consent to search perceptions in innocent suspects

 

Sarah A. Moody, Joshua A. Haby, Jennifer L. Groscup, & Eve M. Brank

 

Text Box: A surprising majority of people acquiesce to search requests, though there is no obligation to do so under the Fourth Amendment. The current research analyzes consent to search perceptions of innocent suspects via the interaction of demographic and situated social cognition variables. Factorial ANOVA analyses revealed significant two-, three-, and four-way interactions between age, gender, room size, and amount of lighting, as they relate to voluntariness of consent and freedom to refuse consent. The results of this research are relevant to policy makers in considering the safeguards necessary to protect citizen rights against unreasonable searches and seizures.

 

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