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Teaching fellow Kurt Gray and psychology professor Daniel Wegner found that "torture may not uncover guilt so much as lead to its perception." Photograph by Kris Snibbe/Harvard Staff Photographer |
To tell the truthThe rationale behind systemic torture is that pain will make the guilty confess, but a new study by Harvard researchers finds that the pain of torture can make even the innocent appear guilty. In the study, participants met a woman suspected of cheating to win money. The woman was then “tortured” by having her hand immersed in ice water while study participants listened to the session over an intercom. She never confessed to anything, but the more she suffered, the guiltier she was perceived to be. |
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