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Confabulation and the Criminal Justice System: A Review for Forensic Professionals

Presented By Jerrod Brown, PhD
Jerrod Brown, PhD

1.5 Hours | 1.5 CEs

This on-demand professional training program on Confabulation and the Criminal Justice System: A review for Forensic Professionals is presented by Jerrod Brown, Ph.D.

Confabulation is one of the most problematic memory phenomena impacting criminal justice, forensic, and legal systems. This phenomenon occurs when an individual creates or backfills a gap in their memory with a fictitious or imagined memory that may be partially based on real events but taken out of chronological context (e.g., believing the memory occurred yesterday when in reality, the memory took place many years prior). Confabulation is done without intent or motivation to deceive or lie. This can range from a slight distortion of an actual event to the nuanced generation of an intricate event.

The causal origins of confabulation are unclear, but the combination of cognitive impairments of several disorders (e.g., fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, intellectual disability, schizophrenia, traumatic brain injury, and Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome) and a predisposition to suggestion could be integral in eliciting this phenomenon. Confabulation can also occur among individuals with no known history of neurocognitive impairment, resulting from an investigative interview or cross-examination by a legal professional. This can be particularly dangerous in the criminal justice and the legal system because information elicited (and possibly confabulated) during police interviews and interrogations may be used to prosecute and convict a defendant. As such, training and education related to the impact confabulation has on criminal justice, forensic, and legal populations is a priority.

The program clearly distinguishes confabulation from other potentially related constructs (e.g., suggestibility, delusions, and malingering), review important background information and warning signs for confabulation, and identify strategies and techniques to decrease the likelihood of confabulation during legal processes.

Intended Audience

This on-demand professional training program is intended for mental health and other allied professionals

Experience Level

This on-demand professional training program is appropriate for beginner, intermediate, and advanced level clinicians.

CE / CPD Credit

APA, ASWB, CPA, NBCC Click here for state and other regional board approvals.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this program you will be able to:

Describe different types of confabulation (i.e., spontaneous versus provoked) and distinguish these constructs from other important topics (e.g., suggestibility, delusions, and malingering) that can impact the validity of information acquired from suspects, witnesses, and defendants

Analyze risk factors and warning signs for confabulation in criminal justice and forensic settings

Describe a basic understanding of how to minimize the likelihood of confabulation during legal processes

Describe the latest empirical findings and discuss directions for future research on confabulation

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Presented By

Jerrod Brown, PhD

Jerrod Brown, Ph.D., M.A., M.S., M.S., M.S., is a professor, trainer, researcher, and consultant with multiple years of experience teaching collegiate courses. Jerrod is also the founder and CEO of the American Institute for the Advancement of Forensic Studies (AIAFS). Jerrod has also provided consu...

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