Post-Admission Narrative
Definition
The part of a confession that comes after the initial admission of guilt: the account of how, where, and why. Linguists study this phase for signs of genuine episodic memory versus reconstructed account.
- Position in confession
- Follows the initial admission of guilt
- Content
- How, where and why the act occurred
- Studied by
- Forensic linguists
- Signal sought
- Genuine episodic memory versus a reconstructed account
Common questions
What linguistic features distinguish a genuine narrative from a reconstructed one?+
Analysts look for sensory and idiosyncratic detail, non-linear recall, and self-corrections typical of real episodic memory, against the more scripted, chronologically tidy phrasing that can appear when a suspect is repeating a story fed to them or reconstructed under pressure.
Why is this phase given more weight than the bare admission itself?+
A short admission of guilt can be produced under duress with minimal information, but a detailed post-admission account is harder to fabricate convincingly, so its internal consistency and source of detail are treated as a stronger indicator of reliability.
Related terms
- Compliant False Confession
- A false confession given knowingly by an innocent suspect who yields to interrogation pressure to escape the immediate situation, to gain a...
- Contamination
- The introduction of foreign material into a scene, or the displacement of existing material within it, by any person or environmental factor...
- Internalised False Confession
- A confession in which the suspect has come to believe they committed the act, often as a result of intense questioning that...
- Third-Person Distancing
- A narrative feature in which the confessor positions themselves linguistically as an observer rather than an agent, using third-person reference or passive...
- Voluntary False Confession
- A false confession given without any external pressure, often to protect someone else, to seek notoriety connected with a high-profile crime, or...