From Caller to Suspect: Identifying Behaviors That Trigger Suspicion in 911 Calls

Objective: Despite research on case factors that can trigger confirmation bias in investigations leading to wrongful convictions, we know little about what sparks this chain reaction and why an innocent person initially falls under suspicion. Across four studies, we investigated what perceived behaviors exhibited by 911 callers (urgency, emotionality, cognitive load, impression management, and information management) are related to laypeople’s (Studies 1-2, 4) and police officers’ (Study 3) suspicion toward the caller. Hypotheses: We predicted, for lay and police samples, callers perceived as more urgent or emotional would be perceived as less suspicious, whereas callers perceived as more under cognitive load, managing information, or managing impressions of themselves would be perceived as more suspicious. We tested whether these relationships depended on caller gender—predicting gender stereotypes might play a role, particularly with emotionality. Method: Participants (Studies 1-2, 4: online laypeople, Study 3: police officers) listened to a real 911 call (Studies 1 and 4) or a more controlled, simulated 911 call (Studies 2 and 3) by a male or female caller. We assessed behavioral predictors associated with suspicion via participants’ spontaneous impressions and scales assessing these behaviors. Participants indicated how suspicious they found the caller and how much the caller violated their expectations. Results: Participants spontaneously mentioned the callers’ emotionality most frequently and consistently across studies (77-85%). Perceptions of callers being more urgent and emotional were associated with less suspicion and violation of expectations, while perceptions of callers engaging in more information management and impression management were associated with more suspicion and violation of expectations. Police, but not laypeople, perceived male callers as more suspicious than female callers—despite holding 911 call scripts constant. Conclusion: Citizens engaging in the well-intentioned act of calling 911 risk observers—including police—holding expectations for their behavior and targeting them as a suspect if they violate those expectations.