Date of Conferral

12-4-2024

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Psychology

Advisor

Stephen Hampe

Abstract

An innocent individual falsely accepting guilt and punishment for something they did not do confounds society at large. This research expands upon the literature studying false confessions and false guilty pleas within the civilian courts to the particulars of the military judicial system and specifically that of the non-judicial system. Understanding the possibility for false acceptance of guilt and punishment within this system can lead to process or program changes that would benefit both the military in general and the individual members of the military. Social influence theory along with social role theory and social norms theory forms the foundation for the conceptual framework of the current literature and this research. Through interviews and analysis of responses, this research explored military members’ perceptions of false acceptance of guilt and punishment within the military non-judicial system as well as possible reasons an innocent individual may falsely accept guilt and punishment. Results for this study concurred with the literature and found that military members perceive false acceptance as possible. Participants shared exacerbating factors and their perceptions of why someone would do so. Understanding this phenomenon within the military non-judicial system and the impact on individuals subject to the system can afford military decision makers insight into the problem and lead to the positive social and cultural change necessary to reduce these incidences.

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