The Effects and Effectiveness of Using Torture as an Interrogation Device: Using Research to Inform the Policy Debate

Abstract

Governments sometimes characterize torture as an indispensable interrogation tool for gathering strategic intelligence. In this article, we review the relevant social scientific research on the effectiveness, impact, and causes of torture. First, we summarize research on false confessions and examine the relevance of that research for torture-based interrogations. Next, we review research on the mental health consequences of torture for survivors and perpetrators. Finally, we explore the social-psychological conditions that promote acts of cruelty (such as those seen at Abu Ghraib) and examine the arguments typically offered to justify the use of torture. We argue that any hypothesized benefits from the use of torture must be weighed against the substantial proven costs of torture. These costs include the unreliable information extracted through interrogations using torture, the mental and emotional toll on victims and torturers, loss of international stature and credibility, and the risk of retaliation against soldiers and civilians.

Tortured beliefs: How and when prior support for torture skews the perceived value of coerced information

“…And military and intelligence professionals' beliefs guide their operational decisions. A good deal of research suggests that torture does not reliably yield valuable information, a conclusion echoed in the US government's own analyses (Costanzo & Gerrity, 2009;Rejali, 2009; Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, 2014). Nonetheless, many Americans support torture-and some invoke the information payoff from torture as a reason (Janoff-Bulman, 2007;Pew Research Center, 2014).…”

Estimating the Costs of Torture: Challenges and Opportunities

“…The economic and social costs of torture and its impact on individuals and communities, whether they are in the country of origin or destination of the survivors, are not current research priorities at the international level [14]. It has been argued that the complexity of the practice of torture, the variety of health problems related to torture, different approaches in taking care of victims of torture, the huge differences in wealth among countries and the variety of economic problems among host countries 1 are major obstacles to the estimation of costs related to torture [15,16].…”

“…The physical, psychological, social and economic impact of torture on victims and perpetrators has so far received little attention from researchers [10,13,14]. The economic and social costs of torture and its impact on individuals and communities, whether they are in the country of origin or destination of the survivors, are not current research priorities at the international level [14].…”

Drawing the fine line between interrogation and torture: towards a Universal Protocol on Investigative Interviewing

“…unique capacity to distinguish when a detainee can provide useful information (Costanzo & Gerrity, 2009). If they are confident but wrong in their judgment that a suspect is lying, they are likely to turn to coercion and ill-treatment as a means of forcing a suspect to tell the "truth."…”