Abstract
This study investigated false alarm effects against interacting with a person who had been indicted in an attempted murder case. Two hundred and forty participants were asked to read a fictional story about such a case. The degree of physical injury of the victim (i.e., minor or permanent damage) and the subsequent truth (i.e., the person was guilty or not) were manipulated. After reading the scenario, the participants were asked to rate their desire to avoid the indicted person and to estimate the risks of either gazing at him or having a conversation. Consistent with Error Management Theory (EMT), the strongest false alarm effect was obtained against having a conversation with a person who was actually guilty as well as when the physical injury of the victim was more severe. We also confirmed false alarm effects in some conditions where the indicted person was not guilty. These results indicate that the general tendency to avoid a person who possibly threatens one ’s safety, as suggested by EMT, could be applicable to situations of interaction with the former accused in a criminal case.
