Perceived Credibility of Asylum Claimants: The Role of Decision-Maker Affect and Asylum Seeker’s Emotions

Perceived credibility is of key importance in refugee status decisions (RSD). The emotional demeanour of an asylum seeker, and the decision-maker’s affect, may inform credibility judgements throughout the RSD process. However, research exploring these factors in an asylum-seeking context is sparse. This study examined whether emotions perceived in an asylum seeker impacted credibility decisions. The role of decision-makers’ own emotional reactions (affect) on credibility decisions were also examined. Participants (N = 128) acting as asylum decision-makers watched a mock interview where an asylum seeker either displayed behaviours indicative of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or not indicative of PTSD. Ratings of the asylum seeker’s credibility, the emotions displayed and decision-maker affect were obtained alongside thematic analysis of open-ended responses. We found an emotional congruence effect; credibility ratings were higher when an asylum seeker ‘with PTSD’ showed behaviours indicating fear/distress. A novel finding was an affect heuristic driving judgements. Participants’ self-reported feelings of anger, sadness, disgust and compassion were associated with higher credibility ratings of the asylum seeker, whereas self-reporting no emotion was associated with lower ratings. Findings suggest that decision-maker affect may influence asylum credibility decisions.