James S. Baxter

Interrogative suggestibility: The role of interviewer behaviour

Purpose. Interrogative suggestibility may vary as a function of interviewer behaviour. The present study assessed the e Vect of two interviewer styles on measures of interrogative suggestibility obtained using the e rst of the Gudjonsson Suggestibility Scales (GSS1). It was hypothesized that a generally abrupt demeanour adopted by the interviewer would produce greater psychological distance, and therefore higher GSS1 scores, than a friendly demeanour. Methods. The study had a single factor between participants design. Participants were tested on the GSS1 by an interviewer whose behaviour was either ‘ friendly’ or ‘ abrupt’ . One female experimenter conducted all of the interviews. Fifty-e ve participants took part in the study. Most participants were e rst year undergraduate psychology students. Others were university administrative sta V. Results. Two of the GSS1 measures appeared to be biased signie cantly by interviewer style. Participants tested in the ‘ abrupt’ condition gained higher scores for Shift and Total Suggestibility than those in the ‘ friendly’ condition. Conclusions. These results are consistent with the view that the GSS1 provides measures of two di Verent types of suggestibility. However, this e nding may also mean that whilst initial responses to leading questions are mediated by more stable cognitive factors that are relatively una Vected by interviewer demeanour, post-feedback scores may be more sensitive to the social aspects of suggestibility. Implications of the results for the objectivity and administration of the Gudjonsson Suggestibility Scales are discussed.

Interrogative suggestibility: the importance of being earnest

Abstract Use of the Gudjonsson Suggestibility Scales 1 & 2 (GSS 1 & 2) may be complicated by individual or situational differences in the manner in which negative feedback, a key aspect of the procedure, is delivered to the interviewee. The present study attempted to vary the social distance between interviewers and interviewees established during the delivery of negative feedback. The ability of 12 undergraduates to adopt one of three demeanours — friendliness, firmness and sterness — when administering negative feedback using the GSS 2 was assessed. Three of these undergraduates were found to be consistently more able than the others to adopt these demeanours and acted as interviewers. Each experimenter adopted her assigned demeanour when administering negative feedback in interviewing fifteen interviewees using the GSS 2 procedure. Clear trends emerged on two out of three post-feedback GSS scores, with increasing social distance producing increasing GSS scores.

Engaging first-year students through online collaborative assessments

Substantial increases in the size of many undergraduate classes in recent years have limited the ways in which students can engage with their disciplines and become active participants in their learning. This paper presents a methodology which uses a basic WebCT platform to improve the way in which students in large classes learn. The approach, termed the Collaborative Online Assessment approach, provides a structured, scaffolded learning environment for students to engage with their peers in collaborative assessments. Results from a year-long application of the approach with first-year psychology students are presented. These show that the approach facilitates active student engagement throughout the academic year, and is associated with improved marks in the final written exam. This improvement in exam performance is significantly greater for students not intending to major in psychology (traditionally poorer performers). The paper discusses the implications of these findings in relation to learning theories and provides a critique for further improvement of the approach.

Interrogative pressure in simulated forensic interviews: the effects of negative feedback.

Much experimental research on interrogative pressure has concentrated on the effects of leading questions, and the role of feedback in influencing responses in the absence of leading questions has been neglected by comparison. This study assessed the effect of negative feedback and the presence of a second interviewer on interviewee responding in simulated forensic interviews. Participants viewed a videotape of a crime, answered questions about the clip and were requestioned after receiving feedback. Compared with neutral feedback, negative feedback resulted in more response changes, higher reported state anxiety and higher ratings of interview difficulty. These results are consistent with Gudjonsson and Clarks (1986) model of interrogative suggestibility. The presence and involvement of a second interviewer did not significantly affect interviewee responding, although trait anxiety scores were elevated when a second interviewer was present. The theoretical and applied implications of these findings are considered.

The relative influence of leading questions and negative feedback on response change on the Gudjonsson Suggestibility Scale (2): Implications for forensic interviewing

Abstract The ‘Shift’ or response change measure of the Gudjonsson Suggestibility Scales (GSS 1 and 2) is assumed primarily to indicate acceptance of the negative feedback component of the GSS procedure. Using an adapted version of the question set that bears on the GSS 2 narrative, this study systematically varied the pressurising influences of the GSS 2 specifically to test this assumption. In four conditions, negative and neutral feedback were administered either with leading or non-leading questions. Varying type of feedback to participants resulted in significant differences in Shift scores. In line with the theorised bases of the scales, the leading questions component of the GSS was found to have no significant independent effect on Shift and to be no more effective than non-leading questions in influencing this measure. The study also lent support to two previous studies, which have shown that negative feedback in the absence of leading questions alters average response change to a reliable degree (10%), suggesting a useful norm for adapted versions of the GSS procedure. It is argued that the influence of feedback on response change in interviews merits more attention from researchers than it has previously received.

Improving the Quality of Evidence Elicited from Children Using CUED Recall

Recent amendments to the law allow video recordings of initial interviews with children to be used as evidence in court. In order that children may benefit fully from this change it is crucial that these interviews are of as high a quality as possible and are conducted in a way that is acceptable to the courts. Recently published recommendations for interviewing advocate the use of general, open-ended questions wherever possible (Home Office, 1992) as this technique tends to result in accurate statements. However, recent research has shown that young children questioned in this way are unlikely to report all the relevant information they have. The present recommendations as they stand may in fact discriminate against the very children they are designed to help. This paper demonstrates that the present recommendations are not optimal for interviewing five to six-year-old children and suggests that the use of non-suggestive visual cues may be a way of increasing the overall quality of childrens reports.