Stella A. Bain

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.

Staff attitudes towards young people in looked after accommodation

Purpose – To consider the power of psychological well-being, empathy and coping style in predicting staff attitudes towards young people in looked after accommodation, involved in or at risk of offending behaviour. The purpose of this paper is to understand more about staff attitudes which have a significant role in the care and rehabilitation of this client group. Design/methodology/approach – Psychological well-being, empathy and coping style are discussed in terms of their impact on attitudes towards young people. The predictive power of each factor is considered using multiple regression analysis of participants’ responses on an adapted version of the Attitudes to Prisoners (ATP) scale, the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ), the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) and the Coping Styles Questionnaire (CSQ). Findings – Multiple regression analyses showed that empathic concern (affective empathy) was the only factor predictive of attitudes towards young people. The paper discusses the applied implicati...