NCJ Number
181515
Journal
Legal and Criminological Psychology Volume: 5 Issue: 1 Dated: February 2000 Pages: 123-133
Date Published
February 2000
Length
11 pages
Annotation
This study assesses the effect of interviewer style on interrogative suggestibility.
Abstract
The study assessed the effect of two interviewer styles on measures of interrogative suggestibility obtained using the first of the Gudjonsson Suggestibility Scales (GSS1). Fifty-six participants were tested on the GSS1 by an interviewer whose behavior was either “friendly” or “abrupt.” Participants tested in the “abrupt” condition gained higher scores for Shift and Total Suggestibility than those in the “friendly” condition. Results were consistent with the view that the GSS1 provides measures of two different types of suggestibility. However, this may also mean that, while initial responses to leading questions are mediated by more stable cognitive factors that are relatively unaffected by interviewer demeanor, post-feedback scores may be more sensitive to the social aspects of suggestibility. The article proposes that anyone intending to use the GSS scales for research, clinical, or forensic purposes first establish in practice sessions that their standard technique produces results closely comparable to established norms for the scales. Tables, references