Psychological Aspects of Interviewing Flashcards

When a victim of repeated trauma displays flat affect during an interview about abuse, the forensic interviewer should primarily consider:

Answer: Dissociation or emotional numbing as a known trauma response

Flat affect is a recognized symptom of dissociation and emotional numbing, both common responses to chronic or severe trauma, not indicators of fabrication.

The 'funnel approach' in forensic interviewing refers to:

Answer: Narrowing questions from broad open-ended to specific as needed

The funnel approach begins with open-ended, free-recall prompts and gradually moves to more focused questions only as necessary to clarify details.

Which psychological principle explains why interviewees are more likely to disclose sensitive information after first agreeing to small, less-threatening requests?

Answer: Foot-in-the-door technique

The foot-in-the-door technique leverages commitment and consistency; small initial agreements lower resistance to subsequent larger disclosures.

An interviewer who unconsciously nods and smiles when a subject's account aligns with the case theory is demonstrating:

Answer: Interviewer contamination through reinforcement

Nonverbal reinforcement by the interviewer can shape the subject's narrative toward the interviewer's expectations, contaminating the account.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can affect a witness's testimony reliability primarily by:

Answer: Fragmenting memory storage and creating gaps or distortions in recall

PTSD disrupts normal memory consolidation, leading to fragmented, disjointed recall and potential gaps or distortions rather than complete accurate narratives.

In motivational interviewing adapted for forensic contexts, 'rolling with resistance' means:

Answer: Avoiding confrontation by reflecting resistance back and exploring ambivalence

Rolling with resistance avoids direct confrontation, instead using reflective listening to acknowledge reluctance and invite the subject to explore their own ambivalence.

A subject who provides an alibi that is rehearsed, overly structured, and contains unusual levels of precise detail is exhibiting a pattern associated with:

Answer: Possible deception through over-preparation

Deceptive subjects sometimes over-prepare alibis, resulting in unnaturally precise, scripted accounts that lack the spontaneous inconsistencies typical of genuine memory.