Interview & Interrogation Techniques Flashcards

The term 'minimization' in interrogation refers to the interviewer's tactic of:

Answer: Downplaying the moral seriousness or consequences of the offense to lower resistance

Minimization involves normalizing the offense or suggesting leniency to make confession psychologically easier, though this can risk false confessions if taken too far.

A 'free narrative' phase is included at the start of cognitive interviews because:

Answer: Uninterrupted recall produces richer, more accurate memories than question-driven responses

Allowing a witness to narrate events without interruption leverages natural memory retrieval pathways and avoids contamination from leading questions.

When an interrogator uses 'theme development,' the goal is to:

Answer: Offer a moral justification or rationalization that makes confession psychologically easier

Theme development provides the suspect with a face-saving rationale (e.g., 'anyone in that situation might have reacted the same way') to reduce the psychological barrier to admitting the act.

Research on the polygraph indicates that a key limitation in legal proceedings is:

Answer: Polygraph results are generally inadmissible in federal court due to reliability concerns

Federal courts generally exclude polygraph results as evidence because scientific consensus does not support sufficient reliability to meet admissibility standards.

The 'Wicklander-Zulawski' (WZ) non-confrontational interview method differs from the Reid Technique primarily in that WZ:

Answer: Avoids direct accusation at the outset and uses collaborative, rapport-based disclosure

WZ begins with a presumption-free, non-accusatory approach to reduce suspect defensiveness and elicit voluntary disclosure rather than starting with a direct accusation.

'Implicit guilt' questions, such as 'What do you think should happen to the person who did this?' are used to:

Answer: Gauge how the subject frames punishment, which may reveal guilty knowledge or self-interest

Guilty subjects often recommend lighter penalties or hedge their answers, while innocent subjects typically advocate for severe punishment without personal stake.

In high-value intelligence interrogations, the FBI's Human Intelligence (HUMINT) framework emphasizes rapport-based approaches because:

Answer: Research shows rapport-based methods produce more reliable, verifiable intelligence than coercion

Scientific and operational evidence consistently shows that coercion degrades intelligence reliability as subjects say whatever stops the discomfort, while rapport encourages accurate disclosure.