Educing Information: Interrogation - National Intelligence University

Qualities of an Effective Interrogator
A number of studies of interrogation discuss the qualities said to
be desirable in an interrogator…perhaps the four qualifications
of chief importance to the interrogator are 1) enough operational
training and experience to permit quick recognition of leads;
2) real familiarity with the language to be used; 3) extensive
background knowledge about the interrogatee’s native country;
and 4) a genuine understanding of the source as a person…of the
four traits listed, a genuine insight into the source’s character
and motives is perhaps most important but least common. 33
The human intelligence (HUMINT) career field has long employed various
psychological testing protocols (e.g., Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory,
California Psychological Inventory, etc.), in conjunction with exhaustive
background investigations, in an effort to both identify those candidates with the
inherent aptitude and/or personality profile for a given operational activity and
to screen out those who would likely prove ill-suited and/or ill-equipped for the
profession. A similar psychological screening protocol (without the background
investigation) has been employed in the SERE career field in an effort to eliminate
those candidates with the highest apparent probability for acting out violently
or abusively while interacting with students during intensive practical exercises.
For application to the interrogation discipline, a critical underpinning of such
screening efforts is the availability of a “model” of a successful interrogator…and
it is unlikely that a properly vetted model exists.
While identifying effective methods and processes is a key element of the
Intelligence Science Board’s EI project mandate, designing a means for selecting
candidates with the highest potential for success in implementing these methods
and processes is of equal importance. Research in this regard should be acutely
informed by the following three considerations:
• Those in hierarchical authoritarian structures have a documented tendency
to engage in what appears to be “acceptable” inhumane behavior toward
others, as demonstrated in the famous “Stanford University Experiment”
(Haney, Banks, and Zimbardo, 1973).
• Dr. Howard Gardner’s seminal work on multiple intelligences suggests
that certain people might be naturally gifted with uncommon abilities
and aptitudes in various areas, including (for EI purposes) interpersonal
intelligence (the capacity to understand the intentions, motivations
and desires of other people) and intrapersonal intelligence (the
capacity to understand oneself, to appreciate one’s feelings, fears and
motivations). 34
33
KUBARK, 1011.
34
See, for example Howard Gardner, Ph.D., Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences
(New York: BasicBooks, 1983).
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