Interrogations-and-Confessions-Handbook

386 A Psychology of Interrogations and Confessions
although one study, conducted among police detainees, found the reverse pattern
(Gudjonsson, Rutter & Clare, 1995—this unexpected finding is discussed
in detail in Chapter 3). Smith and Gudjonsson (1995a), studying forensic inpatients,
found no significant relationship between any of the GSS 2 suggestibility
scores and state anxiety at the time of the interrogation, but did so with regard
to Yield 2, Shift and Total Suggestibility at one week follow-up. In the studies
measuring ‘state’ and ‘trait’ anxiety the Spielberger State–Trait Anxiety
Inventory (STAI, Spielberger, 1983) has been used.
The empirical evidence indicates that there is a poor relationship between
suggestibility and trait anxiety as measured by self-report questionnaires. For
example, Haraldsson (1985) found no significant correlation between GSS 1
suggestibility scores and neuroticism, which was measured by the Icelandic
version of the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ; Eysenck & Haraldsson,
1983). The sample consisted of 54 Icelandic University students.
In the first study on the GSS 1 (Gudjonsson, 1983), I found a low but
significant correlation (r = 0.28, p < 0.05) between total suggestibility and
Neuroticism as measured by the English version of the EPQ (Eysenck &
Eysenck, 1975).
There is some evidence that suggestibility is more strongly associated with
‘state’ anxiety than ‘trait’ anxiety. The former is typically construed as a transitory
emotional state that is characterized by subjective feelings of apprehension
and heightened autonomic nervous system reactivity. Trait anxiety, on the other
hand, refers to relatively stable individual differences in anxiety proneness.
In one study (Gudjonsson, 1988a), I set out to investigate the hypothesis that
state anxiety is more strongly associated with suggestibility than is trait anxiety.
I administered the Spielberger State Anxiety Inventory (STAI; Spielberger,
1983) twice to the subjects in the study. The subjects first completed the STAI
prior to the GSS 1 interrogation and then after they had been interrogated
and given the standard negative feedback. In contrast to studies utilizing trait
anxiety, some highly significant correlations emerged. The correlations were
consistently higher with the second administration of the STAI than the first.
In addition, Shift and Yield 2 correlated significantly more highly with state
anxiety, during both administrations of the STAI, than with Yield 1. The correlations
with Shift were 0.42 and 0.69 for the two STAI tests respectively.
The findings from this study support the hypothesis that suggestibility is
strongly associated with state anxiety. This indicates that it is how apprehensive
subjects feel at the time of the interrogation that is more important than
their more generalized anxiety proneness. In addition, state anxiety is clearly
most strongly associated with how subjects react to interrogative pressure
rather than to leading questions per se. This supports my theory (Gudjonsson,
1984a) that Yield 2 and Shift scores on the GSS are more linked to anxiety and
coping processes than Yield 1. The findings complement those of Tata (1983),
who found that negative feedback on the GSS 1 is accompanied by increased
electrodermal reactivity as well as changes in mood as measured by the Multiple
Affect Adjective Checklist (Zuckerman & Lubin, 1965).
In an early study (Gudjonsson & Singh, 1984a), we attempted to validate
the GSS 1 by administering the scale to 31 delinquent and adolescent boys