Interrogations-and-Confessions-Handbook

396 A Psychology of Interrogations and Confessions
stupid’, ‘It is always best to give a definite answer even if it is wrong’ and ‘I
changed answers I wasn’t sure about’.
Non-suggestible coping strategies involved a critical analysis of the situation
and a facilitative problem-solving action. Common self-statements of this group
were the following: cognitive, ‘I can’t be expected to know all the answers’, ‘Some
of the questions were not in the story’, ‘I am sure I have done as well as anyone
else’; behavioural, ‘I tried to stick to what I remembered’, ‘I looked critically at
each of my answers’, ‘I tried to look at the situation objectively’.
Howard & Hong (2002) investigated the relationship between coping style,
using the COPE questionnaire (Carver, Scheier & Weintraub, 1989), and suggestibility,
as measured by the GSS 1. Data were collected from 263 undergraduate
students and on the basis of the extreme COPE scores, 51 participants
were classified into problem-focused ( N = 25) and emotion-focused ( N = 26)
copers. The emotion-focused copers scored significantly higher on Yield 1 and
Total Suggestibility than the problem-focused copers. No significant differences
between the two types of coper were found for Shift and immediate and delayed
recall. These findings are consistent with the Gudjonsson and Clark model of
interrogative suggestibility.
SUGGESTIBILITY AND ASSERTIVENESS
According to the Gudjonsson–Clark (1986) model, it would be expected that assertiveness
correlated negatively with the GSS suggestibility scores. The reasoning
for this is that unassertive individuals will find it difficult to implement
facilitative coping strategies when faced with the uncertainty and expectations
of the interrogative situation. One study, conducted by myself, has looked at
this issue (Gudjonsson, 1988a).
The correlations between suggestibility, as measured by the GSS 1, and assertiveness,
which was measured by the Rathus (1973) Assertiveness Scale
were all significant. The correlations in a group of 30 normal subjects were
as follows: Yield 1, r =−0.42; Yield 2, r =−0.49; Shift, r =−0.40; Total
Suggestibility, r =−0.46.
I found a significant negative correlation (−0.53) between assertiveness and
FNE. One possible explanation is that high fear of negative evaluation inhibits
assertive behaviour (Lohr, Nix, Dunbar & Mosesso, 1984) as well as the coping
strategies that subjects can implement during interrogation.
SUGGESTIBILITY AND SELF-ESTEEM
Three studies have found a negative relationship between self-esteem and suggestibility,
which supports the theoretical model of Gudjonsson and Clark. The
results indicate that feelings of powerlessness and incompetence are particularly
effective in inducing suggestibility. Furthermore, the findings suggest
that manipulating suspects’ self-esteem during interrogation may markedly
increase the risk of uncritical acceptance of misleading information.