Increasing the Disclosure of Information from Suspects in Investigative Interviews Through Brief Training in the Shift-of-Strategy Approach

The Shift-of-Strategy (SoS) approach is an interviewing technique aimed at encouraging semi-cooperative suspects to disclose more information during interviews. Its efficacy has been demonstrated in semi-scripted laboratory studies but has yet to be tested in less controlled contexts. Within the current study, we developed and evaluated a 2-hour training module designed to teach novice interviewers to independently apply the SoS approach in mock interviews. Participants (N = 31) were randomly assigned to one of three training conditions: Basic, SoS, or SoS-Delay, and conducted four interviews each with mock suspects (N = 125). Participants assigned to Basic only received foundational interviewing training before conducting their interviews. Participants in the SoS and SoS-Delay conditions received the same foundational training as well as the SoS module, though SoS-Delay participants received the SoS training after completing half of their interviews. We predicted that interviews that were based on SoS training (i.e., all SoS and the latter half of SoS-Delay interviews) would outperform those that were solely based on basic training (all Basic and the former half of SoS-Delay interviews). Interviews based on SoS training involved more frequent use of SoS tactics and obtained more general information from mock suspects than those based on Basic training. However, we observed no significant training-related differences in interviewers’ ability to elicit previously unknown information. However, the use of several SoS tactics was positively associated with eliciting such information. These findings suggest that even brief SoS training improves novice interviewers’ use of tactics and ability to elicit information.