Abstract
Background: We examined a new method to encourage interviewees to say more, the ghostwriter method, and examined its effect on eliciting information and cues to deceit.
Method: A total of 150 truth tellers and liars either told the truth about a trip they made in the last 12 months or pretended to have made such a trip. They were allocated to a Control condition, a ‘Be detailed’ condition in which they were encouraged to report even small details and a ghostwriter condition in which they were told to imagine talking to a ghostwriter. The dependent variables were details, complications, common knowledge details, self‐handicapping strategies, proportion of complications, plausibility, and verifiable sources.
Results: The ghostwriter condition elicited more details and revealed in plausibility a stronger cue to deceit than the other two conditions.
Conclusion: The ghostwriter method appears to be a promising tool for eliciting information and cues to deceit.
Method: A total of 150 truth tellers and liars either told the truth about a trip they made in the last 12 months or pretended to have made such a trip. They were allocated to a Control condition, a ‘Be detailed’ condition in which they were encouraged to report even small details and a ghostwriter condition in which they were told to imagine talking to a ghostwriter. The dependent variables were details, complications, common knowledge details, self‐handicapping strategies, proportion of complications, plausibility, and verifiable sources.
Results: The ghostwriter condition elicited more details and revealed in plausibility a stronger cue to deceit than the other two conditions.
Conclusion: The ghostwriter method appears to be a promising tool for eliciting information and cues to deceit.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 273-287 |
Number of pages | 15 |
Journal | Legal and Criminological Psychology |
Volume | 24 |
Issue number | 2 |
Early online date | 22 Apr 2019 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Sept 2019 |
Keywords
- RCUK
- ESRC
- ES/N009614/1
- eliciting information
- encouraging interviewees to say more
- interviewing to detect deception
- proportion of complications
- verifiable sources