Home > Research > Publications & Outputs > “Tell me more about this…”

Electronic data

  • ACP-19-0165.R1_Proof

    Accepted author manuscript, 301 KB, PDF document

    Available under license: CC BY: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

Links

Text available via DOI:

View graph of relations

“Tell me more about this…”: An examination of the efficacy of follow-up open questions following an initial account

Research output: Contribution to Journal/MagazineJournal articlepeer-review

Published
  • Feni Kontogianni
  • Lorraine Hope
  • Paul Taylor
  • Aldert Vrij
  • Fiona Gabbert
Close
<mark>Journal publication date</mark>1/09/2020
<mark>Journal</mark>Applied Cognitive Psychology
Issue number5
Volume34
Number of pages12
Pages (from-to)972-983
Publication StatusPublished
Early online date24/04/20
<mark>Original language</mark>English

Abstract

In information gathering interviews, follow‐up questions are asked to clarify and extend initial witness accounts. Across two experiments, we examined the efficacy of open‐ended questions following an account about a multi‐perpetrator event. In Experiment 1, 50 mock‐witnesses used the timeline technique or a free recall format to provide an initial account. Although follow‐up questions elicited new information (18–22% of the total output) across conditions, the response accuracy (60%) was significantly lower than that of the initial account (83%). In Experiment 2 (N = 60), half of the participants received pre‐questioning instructions to monitor accuracy when responding to follow‐up questions. New information was reported (21–22% of the total output) across conditions, but despite using pre‐questioning instructions, response accuracy (75%) was again lower than the spontaneously reported information (87.5%). Follow‐up open‐ended questions prompt additional reporting; however, practitioners should be cautious to corroborate the accuracy of new reported details.