Lynn Weiher
Projects
Articles
Academic Publications
How multiple interviews and interview framing influence the development and maintenance of rapport
Information obtained from investigative interviews is crucial for policeto develop leads, advance investigations and make effective decisions.One well-endorsed approach for eliciting detailed and accurateinformation is building rapport between the interviewer andinterviewee. While familiarity and communicative tone are predicteddeterminants of rapport, the effects of repeated exposure to aninterviewer, as well as interview framing, on rapport has rarely beentested. In two simulated suspect interview experiments, we testedwhether established rapport is maintained during a second interviewwith the same interviewer (Experiment 1) and how accusatory andhumanitarian interview framings impact the development of rapport(Experiment 2). We also tested, across both experiments, whethernonverbal mimicry can be a proxy for measuring rapport. We foundevidence suggesting that rapport, once established, is carried over tosubsequent meetings, and that it is possible to build rapport evenwhen it was poorly established in the initial interview. We also foundthat an accusatory interview framing was associated with lowerrapport than a humanitarian interview framing, and that interviewframing affected nonverbal mimicry between interviewer andinterviewee. Contrary to our expectations, mimicry did not correlatewith an existing measure of rapport.
(From the journal abstract)
Weiher, L., Watson, S. J, Taylor, P. J., & Luther, K. (2023) How multiple interviews and interview framing influence the development and maintenance of rapport, Psychology, Crime & Law, https://doi.org/10.1080/1068316X.2023.2265527
Projects
Articles
Academic Publications
How multiple interviews and interview framing influence the development and maintenance of rapport
Information obtained from investigative interviews is crucial for policeto develop leads, advance investigations and make effective decisions.One well-endorsed approach for eliciting detailed and accurateinformation is building rapport between the interviewer andinterviewee. While familiarity and communicative tone are predicteddeterminants of rapport, the effects of repeated exposure to aninterviewer, as well as interview framing, on rapport has rarely beentested. In two simulated suspect interview experiments, we testedwhether established rapport is maintained during a second interviewwith the same interviewer (Experiment 1) and how accusatory andhumanitarian interview framings impact the development of rapport(Experiment 2). We also tested, across both experiments, whethernonverbal mimicry can be a proxy for measuring rapport. We foundevidence suggesting that rapport, once established, is carried over tosubsequent meetings, and that it is possible to build rapport evenwhen it was poorly established in the initial interview. We also foundthat an accusatory interview framing was associated with lowerrapport than a humanitarian interview framing, and that interviewframing affected nonverbal mimicry between interviewer andinterviewee. Contrary to our expectations, mimicry did not correlatewith an existing measure of rapport.
(From the journal abstract)
Weiher, L., Watson, S. J, Taylor, P. J., & Luther, K. (2023) How multiple interviews and interview framing influence the development and maintenance of rapport, Psychology, Crime & Law, https://doi.org/10.1080/1068316X.2023.2265527