Interviewing to elicit information: Using priming to promote disclosure.

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Social Psychology

Background:

• Implicit cognition research shows activating mental concepts influences behavior.
• Attachment security priming affects concept accessibility.

Purpose of the Study:

• To test if priming attachment security influences disclosure-related concepts.
• To determine if this priming affects participants' forthcomingness in interviews.

Main Methods:

• A pilot study involved 102 participants exposed to a mock eco-terrorism conspiracy.
• Participants were interviewed about the conspiracy, with half receiving attachment security priming before the interview.

Main Results:

• Primed participants disclosed significantly more information than the control group.
• Attachment security priming enhanced the accessibility of disclosure-related concepts.

Conclusions:

• Nonconscious processes, such as priming, can significantly impact investigative interview outcomes.
• Practitioners may leverage priming techniques to enhance information disclosure in interviews.