Forensic Hypnosis and Cognitive Interviewing

Interviewers must remain vigilant against deceptive behavior throughout the interview process and be aware of what drives witnesses and suspects to be forthcoming with accurate statements—the goal of all interviews and interrogations. Interviewees establish patterns of communications, and certain aspects of their behaviors indicate deceit and deception. The study of behavioral interviewing techniques helps investigators rely on the accurate flow of information and develop the ability to identify behaviors that are indicative of deceit. Indicators come in different forms, from subconscious behavior responses to verbal patterns to physical patterns.

There are several areas investigators should familiarize themselves with in order to explain the behaviors of interviewees when placed under pressure or asked direct and challenging questions. For example, an investigator should have knowledge of kinesics, neurolinguistic programming (NLP), facial coding, body language, eye movement, qualifiers, hedging, and manipulators. Vocal inflections, a sudden emotional outburst with a denial, or an uncontrollable twitch or increased heart rate can be subtle but may indicate deception.

There are many reasons someone may want to deceive the police. Uncovering these motivations may help you understand the perspectives from which each person is operating. In some situations, witnesses just cannot recall events, either because the events are traumatic or because the witnesses have forgotten important details. Forensic hypnosis and cognitive interviewing are two methods used to jog a person's memory in such cases. These skills can be learned and developed. True skill development in this area takes place while executing interviews or observing others during interviews or interrogations

Submission Details:

By Tuesday, January 20, 2015, in a minimum of 250 words, post your responses to the following:

• Discuss the importance of developing skills in detecting deceit:
• Explain how behavioral interviewing and interrogation techniques can help identify deception.
• Discuss the accuracy and court admissibility of the following techniques:
• Kinetics
• Body posture
• Eye movement
• NLP
• Facial coding
• Qualifiers
• Hedging
• Manipulators

Discussion Grading Criteria and Rubric

All discussion assignments in this course will be graded using a rubric. This assignment is worth 40 points. The discussion rubric and carefully read it to understand the expectations.