Associations between emotions and psychophysiological states and confirmation bias in question formulation in ongoing simulated investigative interviews of child sexual abuse

Segal, Aleksandr, Bakaitytė, Aistė, Kaniušonytė, Goda, Ustinavičiūtė-Klenauskė, Laura, Haginoya, Shumpei, Zhang, Yikang, Pompedda, Francesco ORCID: 0000-0001-9253-0049, Žukauskienė, Rita and Santtila, Pekka (2023) Associations between emotions and psychophysiological states and confirmation bias in question formulation in ongoing simulated investigative interviews of child sexual abuse. Frontiers in Psychology, 14. Art 1085567. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1085567

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Abstract

Introduction: In forensic settings interviewers are advised to ask as many open-ended questions as possible. However, even experts may have difficulty following this advice potentially negatively impacting an investigation. Here, we sought to investigate how emotions and psychophysiological parameters are associated with question formulation in real time in an ongoing (simulated) child sexual abuse (CSA) interview. Method: In a experimental study, psychology students (N = 60, Mage = 22.75) conducted two interviews with child avatars, while their emotions (anger, sadness, disgust, surprise and relief), GSR and heart rate (HR) were registered. Results: First, we found that general emotionality related to CSA and perceived realness of the avatars was associated with stronger overall emotional reactions. Second, we found that closed (vs. open) questions were preceded by more facially observable anger, but not disgust, sadness, surprise or relief. Third, closed (vs. open) questions were preceded by higher GSR resistance and lower heart rate. Discussion: Results suggest for the first time that emotions and psychophysiological states can drive confirmation bias in question formulation in real time in CSA.

Item Type:	Article
Article Type:	Article
Additional Information:	This article is part of the Research Topic Technological Solutions Helping to Train Specialists’ Interviewing Skills of Possible Victims and Witnesses. This research was funded by the European Regional Development Fund (Project No. 01.2.2-LMT-K-718-03-0067) under grant agreement with the Research Council of Lithuania. Acknowledgements: We are thankful to Simonas Audickas for assisting with the face recognition software data extraction.
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Psychology; child sexual abuse; emotions; GSR; heart rate; simulated interviewing; confirmation bias; investigative interviews; avatars
Related records:	Avatars with child sexual abuse (vs. no ...
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology H Social Sciences > HV Social pathology. Social and public welfare. Criminology. > HV6001 Criminology > HV6250 Victims of Crimes. Victimology H Social Sciences > HV Social pathology. Social and public welfare. Criminology. > HV6001 Criminology > HV6251 Crimes and offences
Divisions:	Schools and Research Institutes > School of Education and Science
Research Priority Areas:	Culture, Continuity, and Transformation
Depositing User:	Anne Pengelly
Date Deposited:	17 Apr 2023 14:20
Last Modified:	10 Nov 2023 10:00
URI:	https://eprints.glos.ac.uk/id/eprint/12635

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