Table 6

Descriptions and examples of positive and negative behaviours with mean (M), standard deviation (SD) and the minimum (min) and maximum (max)

Behaviour typeDescription and exampleMSDMinMax% of total
PositiveOption for free recallLetting the witness tell their story without interrupting at the beginning of the interview (e.g. “Tell me your whole story from beginning to end”.)0.270.59021.4
 Asking for detailsAsking the witness to provide details (e.g. “Be as detailed as possible”)0.530.64023.2
 “Don’t know” optionProviding the option to say “I don’t know” (e.g. “If you do not know the answer, then that’s fine”.)2.071.530514.7
 Context reinstatementAsking the witness to mentally recall the environment (e.g. “Think back to that day. What was the weather like?”)0.070.26010.3
 VisualisationAsking the witness to mentally visualise the situation (e.g. “Close your eyes and picture the situation”)0.200.56021.1
 SketchAsking the witness to make a drawing1.270.70029.6
 Building rapportBuilding a relationship with the witness (e.g. “Thank you for being here today”.)3.333.6201521.4
NegativeRe-asking a questionRe-asking an answered question excluding questions that the witness did not hear or understand (e.g. “I still want to know what you can tell me about his clothing” after the witness already reported this)0.600.83034.4
 Multiple questionsAsking multiple questions in a row (e.g. “Where were you at that moment? What did the perpetrator look like?”)2.072.050714.4
 InterruptingInterrupting the witness during their story, causing them to lose their train of thought1.071.16037.1
DistractionsDistractions during the interview (e.g. a phone goes off)0.871.36055.0
 Suggestive questionDirects the witness towards a certain answer (e.g. “You saw the knife, didn’t you?”) or contains assumptions or information that has not been mentioned by the witness before (e.g. “What did the gun look like?” when the witness did not mention a gun)2.472.070817.5
Total positive 7.735.3922451.6
Total negative 7.074.0621548.4
Total behaviours 14.808.45535100
Source: Created by authors

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