The Effects of Feedback and Reflection on the Questioning Style of Untrained Interviewers in Simulated Child Sexual Abuse Interviews

We provided immediate and detailed feedback in a training paradigm in which simulated interviews with computer-generated avatars were used to improve interviewers' questioning style. Fifty-nine untrained student/interviewers conducted eight interviews each and were randomly assigned to a control, feedback or feedback and reflection group. Compared to the control group, the groups receiving feedback used a higher percentage of recommended questions and retrieved more relevant details while using a lower percentage of not recommended questions and retrieved less wrong details. Only the groups that received feedback reached a reliable change in the proportion of recommended questions. The reflection intervention proposed in the present study did not enhance training effects above and beyond feedback in the present sample. The present study replicated previous findings regarding the role of feedback in improving the quality of investigative interviews, however, failing to show an effect of reflection. Further studies on different reflection tasks are suggested.