Suprasegmental and verbal features of repeated questions in interview during the process of secret disclosure

R. Ciceri and F. Biassoni

Laboratory of Communication Psychology, Catholic University of Sacred Heart, Milan, Italy

The interview process aimed at a secret disclosure is here investigated to find out and measure objectively effective strategies to lead and hold the subject during the process of disclosure. Attention is focused on the interviewer questions, both in verbal content and in vocal nonverbal characteristics. Data obtained from the analysis of five interviews show the effectiveness of a strategy we called ‘repeated questions’. The repetition of the same question (from the verbal content point of view) brings the interviewer nearer to the subject secret; acustic digitalized analysis, then, put into evidence the role of suprasegmental dimension in this strategy. The suprasegmental dimension of all the questions, and in particular of repeated questions, has been analyzed using CSL (Computerized Speech Laboratory, Kay Elemetrics Corps). Three parameters have been considered: frequency (measured in Hz), intensity (measured in dB) and rythm (measured in seconds). Data shows that vocal nonverbal features convey a variety of meanings connected with cooperation and empathy between the subject and the interviewer, so taking up both semantic and relational function. The second element analyzed is time in the whole process of interview: both the duration of the interview and the position of key-questions affect the interview effectiveness. Measurable aspects of verbal and non verbal behavior, so, turn out to be central in determining the effectiveness of a specifically aimed interview.

Paper presented at Measuring Behavior 2005 , 5^th International Conference on Methods and Techniques in Behavioral Research, 30 August - 2 September 2005, Wageningen, The Netherlands.

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