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Being a good witness: The roles of benevolence and working memory capacity in rapport’s effect on eyewitness memory
Author(s) -
Carol Rolando N.,
Kieckhaefer Jenna M.,
Johnson Joy,
Peek Jillian,
Schreiber Compo Nadja
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of applied social psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.822
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1559-1816
pISSN - 0021-9029
DOI - 10.1111/jasp.12781
Subject(s) - psychology , witness , recall , eyewitness testimony , interview , social psychology , eyewitness memory , affect (linguistics) , developmental psychology , cognitive psychology , law , communication , political science
Prior studies suggest that building rapport with eyewitnesses can produce measurable recall improvements, but the underlying mechanisms of rapport’s possible effects on recall remain underexplored. The present study investigated two possible mechanisms for rapport’s impact: (1) improved working memory capacity and (2) increased benevolence. Participants ( N = 105) viewed a mock theft video, followed by one of two possible pre‐interview interactions: rapport‐building or a control interaction. Next, participants completed measures of working memory, altruism, and benevolence (pre‐interview and post‐interview), before recalling details of the theft. Analyses revealed that, when controlling for the effects of the interaction duration and participants’ pre‐ and post‐interview benevolence, rapport did not affect eyewitness recall directly. However, rapport building did increase benevolence measured after and associated with the substantive eyewitness interview, which in turn predicted more accurate and new details reported, and fewer subjective/other details reported. These findings support benevolence toward the interviewer as a mechanism behind rapport’s effect on eyewitness recall. Implications for investigative interviews in relation to benevolence and motivating reciprocation are discussed.