Shortened Versions of the Gudjonsson Suggestibility Scale Meet the Standards

• NCJ Number: 226398
• Journal: Legal and Criminological Psychology Volume: 14 Issue: 1 Dated: February 2009 Pages: 149-155
• Author(s): T. Smeets; J. Leppink; M. Jelicic; H. Merckelbach
• Date Published: February 2009
• Length: 7 pages
• Grant Number(s): 452-02-006
• Sponsoring Agency: Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO)
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Measurement/Evaluation Device
• Language: English
• Country: United Kingdom

Annotation

This study examined whether shorter versions of the Gudjonsson Suggestibility Scale (GSS), a forensic tool to measure interrogative suggestibility, would yield similar results as the original GSS procedure.

Abstract

The study results which suggest that the GSS scores obtained with shortened procedures did not differ from those obtained by the standard GSS procedure were relevant to large-scale laboratory investigations of the relationship between interrogative suggestibility and other constructs of interest. Future studies are recommended with a focus on whether shortened GSS procedures could also be used in forensic settings where forensic experts sometimes do not possess ample time to fully examine a suspect’s mental abilities. The GSS is a well-established forensic tool for measuring interrogative suggestibility. However, one restriction of the GSS is that it requires an extensive testing procedure. This study examined whether shorter versions of the GSS yield similar results as the original GSS procedure. Tables and references