The Gudjonsson Suggestibility Scale (GSS) is a psychological tool used to measure how susceptible a person is to suggestion during questioning. It's often used in legal settings to assess how reliable a witness or suspect might be.

Why is Suggestibility Important?

Suggestibility can affect the accuracy of memories and the reliability of testimonies. Understanding how suggestibility works helps psychologists, law enforcement, and even jurors evaluate the truthfulness of statements made during interviews.

Types of Suggestibility

The GSS identifies two main types of suggestibility:

• Yielding: This refers to how much a person agrees with misleading information presented to them. For example, if someone hears a fabricated detail about an event, they might accept it as true.
• Shift: This indicates a change in a person's recollection due to suggestive questioning. For instance, if a person remembers seeing a blue car but is repeatedly asked about a red car, they might later insist they saw the red car instead.

Structure of the Scale

The GSS consists of two main parts:

1. Free Recall: Participants are asked to recall an event without any prompts. This tests their memory independently.
2. Suggestive Questioning: Participants are then exposed to leading questions. This measures how much their responses change under suggestive influence.

Real-Life Example

Imagine a scenario where a witness sees a minor car accident. During the initial questioning, they might correctly recall seeing a blue sedan. Later, however, if police officers repeatedly ask about a red car, the witness might start to doubt their memory and claim they saw a red car instead. This illustrates the concept of yielding and shift in suggestibility.

Comparison with Other Psychological Tools

While there are other tools to assess memory and reliability, the GSS is unique because it specifically targets suggestibility. For example:

• The Cognitive Interview: Focuses on improving the quality of eyewitness testimony without leading questions.
• The Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test: Evaluates visual memory and planning but does not assess suggestibility.

Categories of Suggestibility

The GSS can also categorize suggestibility into:

• Trait Suggestibility: This is how suggestible a person is in general, often influenced by personality traits.
• State Suggestibility: This is affected by situational factors, such as stress or the environment during questioning.

Who Uses the Gudjonsson Suggestibility Scale?

The GSS is commonly used by:

• Psychologists: To assess the reliability of memories in therapeutic settings.
• Law Enforcement: To determine how suggestible witnesses or suspects might be during investigations.
• Legal Professionals: To evaluate the strength of testimonies in court cases.

Final Thoughts

The Gudjonsson Suggestibility Scale provides valuable insights into how suggestion impacts memory and testimony. Its practical applications in psychology and law make it a crucial tool for understanding human behavior.