How and why Rapport Outperforms Persuasion in Military Interrogations.

Abstract

The present study examined how rapport behaviors, operationalized through the HEAAR principles (Honesty, Empathy, Adaptation, Autonomy, Reflection), and persuasion techniques (alpha and omega) predict information disclosure during high-fidelity military interrogation training. Seventy-six hours of recorded interrogations (25 prisoners, 6 trainee interrogators) from a high-fidelity military exercise in Sweden were segmented, coded, and analyzed using Bayesian cumulative-probit regression with random intercepts for interrogator, detainee, and segment. Information yield was coded using ORBIT's ordinal yield scale and restricted to novel disclosures that could be verified against the exercise scenario (ground truth). Rapport quality and style were strong, credible predictors of higher information yield, whereas individual persuasion techniques showed weak or inconsistent associations and, in some cases, were negatively associated with disclosure. Exploratory random-slope analyses suggested substantial variability in detainee responsiveness, underscoring the interactional nature of information elicitation. The results indicate that rapport-based behaviors are more consistently effective in eliciting information than persuasion techniques, suggesting that interviewer effectiveness hinges more on the overall quality of the interpersonal interaction than on the deployment of specific persuasion techniques.