Eliciting intelligence from human sources: Evaluating the Scharff-technique

• This thesis is on how to elicit intelligence from human sources. More specifically, the aim is to examine the efficacy of the tactics employed by an iconic figure in the field: Hanns Scharff. A novel experimental set-up, as well as new dependent measures, was introduced in order to evaluate the efficacy of different human intelligence gathering techniques. Participants were given information about a planned terrorist attack, asked to take on the role of “sources”, and instructed to strike a balance between not revealing too much or too little information in a subsequent interview. In Study I (N = 93) three human intelligence gathering techniques were evaluated. The Scharff-technique was conceptualized to include four tactics (i.e., to have a friendly approach, never pressure for information, create an illusion of knowing it all, and presenting confirmation/disconfirmation claims), the Open Question technique consisted of open-ended questions and the Specific Question technique consisted of specific questions. The results showed that the three techniques did not differ with respect to the amount of new information gathered. The participants interviewed with the Scharff-technique (vs. the two control techniques) perceived that it was more difficult to read the interviewer’s information objectives. The participants interviewed with the Scharff-technique and the Open Question technique (incorrectly) perceived that they revealed less information than participants interviewed with the Specific Question technique. In sum, the Scharff-technique showed some promising results but did not elicit more new information. This outcome was attributed to a disorganized implementation of the tactics. In Study II (N = 60) the Scharff-technique was compared to the Direct Approach (a combination of open-ended and specific questions). For this study a number of methodological improvements were made compared to Study I. The tactics used in the Scharff-technique were implemented in a more careful manner and most of the dependent measures were advanced. The results showed that the Scharff-technique resulted in more, and more precise, new information. Furthermore, the participants interviewed with the Scharff-technique underestimated, whereas participants interviewed with the Direct Approach overestimated, the amount of new information revealed. This study showed quite strong support for the efficacy of the Scharff-technique. In sum, this thesis introduced an experimental set-up mirroring some key aspects of a human intelligence gathering scenario and developed a set of novel dependent measures for examining the efficacy of the compared techniques. This thesis provides empirical support for the Scharff-technique as a promising tool for eliciting intelligence from human sources.

Ämnesord

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Psykologi (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Psychology (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

The Scharff-technique

The Direct Approach

Human Intelligence Gathering

Information Elicitation

Publikations- och innehållstyp

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