Description
The police often hold high stakes encounters with member of the public such as crisis negotiations or interviews with suspects of a crime. One theoretical model used to help police officers secure cooperation from people in high stakes encounters is the Cylinder Model (Taylor, 2002). One aspect of this model is the importance of identifying the motivational frame of the person the police officer is interaction with. Motivational frames are believed to be one of: 1) Instrumental – focussed on gaining tangible rewards such as information, money, or reduced punishment; 2) Identity – focussed on maximising their own self-worth such as through shows of dominance or power; or, 3) Relational – focussed on seeking affiliation with the police officer.
This model has so far received limited empirical testing, and this MSc would begin to test some of the ideas that underlie the model, and motivational frames in particular.
Research questions
The research questions can be determined by the student and whether they are more interested in suspect interviews or crisis negotiations.
1. Are people able to recognise others motivational frames, and what forms of training best facilitate this?
2. Do aligned motivational frames lead to better negotiation/interview outcomes?
Type of research
Could take the form of in-person, VR or online studies depending on student interest and specific research questions.
Key words
Interrogation, investigative interview, crisis negotiations, cylinder model.
Information
Please contact Steven Watson (s.j.watson@utwente.nl) when you are interested in this assignment.
Start
Any time
Literature
Taylor, P. (2002) A Cylindrical Model of Communication Behavior in Crisis Negotiations, Human Communication Research, 28(1), 7:48, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2958.2002.tb00797.x