Assessing Interrogative Suggestibility, an adaptation of Gudjonsson Suggestibility Scale (GSS): Gender Difference in witnessing an event

Interrogative suggestibility refers to the tendency of individuals to accept suggestive information in an interrogative context. Gudjonsson and Clark (1986) have developed a theoretical model of suggestibility, and contend that suggestibility is mediated by an individual's cognitive abilities, mental state and personality characteristics. In particular, they emphasize the role of coping strategies, positing that active/problem-focused coping strategies lead to greater resistance to suggestive information whilst avoidant/emotion-focused strategies lead to increased susceptibility to accepting suggestive information. The current study explores the effect of interrogative suggestibility among the males and females towards recalling witnessed events and their susceptibility to the interrogative suggestibility. A total of 120 participants (60 males and 60 females) selected randomly, from University of Sindh, Pakistan, were shown a 5-minute videoclip in groups of 5-7 students. A pre-prepared set of questions was developed to interview the subjects individually. Mean scores, co-efficient of correlation and t-test was computed to confirm the hypothesis. Individual differences on Total Suggestibility Score (TSS), shift and yield responses were observed. It was found that female eyewitnesses were more susceptible to the misleading and forced-choice questions than the male.