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The Scharff technique : examining how to frame key pieces of information to establish the illusion of knowing it all.

Poppinghaus, Sanouk (2018) The Scharff technique : examining how to frame key pieces of information to establish the illusion of knowing it all.

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Abstract:The Scharff technique is used to effectively and ethical elicit human intelligence. The third tactic, creating the illusion of knowing it all can be seen as the core of the technique. The essence is to share detailed information with a source to create an illusion where the interviewer seems more knowledgeable than s/he really is. However, an interviewer is not always in the position where he or she can share sensitive information with the source. The current study examined a different way to establish the illusion of knowing it all, without disclosing all information. This was done by describing the information in abstract terms instead of describing it in concrete terms, which resembles the traditional way. Participants (N = 55) were randomly allocated to concrete story approach or the abstract story approach. The experiment measured the participants’ perceptions regarding the interviewer’s knowledge about an upcoming attack. The results were mixed but show support for a more optimal illusion of knowing it all. That is, if the interviewer shared less detailed information the source still perceived that she or he had more knowledge regarding the attack. It resembles the illusion, which would be perceived as valid when the interviewer seems to have more knowledge than what is the case.
Item Type:Essay (Bachelor)
Faculty:BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences
Subject:77 psychology
Programme:Psychology BSc (56604)
Link to this item:https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/75157
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