The U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee report on torture contains some very grisly findings, detailing CIA interrogation techniques, like mock execution and sleep deprivation.
In this River to River segment, Ben Kieffer is joined by Iowa State University psychology professor Christian Meissner to talk about the report, the efficacy, and the ethics of interrogation practices. Meissner leads a multi-million dollar research program that is evaluating interrogation methods. He says that the best way to get information from a person is to humanize, rather than dehumanize.
"It's about developing rapport and communication with the individual, and it's about thinking strategically about the information and evidence that you have," Meissner says.
"If I were to interrogate you, I would learn as much as I could... not only about you and your background, but also the evidence and information I have in the investigation. I would be interested in trying to strategically use that information as an elicitation tool in itself."
