2019 Northern Lights Keynote Speaker

Our Keynote speaker: Dr. Christian Meissner

Title of the Keynote Address: Developing Cooperation, Eliciting Information, and Assessing Credibility in Criminal and Intelligence Interviews: An Evidence-Based Perspective

Abstract: The science of effective interviewing, particularly with respect to uncooperative or resistant subjects, has advanced considerably over the past decade. This presentation reviews recent laboratory and field studies evaluating the effectiveness of tactics designed to develop rapport and trust, to elicit accurate information from memory, and to assess credibility in intelligence and criminal interview contexts. The implications of this research for improving the practice of investigative interviewing will be discussed.  

Bio

Christian Meissner is Professor of Psychology at Iowa State University. He holds a Ph.D. in Cognitive & Behavioral Science from Florida State University (2001) and conducts empirical studies in applied cognition, including the role of memory, attention, perception, and decision processes in real world tasks. He has published more than 90 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters, and has received more than $16 million in grant funding from such agencies as the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Departments of Defense, Justice, and Homeland Security, and the U.S. Intelligence Community.  From 2010 – 2012, he served as Program Director of Law & Social Sciences at the National Science Foundation