Enhancing Ecological Validity in Forensic Assessments: Immediate and Delayed Suggestibility Across Video Viewing and Spoken Narrative Modalities

ABSTRACT

In forensic contexts, measuring witness suggestibility is a key issue; however, existing tools typically assess suggestibility vulnerability regarding spoken narrative memory. The main aim of this study is to measure immediate and delayed suggestibility concerning episodic memory—elicited via audiovisual stimuli—using a novel tool: the Suggestive Eyewitness Memory Interview (SEMI). A total of 144 adult participants were administered both the SEMI and the Gudjonsson Suggestibility Scale 2 (GSS2). The SEMI demonstrated satisfactory fit indices and convergent validity with the GSS2. A comparison between the two instruments showed greater memory accuracy in the GSS2 and lower suggestibility in the SEMI. Finally, the predictive value of GSS2 scores regarding the corresponding SEMI scores was assessed. The possible applications of the results in this forensic field have been discussed.