This study describes and tests an empirical-based theoretical model of rapport in an investigative interview context. Essential in this study is whether rapport, operationalized as the humanitarian interview, in two interviews with a six-month retention interval, had any causal effects on the respective memory performance of 146 and 127 interviewees. Independent-samples t‐tests revealed, on both occasions, that a humanitarian rapport interview led to a larger amount of reported information altogether, with more central and peripheral information, than a dominant non-rapport interview did. Regardless of the interview approach, mixed between-within analysis of variance showed a substantially larger amount of reported information in the first interview than the second. The amount of false information reported in both interviews was statistically invariable, regardless of interviewing style.

Therapeutic jurisprudence (TJ) aims to execute legal procedures in ways that promote the psychological well-being (PWB) of the individuals involved. This experimental study investigates the impact of personality on interviewees’ memory performance and PWB from a TJ perspective. PWB was defined by state anxiety (STAI-S) and sense of coherence (SOC). Interviewees’ personalities were assessed using the 10-item short version of the Big Five Inventory (Rammstedt, B., & John, O. P. (2007). Measuring personality in one minute or less: a 10-item short version of the Big Five Inventory in English and German. Journal of Research in Personality, 41, 203!212) and State!Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-T; Spielberger, C. D., Gorsuch, R., Lushene, P. R. Vagg, P. R., & Jacobs, G. A. (1983). State!Trait Anxiety Inventory for Adults. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press]. Participants (N D 146) were assigned to undergo either humanitarian rapport interviews or non-rapport interviews. Each group underwent one exposure (computer simulation) and two interviews separated by a 6-month interval. Regression analysis showed that neuroticism (N), openness to experience (O) and extraversion (E) predicted interviewees’ memory performance; N and O were moderated by interview style. Moreover, E and agreeableness (A) predicted higher SOC and lower STAI-S, that is, increased PWB, whereas N predicted lower SOC and elevated levels of STAI-S, that is, lower PWB. In Interviews I and II, STAI- T and a non-rapport approach were a stronger predictor of lower SOC. The results are discussed from a TJ perspective.

Therapeutic jurisprudence sees the law as a social force; its underlying idea is that legal procedures should promote the psychological well-being (PWB) of individuals involved in juridical actions. In this experimental study, 146 subjects were assigned to one of two groups: one undergoing humanitarian rapport interviews, the other undergoing non-rapport interviews. Each group underwent two interviews separated by a six-month interval. The causal effects of interview style on interviewees’ PWB were measured using sense of coherence and StateTrait Anxiety inventories, both pre and post interview at Interviews I and II. Analysis of covariance of scores from both interviews showed interaction effects between interview style and interviewees’ anxiety and sense of coherence, respectively. At Interview I, a non-rapport approach was related to increased anxiety, that is, decreased PWB when comparing pre- and post-interview testing. At Interview II, a humanitarian rapport approach promoted improved sense of coherence, thus, increased PWB. More empirical research on PWB in relation to therapeutic jurisprudence is needed. The discussion focuses on how PWB should be measured in a therapeutic jurisprudential context of investigative interviews.