Adults' Responses to Question Types About a Participatory Mock Crime

ABSTRACT The present study systematically examined adults' responses to question subtypes. Fifty‐four adults (aged 19–35) engaged with an interactive, participatory online event (implied sexual assault) and were interviewed 2–3 days later. Interviews consisted of open‐ended (invitations, breadth, and depth prompts), wh‐, and closed questions (yes/no and option‐posing), delivered in blocks of nine questions each, presented in counterbalanced order. Order was manipulated to assess any impact on the productivity and accuracy of responses; however, it made little difference. Open‐ended questions (especially invitations) were the most productive and accurate question type. Accuracy was unexpectedly high for yes/no and low for wh‐ questions. Overall, option‐posing questions yielded the lowest productivity and accuracy, and the greatest acquiescence when questions were misleading. The relatively poor performance for wh‐ questions was surprising for an adult sample at a short delay and challenges the assumption that wh‐ questions are as appropriate as open‐ended questions for mainstream adult witnesses.