In a new study out of Spain, researchers demonstrated the value of using behavior provoking questions during investigative interviews.

Participants were 85 students from the University of Spain. Thirty-five were assigned a naive group, and received no instruction on interpreting behavior-provoking questions. Forty-eight were assigned an informed group and received instruction on response models to the BAI questions. When reading the verbal response to 15 behavior-provoking questions from a verified innocent and guilty suspect in the same case, all but one (97.9%) of the informed group correctly identified the innocent suspect. While the naive group identified the innocent person above chance levels, there was a statistically significant difference in accuracy rates between the naive and informed group. This study clearly points out the value in using behavior provoking questions and being trained in the proper evaluation of the responses