Rapport is in the Eye of the Beholder: Exploring individuals’ experiences within investigative interviewing using a mixed methods approach

Abstract

The term rapport is one that repeatedly features amongst investigative interviewing, specifically the term features within police guidance and manuals both within the United Kingdom and internationally. However, amongst the academic literature, there remains a lack of consensus around the definitions and operationalisations of this phenomenon. Previous research has observed that interviewers and witnesses do not reliably align in their self-report ratings of rapport. Therefore, there may be a gap between the perceived importance of rapport and the presence of rapport-related behaviours within interviewing. Furthermore, previous research exploring investigative interviewing finds limited evidence of effective rapport building being present. This thesis employs a mixed-methods approach to explore how interviewers, witnesses and third-party individuals perceive rapport. Consistent with the literature, a lack of agreement between individuals’ ratings of rapport on rating scales existed. However, there remains consistency in the themes and behavioural elements that participants identify as being influential and paramount for effective rapport building. This thesis suggests that individuals interpret the interview experience specially rapport, differently. These findings reinforce the importance of personalising rapport enhancing behaviours to the individual, taking into account the context and situation when attempting to build a relationship.

Date of Award	11 Nov 2025
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	University of Winchester
Supervisor	Liam Satchell (Supervisor), Gary Lancaster (Supervisor), Rachel Wilcock (Supervisor) & Paul Sowden (Supervisor)