Assessment Criteria Indicative of Deception (ACID): An Integrated System of Investigative Interviewing and Detecting Deception KEVIN COLWELL 1, *, CHERYL K. HISCOCK-ANISMAN 2 , AMINA MEMON 3 , LAURA TAYLOR 1 and JESSICA PREWETT 4 1 Southern Connecticut State University, CT, USA 2 National University, CA, USA 3 University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK 4 Valdosta State University, GA, USA Abstract This study describes the assimilation and validation of Assessment Criteria Indicative of Deception (ACID). ACID is derived from investigative interviewing, Criteria-Based Content Analysis, Reality Monitoring, and interpersonal deception. Each component has been previously published. Thirty-eight university undergraduates entered a professor’s office and either stole an exam or replaced an exam that had been stolen previously. They were interviewed 1 week later with the Reality Interview, which is deliberately challeng- ing and aims to enhance the detection of deception. Half responded honestly and com- pletely; half distorted their responses to avoid incrimination. Incentives were provided. Honest responses were longer, more detailed, and contained more admissions of potential mistakes. Most importantly, honest respondents benefited from attempts to enhance recall, whereas these same attempts caused deceptive respondents to provide shorter, more repetitive statements. This is a promising technique; 33 of 38 cases were classified accu- rately. Discussion includes characteristics of deception, process of deception during an investigative interview, hypothetical interview strategies to facilitate the detection of deception, strengths and weaknesses of the study, and areas for future research. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Key words: investigative interviewing; deception; credibility; reality monitoring; CBCA; vividness; spontaneity There is a crucial need to develop a valid and applicable method for obtaining and evalu- ating information during an investigation. The present research is a validation of one such system of interviewing and credibility assessment, known as Assessment Criteria Indica- tive of Deception (ACID). ACID combines content criteria derived from research in interpersonal deception and memory with investigative interviewing to facilitate the detec- tion of deception. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling J. Investig. Psych. Offender Profil. 4: 167–180 (2007) Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI: 10.1002/jip.73 *Correspondence to: Kevin Colwell, Ph.D., Department of Psychology, Southern Connecticut State University, 501 Crescent Street, New Haven, CT 06515, USA. E-mail: colwellk2@southernct.edu