Nathan J Gordon, William L Fleisher
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to numerous grand jury investigations and indictments of members of the Hell’s Angels
and Mongols motorcycle gangs. Following the indictment and arrest of thirty-two mem-
bers and associates of the Hell’s Angels motorcycle gang in 1978, the mother chapter of
the Hell’s Angels in Oakland, California, approved Morgan’s assassination. Shortly after
this assassination approval, two members of the Hell’s Angels were arrested as they
staked out Morgan’s home, their automatic weapons were confiscated, and they were
charged by the U.S. Attorney’s office for conspiracy to commit murder and weapons
violations.
Morgan later moved his family to Idaho, where he finished his doctoral internship in
Counseling Psychology and went to work for the Idaho Police Officers Standards and
Training Academy as a Behavioral Science Instructor and taught Criminal Justice at
Boise State University. He was called on by law enforcement agencies throughout Idaho
to conduct preemployment psychological testing, polygraph examinations, criminal inter-
views, and criminal profiling in crimes of violence. Following the development of his
Effective Interviewing and Interrogation Techniques
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5. MORGAN INTERVIEW THEME TECHNIQUE (MITT)
interviewing technique, he went to work for Naval Criminal Investigative Service and
taught criminal interviewing to law enforcement officers in the United States and in several
foreign countries. He retired from NCIS in 2005 and remains active in law enforcement
training.
In his law enforcement preemployment testing, he used a personality assessment
test known as the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT). This is a projective test where the
law enforcement applicant is shown a series of sketches and is asked to tell a brief story
about each sketch. Experimentally Morgan used several of the TAT sketches in a criminal
case involving the sexual abuse of a 4-year-old female. In the interview and administration
of the TAT sketches to the father of the sexually abused 4-year-old, the father told the fol-
lowing story to one of the sketches: “Looks like a man cheating on his wife, wishing he’d
never done it. If he feels as guilty as he looks, he’ll never do it again.” Morgan then used
the father’s response to the TAT sketch to obtain a full confession. Morgan realized from
this criminal case that the administration of a few sketches in the interview by an investiga-
tor could be another very effective tool in the detection of deception and began to develop
the Morgan Interview Theme Technique (MITT). A further in-depth explanation of the TAT
initially used by Morgan follows.
FIGURE 5.1A
The Thematic Apperception Test was developed in the 1930s by the American psychol-
ogists Henry A. Murray and Christiana D. Morgan at Harvard University to explore the
underlying dynamics of personality, such as internal conflicts, dominant drives, interests,
and motives. The TAT is a projective personality test. A projective test in personality
assessments is a test designed to let a person respond to ambiguous stimuli (sketches),
presumably revealing hidden emotions and internal conflicts [1]. In the TAT, an individ-
ual views ambiguous scenes of people and is asked to describe various aspects of the
5. MORGAN INTERVIEW THEME TECHNIQUE (MITT)
39
scene; for example, the subject may be asked to describe what led up to a scene depicted
on the sketch, the emotions of the characters, and what might happen afterwards. The
examiner then evaluates these descriptions, attempting to discover the conflicts, motiva-
tions, and attitudes of the respondent. In the answers, the respondent “projects” their
unconscious attitudes and motivations into the sketch, which is why these are referred
to as “projective tests” [2].
Similarly, in the MITT, an individual is shown vague sketches and asked to make up
stories about them. The stories should include what happened prior to the scene in the
sketch, what is happening now in the sketch, and an ending. Research indicates that when
people make up stories from their imaginations, they must draw on their own life experi-
ences. Therefore, approximately 30% of what a person tells in the form of a story is actually
related to his or her own past history.
Initially Morgan utilized several sketches from the twenty sketches in the original TAT
sketches, and later he developed his own sketches that resemble various types of crime
scenes. He called his method the MITT (Morgan 1986/2007). He divided the sketches into
four basic types: Irrelevant, Relevant, Apprehension, and Guilt and Remorse sketches.
The relevant sketches are then subdivided into sketches depicting nonviolent crimes, vio-
lent crimes, and sexual crimes. The MITT has 42 total sketches, of which 5 are Irrelevant,
18 are Relevant Nonviolent, 8 are Relevant Violent, 6 are Relevant Sexual, 3 are Apprehen-
sion, and 2 are Guilt and Remorse sketches.
Five sketches are generally presented to the suspect during the MITT administration.
Morgan begins the MITT process by handing the suspect an irrelevant sketch
(Figure 5.1B) and requesting that he make up a story about the sketch to include, “What
led up to what you see in the sketch, what is happening now in the sketch, and what is
the outcome or end of the story?”
FIGURE 5.1B Irrelevant MITT Sketch IR 1.
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5. MORGAN INTERVIEW THEME TECHNIQUE (MITT)
He also developed gender-specific irrelevant sketches: a woman looking out a win-
dow, and a man in a suit (Figure 5.2A and B). This is the second sketch presented to
the suspect. He originally used the female sketch for women and the male sketch for
men, reporting that this gender-specific sketch helped suspects to project themselves
into the stories. Morgan currently uses the same gender sketch for all suspects in inves-
tigations where there are multiple suspects of both genders to be consistent in his
presentations.
FIGURE 5.2 (A,B) Gender specific irrelevant sketches.
Next, the suspect is given a relevant sketch that is as close as possible to the actual
crime (Figure 5.3). Truthful suspects will often observe the sketch for what it is, openly stating to the interviewer that it reminds them of the crime under investigation, and their
stories will frequently deal with the crime being investigated. Deceptive suspects, on the
other hand, will often completely avoid the obvious, separate themselves from their story,
and on occasion project blame to others. The investigator will also frequently see changes
in the suspect’s nonverbal behaviors when the suspect sees the relevant sketch for the
first time.
5. MORGAN INTERVIEW THEME TECHNIQUE (MITT)
41
FIGURE 5.3 A sketch Morgan uses very effectively in child sexual abuse cases. Relevant Sexual Sketch RS 4.
The relevant sketch will force the deceptive suspect to recall his involvement in the crime
being investigated, and it will always produce apprehension anxiety (fear of being caught) in
the deceptive suspect. Further, it often produces both unconscious verbal and nonverbal indi-
cators of deception. The relevant sketch is followed by an Apprehension sketch (Figure 5.4).
T
his sketch allows the deceptive suspect to project his anxiety and fears of being caught into
his story. In an industrial loss case (missing money), Morgan listened as one of four possible
suspects in the theft of the money told this story for MITT Apprehension Sketch A-1.
FIGURE 5.4 MITT Apprehension Sketch A 1.
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5. MORGAN INTERVIEW THEME TECHNIQUE (MITT)
Boy! I don’t know, he looks like he’s in trouble somehow. What led up to it? There are too many
things that could lead to trouble. He’s tired and he hasn’t had anything to eat. He doesn’t have any
money. So the hand on his back is going to help him and buy him some food and send him on his merry
way I guess, because in real life you wouldn’t give him a job. You might feed him but that’s about it.
That’s a hard one!
Morgan reports that this suspect confessed to stealing the money in the confrontation
stage of the interview.
The last sketch shown to the suspect is the Guilt and Remorse sketch. Often deceptive
suspects will project their own feelings of guilt or remorse for the crime they committed
into their story. Morgan developed these gender-specific sketches: in each sketch a male
or female is holding their head in their hands (Figure 5.5A and B).
FIGURE 5.5A MITT GR 1.
FIGURE 5.5B MITT GR 21.
The MITT administration is utilized in the Forensic Assessment Interview after the inter-
viewer has completed the background and personal data and issued a score for Posture/
Demeanor. The authors then introduce the process to the suspect in the following way:
Before we start the actual interview I’d like to show you a series of sketches. This is something I do in all my interviews and I’ve found that it helps stimulate the open and honest conversation you and I are about to engage in. I am going to give you the sketches one at a time and I’d like you to make up a story about each
5. MORGAN INTERVIEW THEME TECHNIQUE (MITT)
43
one. Tell me what happened before the scene you see on the sketch, what is happening in the scene, and make
up an ending to the story for me. For example, if I were to show you a sketch of an adult male driving a vehi cle you might tell me that the adult male “went to the store to buy cigarettes,” that’s what happened before the scene on the sketch. You then might tell me that “he is now driving back to his home,” that’s what is happen ing now in the sketch and finish the story by telling me that “he arrives home safely,” thus the end of the story.
Morgan used the TAT as part of his personality assessment of law enforcement appli-
cants. His development of the MITT in criminal interviews, however, was for a very differ-
ent purpose. He recognized that any investigator who used the MITT in an interview could
easily gain insight from the verbal and nonverbal responses of the suspect and add another
effective tool to his endeavor to determine truth or deception. Recognizing the variables
in human behavior, we offer the following generalizations regarding suspect responses to
the MITT.
1. Truthful suspects generally recognize the relevant sketch as a similar crime scene to the
one they are being interviewed about and openly state the obvious or create a story about
the crime. Deceptive suspects generally do not want to talk about the crime, and even
though they may ask the interviewee if it is a crime scene, when instructed that it is their
story, they will sometimes make up a story with no crime in it.
2. Truthful suspects often have upbeat stories. Deceptive suspects more frequently have
downbeat stories.
3. Truthful suspects often create logical stories. Deceptive suspects often create illogical
stories. They may even see relevancy to the irrelevant sketches.
4. Truthful suspects often have no trouble making up endings for their stories. Deceptive
suspects frequently have trouble making up endings because they do not know how
their current situation will end.
Morgan would utilize the five-sketch sequence shown in Figure 5.6 in an industrial loss
of money case where the administration of a polygraph is not an option.
FIGURE 5.6A Irrelevant sketch (child looking at a violin).
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5. MORGAN INTERVIEW THEME TECHNIQUE (MITT)
FIGURE 5.6B Irrelevant sketch (gender specific).
FIGURE 5.6C Relevant sketch.
5. MORGAN INTERVIEW THEME TECHNIQUE (MITT)
45
FIGURE 5.6D Apprehension sketch.
FIGURE 5.6E Guilt and Remorse sketch (gender
specific).
The entire procedure takes about 5 minutes. There are several advantages to utilizing the
MITT in your forensic interview:
1. In about 10% to 15% of the cases, you will be able to identify the person who committed
the crime, based on their stories to the sketches. For example, in the case you will review
later in this chapter, four suspects were interviewed using the MITT. When presented
with the sketch of the arson, only one suspect created a story that had nothing to do
with fire.
2. Based on the stories to the MITT sketches you may be able to develop information
that can be used during an interrogation. For example, in the arson investigation, the
suspect looks at Apprehension Sketch A-3 (female taking a polygraph examination)
and starts his story with, “It looks like a person wanting to . . . it’s a person
testifying in court.” It appears the suspect was about to say, “It looks like a
person wanting to confess.” During the confrontation stage of the interview this
suspect may be told that it is obvious he wants to tell the truth and put this act
behind him.
3. The process tends to break the ice for truthful suspects, reducing their level of anxiety,
while increasing the level of anxiety for the deceptive suspect.
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5. MORGAN INTERVIEW THEME TECHNIQUE (MITT)
4. It gets everyone talking, and therefore has a positive effect on the rest of the interview
process.
5. It will assist the investigator in narrowing the focus of the investigation in multiple
suspect cases.
In the FAINT interviews, the authors give a single overall score for the MITT of a þ1
(appears truthful), 0 (inconclusive), or –1 (appears deceptive), which will be added in with
the remaining scores of the Forensic Assessment Interview. When multiple suspects are being
interviewed, a score of 2 may be given when one or more suspects have already received a
1; however, as demonstrated later in the administration of the MITT, one particular suspect
is clearly more deceptive than the previous interviewees, resulting in the 2 score.
Here are the MITT portions of the FAINT interviews of four suspects in an arson case in
which the fire was set in the back room of a store where all of the interviewees were employed.
Each interview excerpt is followed by the FAINT scores the interviewee was given.
MITT SUSPECT 1
FIGURE 5.7 Irrelevant Sketch IR 1 (child looking at a violin sitting on a table).
S: Is the girl smiling in the picture?
I: It’s your picture; you can say anything you want.
S: Okay, it looks like the girl is home. It looks like her dad or mom may have bought her a violin and now
she’s staring at it, and then . . . it’s something she always wanted, and then . . . she learns how to play it and plays it beautifully. (smiles)
MITT SU
SPECT 1
47
FIGURE 5.8 Irrelevant Sketch IR 5 (gender specific: male in suit).
S: Okay, it looks like a man walked out of an elevator out into a hallway. Now he’s looking out in the
hallway to see if that’s the way he needs to walk and that’s the way he takes.
FIGURE 5.9 Relevant Sketch RNV 9 (sketch of office where the curtains are on fire).
S: Looks like a lady just walked into an office and discovered it was on fire. She’ll grab a fire extinguisher and call the fire department.
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5. MORGAN INTERVIEW THEME TECHNIQUE (MITT)
FIGURE 5.10 Guilt or Remorse Sketch GR 1 (gender specific).
S: Looks like a boy . . . had something on his mind, and he’s sitting at the kitchen table worried about
something and I guess his parents come in and talk to him about it.
FIGURE 5.11 Apprehension Sketch A 3 (person taking a polygraph test).
S: Okay, it looks like a lady is taking a lie detector test (looks up for approval/smiling). She’s now in the pro cess of the test. Now . . . afterwards it will tell if she’s lying or telling the truth.
MITT SUSPECT 2
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Score: þ1
Saw a fire in the relevant sketch, stories were upbeat, made sense, and stories had endings.
MITT SUSPECT 2
FIGURE 5.12 Irrelevant Sketch IR 1 (violin).
S: . . . I’m not good at this.
I: It’s okay, take your time.
S: . . . To me it just looks like she’s just thinking about music.
I: How’s it come out? What happens in the future?
S: To me she looks like somebody who really wants to play an instrument like that. And she’s just think
ing real hard about it. And that’s her, her future. She gets . . . if you really want something and think about it you’ll get it in the end.
FIGURE 5.13 Irrelevant Sketch IR 4 (gender specific: woman looking out a window female suspect).
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5. MORGAN INTERVIEW THEME TECHNIQUE (MITT)
S: . . . It looks like a woman. Her husband hasn’t come home yet. She’s wondering if he is okay. He comes