Ofshet and Christman (1986) present a "two-process theory," which is based on an information-processing model of social behavior. Social behavior is construed as being either "strategic" or "reactive." Strategic behavior is mediated by conscious decisionmaking and introspection. It is goal-oriented and controlled by the perception of future consequences. Reactive behavior, on the other hand, is construed as an immediate response to environmental cues; it is not directed toward a future goal and is accordingly under the control of "contemporary stimuli." The four cases examined in this study show that subjects responded to the pressure of negative feedback from the questioner by becoming less suggestible, which is the opposite outcome expected by the interrogator. This involves a discontinuation of reactive behavior and the activation of strategic coping. On occasions, the pressure of the questioning may even result in the subject's retracting a previously made confession. A number of factors may facilitate the move from reactive behavior to strategic coping during interrogation. One such factor may be that the subject's critical faculty is inactive, but becomes activated once the person has been confronted with his reactive behavior. 19 references