Cognitive Interview

Question 1

What did Fisher et al (1987) do

Answer 1

Study police interviews over a 4 month period, finding that:
- questions were brief, direct and closed.
- witnesses were often interrupted and not allowed to expand upon their answers

Question 2

What did fisher argue

Answer 2

That the interview method might be contributing to the failure of eyewitnesses to accurately recall the event they had witnessed

Question 3

Who developed the cognitive interview and why

Answer 3

Geiselman et al (1985)
-> to improve police interview techniques and obtain more accurate information from eyewitnesses

Question 4

What are the 4 main stages of the cognitive interview

Answer 4

1. Context reinstatement
2. Report everything
3. Recall from changed perspective
4. Recall in reverse order

Question 5

What is context reinstatement?

Answer 5

The witness tries to mentally recreate an image of the situation, e.g. environmental details (weather) & emotional state
(These can act as context-dependent cues to improve recall)

Question 6

What is ‘Report Everything’

Answer 6

The interviewer encourages the witness to recall all (random & not) details about the event
-> this can highlight overlooked details / trigger other memories

Question 7

What is recall from changed perspective

Answer 7

-> the witness tries to mentaly recreate the event from different points of view e.g what other people would’ve seen
This promotes a more holistic view of the event which may enhance recall & reduce the influence of scehmas

Question 8

What are schemas

Answer 8

Mental structures of preconceived ideas

Question 9

What is ‘recall in reverse order’

Answer 9

The witness is asked to recall the scene in a different chronological order, e.g. from end to beginning. This should verify the accuracy of the witnesses’ account and reduce the possibility that recall may be influenced by expectations

Question 10

What additional guidelines did Fisher add (1987) to enhance the cognitive review

Answer 10

• use open ended Q’s
• avoid distractions
• offer helpful comments to clarify statements
• encourage the witness to relax & speak slower (to reduce anxiety & enhance recall)

Question 11

AO3 Cognitive Interview P1 + test geiselman

Answer 11

Geiselman et al (1985) showed pps a video of a simulated crime & tested recall using the cognitive, standard interviews or hypnosis

-> cognitive = most info being recalled by eyewitnesses

Question 12

AO3 Cognitive Interview P2: + police officers

Answer 12

Fisher et al (1990) trained real police officers in Miami to use the enhanced cognitive interview with eyewitnesses
-> 46% increase in info witnesses gave + 90% that could be verified = accurate

Question 13

P3 Cognitive Interview Koehnken et al (-) 1999

Answer 13

-> found that witnesses recalled more incorrect info when interviewed with the cognitive interview compared with standard
(Probably as more detailed recall increases the chance of making a mistake)

Question 14

P4 AO3 cognitive interview

Answer 14

-> time consuming to implement
-> police officers often don’t have time, training & resources to use it

Question 15

P5 AO3 Cognitive Interview (-) Memon et al (1993)

Answer 15

-> they reported that police officers believed that the ‘recall from changed perspective’ stage misleads witnesses into speculating about the event they witnessed rather than reporting what they actually saw
- therfore, police = reluctant to use it

Question 16

What does every step of the cog interview techniques basically do

Answer 16

Disrupt the influence of schema & expectations on recall