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Psychology 1: Memory > Cognitive Interview > Flashcards

Cognitive Interview Flashcards

1
Q

What is the cognitive interview?

A

A technique developed by Fisher and Geiselman (1992) and is based on Tulving’s (1994) theory.

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2
Q

What is Tulving’s (1994) theory?

A

There are several retrieval paths to each memory, meaning memory not available through one pathway may be available through another.

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3
Q

What are the stages of the cognitive interview?

A
  • Change the narrative order.
  • Change of perspective.
  • Mental reinstatement of the context.
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4
Q

What is involved in changing the narrative order?

A

An individual will recall the event in different chronological orders, such as from the end to the beginning.

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5
Q

What is involved in changing the perspective?

A

An individual will recall the event from the perspective of another individual who was present.

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6
Q

What is involved in the mental reinstatement of the context?

A

An individual will recall not only the environment context but also the emotional aspect.

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7
Q

What are examples of mental reinstatement of the context?

A
  • The weather on the day.
  • How the individual was feeling.
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8
Q

What are the implications of the cognitive interview?

A
  • Interviewees are encouraged to recall all information, disregarding if they deem it irrelevant or trivial.
  • The change of narrative order and perspective reduce witnesses’ use of prior knowledge expectations and prevent the triggering of schema that could encourage the use of stereotyping.
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9
Q

What were the research findings on the cognitive interview?

A
  • Geiselman et al. (1985) found it produced more accurate and detailed memories than standard police interviews.
  • Geiselman and Fisher (1997) found increased effectiveness when it was used within a short time following the event.
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10
Q

What was carried out in Kohnken et al. (1999)?

A

A meta-analysis of 55 studies comparing the cognitive interview to the standard policing interviews.

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11
Q

What was found in Kohnken et al. (1999)?

A
  • The cognitive interview resulted in both more accurate detail and more inaccurate detail.
  • There was differences in the age of the witnesses.
  • When the witness was personally involved recall was enhanced.
  • The amount of correct details declined the longer after the event the interview was concluded.
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12
Q

What are the key features of the enhanced cognitive interview?

A
  • No distractions, unnecessary interruptions or questions.
  • The flow of information is controlled by the witness.
  • Open-ended questions are used.
  • Witnesses speak slowly.
  • Witnesses are reminded not to guess and reply with “don’t know” instead.
  • An interviewer is present to help reduce any anxiety a witness may have.
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13
Q

What are the stages of the enhanced cognitive interview?

A
  • The interviewer encourages the witness to control the flow of information by asking open-ended questions on a neutral topic.
  • There’s a context reinstatement that’s followed by witnesses’ free recall of events.
  • The interviewer stresses the importance of reporting everything and not guessing unknown details.
  • The interviewer asks about the information using focused memory techniques.
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14
Q

What modifications did Holliday (2003) make to the enhanced cognitive interview?

A
  • Emphasised the building of trust between the interviewer and witness.
  • Removed the changing of perspective stage due to concerns that children would find this too difficult.
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15
Q

What were the research findings on the enhanced cognitive interview?

A
  • Fisher et al. (1999) found that the enhanced cognitive interview produced superior results compared to the standard police interview.
  • Coker (2013) found that the enhanced cognitive interview produced more accurate details than the standard cognitive interview.
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16
Q

What is a strength of the cognitive interview?

A
  • It’s highly successful and has been used beyond the realm of police interviews.
17
Q

What are the limitations of the cognitive interview?

A
  • Comparison between the cognitive interview and the standard police interview is difficult because there is no agreed upon format for a police interview.
  • It’s very time consuming and no always appropriate or possible.
  • Not generally effective when witnesses are asked to identify a suspect from a photograph.
18
Q

What was the method in Geiselman and Fisher’s (1985) laboratory test?

A
  • 240 participants watched a video of a store robbery.
  • 120 participants were interviewed using the standard police interview.
  • 120 participants were interviewed using the cognitive interview.
19
Q

What were the results in Geiselman and Fisher’s (1985) laboratory test?

A
  • Participants who were interviewed using the cognitive interview recalled 35% more facts.
20
Q

What was concluded in Geiselman and Fisher’s (1985) laboratory test?

A
  • The cognitive interview is a more effective method of interviewing witnesses than the standard police interview.
21
Q

What are the strengths of Geiselman and Fisher’s (1985) laboratory test?

A
  • Provided evidence to support the cognitive interview.
  • Highly controlled and thus easy to replicate.
22
Q

What is a limitation of Geiselman and Fisher’s (1985) laboratory test?

A
  • It lacks ecological validity due to the participants not being real crime witnesses.
23
Q

What was the method in Geiselman and Fisher’s (1985) field test?

A
  • Used 16 detective interviews with real witnesses from a robbery division.
  • 7 detectives were trained in the cognitive interview technique.
  • The interviews were recorded and analysed by a team at USC who were blind to the conditions.
  • The information gathered by the two groups was collated.
24
Q

What were the results in Geiselman and Fisher’s (1985) field test?

A
  • 63% more information was obtained by the detectives trained in the cognitive interview technique.
25
Q

What was concluded in Geiselman and Fisher’s (1985) field test?

A
  • The cognitive interview works as more information is gathered.
26
Q

What are the strengths of Geiselman and Fisher’s (1985) field test?

A
  • It has high ecological validity.
  • It has a practical application.
27
Q

What are the limitations of Geiselman and Fisher’s (1985) field test?

A
  • It’s unclear if the 63% more information was useful information.
  • There were individual differences in skill within the detectives carrying out the cognitive interview.

Psychology 1: Memory (12 decks)

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