Cognitive interview Flashcards
Name the 4 techniques used in the CI
(Fisher)
-report everything even if seemingly irrelevant
-mental reinstatement of the og context
-changing the order
-recall the incident from another person’s perspective
What does reporting everything avoid?
Avoids leading questions so that witnesses arent led to answer in a particular way leading to inaccurate memories
What does report everything trigger?
The small unimportant details may help to trigger more important memories which may have significance to the case
What are 2 practical problem with report everything?
Time consuming as witnesses reporting every detail even if irrelevant
-Witnesses get caught up with irrelevant details so may forget more important ones
How does mental reinstatement of original context (retrieval cues) help?
It makes the witness think carefully about the context of the situation and may trigger important memories.
It also recreates the internal state of the witness at the time which may act as a trigger for recall
What are the ethical issues of mental reinstatement?
Protection from harm- this may trigger traumatic feelings experiences at the time
What may happen if the wittness cannot remember their mental reinstatement?
They may be unable to recall much and may recall aspects of the context inaccurately due to expectations
What does changing the order avoid?
The witness using their schema to fill in gaps if they’ve not seen the full event.
How is changing the order a useful technique?
It may make it easier for the witness to begin recalling the event, as most won’t have seen the beginning of an incident yet they think that have to start at the beginning so they reconstruct bits
Why might changing the order lead to less accurate recall?
It may confuse some witnesses leading to a less accurate recall
What might changing the perspective trigger?
It makes the witness work harder to remember how the event may have looked from another perspective which may trigger them to remember other small details that may otherwise be missed
Why might changing the perspective lead to less accurate recall?
It may encourage the witness to make things up as they do not know what the other person saw. It also encourages an imaginative approach as the witness may feel they need to say something to please the interviewer.
Which 2 researchers support the cognitive interview?
Kohnken
Milne and Bull
Explain how research by Kohnken supports the effectiveness of the CI
-conducted a meta-analysis of 50 studies
-found a 34% increase in amount of correct info recalled using the CI compared to standard interview
Explain how research by Milne and Bull supports the effectiveness of the CI
-compared the 4 techniques
-found each tech used alone produced more info than standard interview
-combination of report everything and mental reinstatement produced best recall
What are 2 limitations of the CI
-Research shows CI decreases the amount of accurate info
-CI takes a long time
Which limitation could be used as a counter to Milne and Bull’s study?
Research shows CI decreases the amount of accurate info
How does research show that the CI decreases the amount of accurate info?
-Shows that the CI increases the amount of accurate info recalled as if witnesses change the order they may end up confused and muddled up
-if they change their perspective it encourages an imaginative approach as the witness may feel they need to say something to please the interviewer.
How do CIs take a long time?
They normally take longer than the time available to do them because of the small details to be reported.
Why did fisher create the enhanced cognitive interview?
To focus on the social dynamics of the interaction
(training police to improve social interactions with witnesses to make them feel relaxed and not anxious eg when to make eye contact)
why may the enhanced cognitive interview further improve accuracy?
Because it reduces anxiety so it improves accuracy
What is the problem with the enhanced cognitive interview?
Time consuming to train and some police officers don’t have the personal skills to be able to do it properly
