Cognitive Interview evaluation

Question 1

Summary

Answer 1

The CI was designed to increase the accuracy of EWT. It has 4 main parts

Context reinstatement, where the witness is asked to mentally recreate the context of the event, acts as a cue to put the witness in the same context as they were when they witnessed the event to help trigger memories. They are asked to describe the setting the event took place in, for example, the weather, time and what they were thinking

Change the order is where the witness is asked to recall the event in a different order where they may have to recall later events followed by earlier events. This helps to verify the accuracy of their testimony; if they are lying or getting things mistaken they are unlikely to be able to recall the same testimony when told in a different order

Report everything is where the witness is asked to report every detail of the event. They are asked to describe all detail from important through to trivial so to reduce the chance any information could be ignored.

Change the perspective is where the witness is asked to recall the event from the perspective of another witness or viewpoint. This gets the witness to think about the event as a whole rather than from just their view and so can increase recall

Compared to the standard interview, a witness is encouraged to relax and speak slowly . It uses open ended questions where a detailed answer can be given.

Question 2

Strength 1

Answer 2

It is more effective than the standard interview, as shown by research

From Geiselman (1985)

Who found that, in a study were 89 participants were shown videos of crimes, participants correctly recalled an average of 41 statements using the CI, compared to only 29 with the standard interview

This suggests that CI improves the accuracy of EWT

Question 3

Strength 2

Answer 3

There is support for the effectiveness of the enhanced CI

From Kohnken (1999)

Who found that, in a meta-analysis of 50 studies, the enhanced CI consistently provided more correct information than the standard interview

Research such as this highlights the practical benefits to the police of using the enhance CI

Question 4

Strength 3

Answer 4

All elements of it have been found to be valuable as shown by

Milne and Bull (2002

They also found that a combination of report everything and context reinstatement produced better recall than any of the other techniques used individually

This suggests that these 2 elements at least should be used to improve interviewing techniques of eyewitnesses even if the full CI isn’t used

Question 5

Limit 1

Answer 5

It is time consuming, as shown bu research

From Kebbell and Wagstaff (1996)

They found that, use of the CI requires special training and many police forces have not been able to provide more than a few hours and that police are reluctant to use it, as it takes longer than the SI

This means that it is unlikely that the proper version of the CI is being used

Question 6

Limit 2

Answer 6

Produces an increase in inaccurate information as shown by research

From Kohnken et al (1999)

They found an 81% increase in correct information but also a 61% increase in incorrect information when the enhanced CI was used compared to the SI

This suggests that the police should continue to use the CI, but should treat all information that they collect with caution.