Cognitive Interview [IMPROVING EWT] Flashcards
Why was the cognitive interview brought into practice?
To improve eye-witness testimonies & improve the legal system
What are the 4 stages of the cognitive interview?
REPORT EVERYTHING
CONTEXT REINSTATEMENT
REVERSE THE ORDER
CHANGE THE PERSPECTIVE
What significance does ‘report everything’ have in the cognitive interview?
It allows the witness to recall everything they can with no constraints
= sometimes trivial details might trigger other memories
What significance does ‘context reinstatement’ have in the cognitive interview?
It allows witnesses to mentally return to the crime scene and imagine the environment
= reduces effect of context-dependent forgetting
What significance does ‘reverse the order’ have in the cognitive interview?
Allows the witness to recall the events in a different chronological order
= prevents reporting of expectations and stops dishonesty
What significance does ‘change the perspective’ have in the cognitive interview?
Allows the witness to recall the event from another person’s perspective
= disrupts effect of schema
What is the enhanced cognitive interview?
An improved version of the cognitive interview which also focuses on the social aspect - the interviewer must aim to reduce anxiety, work on eye contact, and focus on asking open-ended questions
What are 2 problems with the cognitive interview?
- It’s time consuming, therefore most police stations may not have time to carry them out, and not as much info is collected
- It requires special training, so it’s costly and unlikely that it’s being carried out properly each time
What evidence is there to support the cognitive interview?
KOHNKEN carried out a meta-analysis with 50+ studies, and found that the enhanced cognitive interview consistently produced better results than the standard police interview
= not a waste of time/money
What did Milne & Bull find about the cognitive interview?
Each individual element is equally valuable BUT a combination of ‘report everything’ and ‘context reinstatement’ is most effective
How does Milne & Bull’s findings affect the use of cognitive interview?
If the full CI cannot be used, ‘report everything’ and ‘context reinstatement’ can be used and produce an improved EWT
