Cognitive Interview - MEMORY Flashcards
what is the cognitive interview
a method of interviewing eyewitnesses to help retrieve more accurate memories (using 4 techniques based on findings from psychological research)
what are the four interview techniques used in cognitive interviews
mental reinstatement, report everything, change the order, change the perspective
what is ‘mental reinstatement’
asking the witness to recall the context and state of crime
imagining/picturing the crime and what you felt
what is ‘report everything’
using open questions and no leading or closed questions
e.g. ‘what do you remember of the people there’ as opposed to ‘did you see a man with black hair’
what happens in ‘change the order’
the recall of the event starting at multiple different points each time
what happens in ‘change the perspective’
recalling the crime from different places (person) or times (as well as your own)
(e.g. what the bartender may have seen)
why is the cognitive approach not used a lot
not all police officers are trained to do this, and departments may not have the time, cost or expertise to do so.
why is the cognitive interview technique better than standard police interviews
standard ones tend to have closed questions and ‘put words in your mouth’ (e.g. what was HE wearing… or what happened after the MURDER)
whereas cognitive interviews have completely open questions that don’t focus on specific aspects
