Discuss the cognitive interview as a way of improving the actually of eye witness testimony 16 marks Flashcards
AO1 (3 marks) - Description of the Cognitive Interview (CI)
Developed by Fisher & Geiselman (1985) – CI was designed to enhance eyewitness memory recall by using psychological principles of memory retrieval.
CI is based on Tulving’s Encoding Specificity Principle – Memory recall improves if cues at retrieval match those present at encoding, explaining why CI is effective.
CI differs from standard police interviews – Standard interviews may use leading questions, which distort memory, whereas CI avoids this and encourages open-ended recall.
AO1 (3 marks) - Description of the Cognitive Interview (CI)
Four main techniques of the CI:
Report everything – Witnesses are encouraged to recall all details, even those that seem insignificant, to increase retrieval cues.
Reinstate the context – Witnesses mentally reconstruct the environment and their emotions from the event to trigger memory recall (based on context-dependent forgetting).
Reverse the order – Events are recalled in a different sequence (e.g., backwards) to disrupt schemas and prevent assumptions from filling memory gaps.
Change perspective – Witnesses describe the event from another person’s viewpoint, reducing biases and pre-existing schemas.
AO3 (3 marks) - Evaluation of the Cognitive Interview–Positives
✅ Effective in Improving Recall – Kohnken et al. (1999) found CI led to 34% more correct information than standard police interviews.
✅ Real-Life Applications – Many police forces have adopted CI, showing its practical benefits in law enforcement.
✅ Effective in Improving Recall (Kohnken et al., 1999, 34% more correct info) – Validity: Increases accuracy, making EWT more valid for court cases.
✅ Real-Life Applications (Used by Police) – Ecological Validity: High as it is used in real-world investigations, increasing external validity.
AO3 (3 marks) - Evaluation of the Cognitive Interview– Negatives
❌ Time-Consuming – CI takes longer to conduct and requires extensive training, making it less practical in fast-paced investigations.
❌ Increase in Incorrect Information – Kohnken et al. also found a 61% increase in incorrect details, suggesting a trade-off between quantity and accuracy.
❌ Time-Consuming – Generalizability: Many police forces do not use the full CI due to time constraints, making it less applicable in some settings.
❌ Increase in Incorrect Information (Kohnken et al.) – Reliability: CI produces more false positives, making it less reliable as a completely accurate technique.
AO3 (3 marks) - Evaluation of the Cognitive Interview – Positives
✅ Less Leading Questions – CI reduces the likelihood of leading questions affecting witness memory, increasing accuracy.
✅ Less Leading Questions – Validity: CI improves recall accuracy, reducing the impact of misleading information, making findings more valid.
