EWT: Cognitive Interviews Flashcards
What is a Schema
A mental framework of beliefs and expectations that influence cognitive processing.
Developed from experience
What is a cognitive interview
method of interviewing witnesses to help them retrieve more accurate memories.
Work because they reduce inaccuracies caused by leading questions and anxiety but also because they increase retrieval cues
What are the techniques used in cognitive interviews
Context reinstatment
Recall everything
Recall in reverse order
Recall from a changed perspective
What is context reinstatement
require witnesses to mentally recreate an image of the situation.
includes details of the environment as well as their emotional state at the time of the incident
Why does context reinstatement work?
provide possible retrieval cues for the memory of the crime
Some witness actually returns to the scene of the crime rather than just imagining it.
This works as people often cannot access memories they need appropriate contextual and emotional cues
What is reporting everything
require the witness to report all details about the event, even if they seem to be unimportant
Why does reporting everything work
Witnesses might not realise that some details are important and details might help them recall significant information because small details may act as retrieval cues.
What is recalling everything in reverse order
require the witness to recall the scene in a different chronological order
e.g. from the end to the beginning
What is recalling everything from a changed perspective
require the witness to mentally recreate the situation from different points of view
e.g. describing what another witness would have seen.
Why does recalling everything in reverse order work
this disrupts the effect of expectations and schema on recall.
The schema you have for a particular setting generates expectations of what would have happened and it is the schema that is recalled rather than what actually happened
What else do interviewers do in a cognitive interview
avoid direct questions
avoid interruptions
Why do interviewers avoid direct questions
this reduces the chances of the witness being asked potentially leading questions that reduce the accuracy of EWT
Why do interviewers avoid interruptions
interruptions may increase the anxiety of a witness that also reduces the accuracy of EWT.
What are strengths of the cognitive interview
- supported by research (Geiselman et al)
- useful when interviewing older witnesses
What are limitations of the cognitive interview
- difficult to see if its effective in real life
- creates more inaccurate info
Evaluate research support as a strength of cognitive interviews
P: experimental evidence for its effectiveness.
E: Geiselman et al. (1985) found that officers using the technique got on average 12 more items of correct information than those using standard police interviews
Also, Fisher et al. (1990) conducted a field test with detectives and found that detectives trained in cognitive interviewing collected 63% more information than untrained officers using the standard interview.
E: Strength of the cognitive interview because it provides causal evidence that this technique does improve the accuracy of EWT.
Further E: Furthermore, because this research is conducted using real officers interviewing real eyewitnesses it has high ecological validity
Evaluate how CI is useful interviewing olders as a strength of cognitive interviews
P: Can be particularly useful when interviewing older witnesses.
E: Negative stereotypes about older adults ‘declining’ memory can make such witnesses overly cautious about reporting information. However, the CI may overcome such difficulties, because it stresses the importance of reporting any detail regardless of its perceived insignificance.
Mellow and Fisher (1996) compared older (mean age 72) and younger (mean age 220 adults’ memory of a filmed stimulated crime using either a CI or a standard interview (SI). The CI produced more information than the SI, the strength of the CI over the SI was greater for the older than for the younger participants.
E: Strength of the cognitive interview because the evidence support its effectiveness.
Evaluate how its difficult to see if CI is effective in real life as a limitation cognitive interviews
P: not all police forces use the same procedure or components in their cognitive interviews.
E: For example, Thames Valley Police do not use the ‘changed perspectives component’ in their cognitive interviews, while others tend to use only ‘reinstate context’ and ‘report everything’.
E: This is a limitation because this makes real-life research into the effectiveness of the cognitive interview difficult as there is not one procedure in operation. It may also mean some CIs are more effective than others.
Evaluate creates more inaccurate info as a limitation of cognitive interviews
P: increases the amount of inaccurate information recalled.
E: Kohnken et al (1999) found an 81% increase of correct information but also a 61% increase of incorrect information when cognitive interview was used compared to the standard police interview.
E: Limitation because while the enhanced cognitive interview may produce a vast amount of information, it may not always be practical or helpful in terms of allowing the police to efficiently investigate incidents
