Eyewitness Testimony: The Cognitive Interview

Question 1

Why was the cognitive interview created

Answer 1

This is because original police interviews he whiteness had to free recall and this could affect EWT, therefore psychologists created the cognitive interview to increase accuracy of EWT

Question 2

What were the 4 instructions of a cognitive interview

Answer 2

1. Recreate the context of the original incident- the whiteness needs to try and recall in image of the crime scene (weather, smells, ect), as these may trigger ‘unimportant’ memories
2. Repot every detail- they have to recall everything thy can remember even if they don’t think it’s relevant to the crime (such as their emotions)
3. Recall the event in different orders- such as doing it in reverse or from the most memorable event to the least. This is done to prevent expectations of what people are going to think happened and prevents dishonesty
4. Whiteness changing perspectives- asking them to imagine themselves as someone else at the crime scheme, and then describing the scheme from their perspective.

Question 3

Fisher enhanced cognitive interviews, how

Answer 3

Social dynamics (Interviewer needs to establish when to give eye contact and when to not)
Reduce eyewitness anxiety
Minimise distractions
Getting the whiteness to speak slowly

Question 4

Comparing the cognitive interview to a regular police interview (study)

Answer 4

89 students were asked to watch a video of violent crimes and then 48 hours later were questioned by American detectives or by the cognitive interview. They were tested on:
Number of correct items
Number of incorrect items
Number of confabulated items (things that weren’t actually there in the video

Question 5

Comparing the cognitive interview to a regular interview (results)

Answer 5

Cognitive interview:
Correct = 41.5
Incorrect = 7.3
Confabulated = 0.7

Standard interview:
Correct = 29.4
Incorrect = 6.1
Confabulated = 0.4

Question 6

Strength evaluation of the cognitive interview

Answer 6

P-supported evidence
E- psychologists carried out a meta analysis of 27 cognitive interviews, and found that in 27 cases the cognitive interview generated more accurate information, compared to any other interviewing technique
E- improving EWT in the real world

P- the cognitive interview is useful on children
E- a psychologist used the cognitive interview on 2 groups of children, one aged4-5 and the other aged 9-10. They watched a 5 minute video of a birthday party, and the next day they were interviewed (some with a standard interview and others with the cognitive) about what they saw in the video. Results showed that the cognitive interview produced more correct details being recalled
E- works on children as well as adults

Question 7

Limitation evaluation of the cognitive interview

Answer 7

P- time consuming
E-its going to be more time consuming to establish a report with the witness while getting them to stay relaxed, as well as this training will need to be done, which will take a long time and not all forces may have the resources for training.
E- make it hard for some forces to use

P- some as parts are more effective then others
E- although there is an increase of correct items, there is also an increase of incorrect items recalled, meaning police still have to treat EWT with caution
E- not all elements are as equally useful