Improving accuracy of eye witness testimony

Question 1

What are the 4 key principles of the Cognitive interview?

Answer 1

• Context reinstatement
• Report everything
• Recall from changed perspective
• Recall in reverse order

Question 2

What is Context reinstatement?

Answer 2

When a person mentally recalls the context of an event eg: weather / feelings / company

this links context and state dependent remembering

Question 3

What is report everything?

Answer 3

Where the person reports everything they can remember in detail even if it may seem trivial

Question 4

What is recall from a changed perspective?

Answer 4

When a person considers the vent from someone else’s point of view eg what the offender saw

Question 5

What is recall in reverse order?

Answer 5

Where the person recalls the event in reverse order

Question 6

What is the key study for the cognitive interview?

Answer 6

Geiselman’s Cognitive interview:
Ps watched a simulated crime and two days later were interviewed using either the standard police interview or the cognitive interview

Question 7

What were the findings of Geiselman’s study

Answer 7

The interview was effective in improving the average number of correct items recalled but the number of incorrect items recalled was the same

Question 8

Evaluation of Geiselman’s Cognitive interview study?

Answer 8

• Real-world application: it is now used by police and helps to improve eye witness testimony to more accurately attest to someone’s guilt or innocence