Improving the accuracy of EWT Flashcards
What is the cognitive interview?
A method of interviewing eyewitnesses to help them retrieve more accurate memories.
What is the cognitive interview based on?
Psychological insights into how memory works
What four main techniques does the cognitive interview use?
Report everything
Reinstate the context
Reverse the order
Change perspective
Describe what happens in “Report Everything”
Witnesses are encouraged to recall every detail of the event, even if it seems trivial as this may trigger other memories.
Wants to use open questions
Give an example of a question used in “Report Everything”
Please tell me as much as you can about what you saw. Please do not leave anything out, even if you think they are just unimportant details.
Describe what happens in “Reinstate the context”
The witness imagines they are back at the original crime scene.
They are asked to give details about the environment (e.g. the weather) and their emotions (e.g. what they are feeling).
This is closely linked to context dependent forgetting and cues.
Give an example of a question used in “Reinstate the context”
I would like you to go back in your mind’s eye to what happened that day. Picture the scene. What is the weather like? What time of day is it? How do you feel emotionally?
Describe what happens in “Reverse the order”
Events are recalled in a different order (e.g. from the end to the beginning or from the middle to the beginning)
This will prevent people reporting their expectations of how the event must have happened rather than the actual events.
It also prevents dishonesty as it is difficult to be dishonest if you have to reverse it
Give an example of a question used in “Reverse the order”
Now I want you to think about the very last thing you can remember about the event. I want you to remember it backwards. What happened before that? Keep going all of the way back to the first thing you ca remember
Describe what happens in “Change perspective”
Witnesses need to recall the event from another person’s POV e.g. another witness or the perpetrator
This is done to disrupt the effect of expectation and schemas on recall
e.g. schemas for particular settings –> shops may create expectations of what would have happened which might actually be false
Give an example of a question used in “Change Perspective”
Picture the scene in your mind’s eye. Can you see anyone else there? I want you to put yourself in their shoes. Imagine what the situation looked like from their point of view. What can you see now?
Who talked about enhanced CI?
Fisher et al
What did Fisher develop elements of the CI to include?
- a focus on social dynamics (such as knowing when to establish eye contact)
- reducing stress of the eyewitness
- and minimising distractions
