Improving the accuracy of eyewitness testimony: The cognitive interview

Question 1

Cognitive interview

Answer 1

A police technique for interviewing witnesses to a crime.

Question 2

What are the four components of the cognitive interview?

Answer 2

• Mental reinstatement of the original context
• Report everything
• Change order
• Change perspective

Question 3

What is contextual reinstatement?

Answer 3

The witness is asked to mentally recreate both the physical and psychological environment of the crime. The point of the activity is to make the memory of the incident more accessible, by applying contextual and emotional cues.

Question 4

What is report everything?

Answer 4

The witness is encouraged to report every single detail of the incident. This is because memories are connected with one another, as the recollection of one memory could act as a cue for other memories.

Question 5

What is recall in reverse order?

Answer 5

The interviewer may change the order of which events occurred. The aim of this is to prevent schemas.

Question 6

What is recall from changed perspective?

Answer 6

The witness is asked to recall the incident from multiple perspectives. This prevents the effects of schemas.

Question 7

What is a schema?

Answer 7

general expectations (e.g. everyone thinks of the same stereo typical look of a robber)

Question 8

What are the additional techniques of the cognitive interview?

Answer 8

Minimising distractions Asking the witness to speak slowly Adapting the language used to suit the individual witnesses Reducing anxiety Avoiding judgmental or personal comments

Question 9

What did Geiselman study?

Answer 9

That the cognitive interview is effective than a standard interview

Question 10

What was the method of Geiselman’s experiment?

Answer 10

Geiselman showed police training videos of violent crimes to a group of 89 undergraduate students. 48 hours later the students were interviewed individually by an American law enforcement officer either in the style of a cognitive interview or a standard interview.

Question 11

What were the results of Geiselman’s study?

Answer 11

It was found that the recall was by far more accurate in the cognitive interview than in the standard interview. This means that the cognitive interview is the more efficient method to use.

Question 12

What did Kohnken et al investigate?

Answer 12

The effectiveness of the cognitive interview

Question 13

What did Kohnken et al find?

Answer 13

Recall was 81% more accurate in the CI than in the standard interview. However, he also found that there was a 61% increase in incorrect information given. This means that the information received from a cognitive interview may not always be accurate.

Question 14

What is a real work benefit for the use of the cognitive interview?

Answer 14

It can prevent miscarriages of justice

Question 15

How is quantity vs quality a weakness to the cognitive interview?

Answer 15

The use of the CI is designed to improve the quantity of recall and not how accurate that recall is.

Question 16

How is problems in practise a weakness to the cognitive interview?

Answer 16

When completing the CI in real-life situations there is often not enough time. As a result an EW’s report is limited to the most basic essential information. Conducting a CI requires special training, and is very time consuming so it is not often used as limited officers can use it.

Question 17

How is difficulty establishing effectiveness a weakness to the cognitive interview?

Answer 17

The CI is not one procedure but a collection of different techniques. As a result it is difficult to record the accuracy of CI’s in real world situations. In addition different departments do different sets of techniques so it is hard to establich how effective CI is as a whole.

Question 18

How are individual differences a weakness to the cognitive interview?

Answer 18

A CI’s effectiveness varies with individual differences; so it is not consistent. For example you age could effect your recall of information.