improving the accuracy of eyewitness testimony: cognitive interview

Question 1

Who argued that eyewitness testimony could be improved if the police used better techniques when interviewing witnesses

Answer 1

Fisher & Geiselman

Question 2

1: Report everything

Answer 2

• when witnesses are told to include every detail of the event, seemingly unimportant events may seem irrelevant but they can trigger other memories

Question 3

2: Reinstate the context

Answer 3

• witness is encouraged to imagine being at the event, and imagine the environment as well as their emotions

Question 4

3: Reverse the order

Answer 4

• events should be recalled from the end to the beginning this is done to prevent reporting their expectations of the event and dishonesty, harder to lie when recalling backwards

Question 5

4: Change perspective

Answer 5

• witnesses should recall from other ppls perspectives, done to prevent the effect of expectations and schema on recall

Question 6

Outline the enhanced cognitive interview developed by Fisher et al

Answer 6

• focuses on the social dynamics of the interaction, interviewer needs to know when to establish eye contact and relinquish it

Question 7

give a limitation of the CI

Answer 7

• time consuming, more time is needed to build rapport with the witness and allow them to relax
• it also requires special training

Question 8

what did Milne and Bull find

Answer 8

• each individual element was equally valuable however report everything and context reinstatement produced better recall than any of the other conditions
• a strength is that at least these two elements should be used to improve police interviewing