Memory - Cognitive Interview

Question 1

Based on 2 principles

Answer 1

• organisation
• cue dependency

Question 2

Organisation

Answer 2

The way memory is organised means memories can be acccessed in a number of ways. A series of actions can help trying to reach it.

Question 3

Cue dependency

Answer 3

Memories are cue- dependent, they use situational and emotional cues present during the original encoding

Question 4

4 techniques of cognitive interview

Answer 4

• reinstate the context
• change of narrative order
• change of perspective
• report everything

Question 5

Reinstate the context

Answer 5

Help the interviewees to go back in their mind to the context in which they encoded the memory.
Eg how they were feeling emotionally at the time, or what they were doing just before

Question 6

Change of narrative order

Answer 6

Changing the order in which events are recalled is very beneficial as it ensures that details are not skipped, and gaps are fillef

Question 7

Change perspective

Answer 7

You are asked to describe the incident from the perspective of their ppl who were present at the time

Question 8

Report everything

Answer 8

• you are to report back any info about the event that you can’t remember, even if it does not seem to have a bearing on the crime

Question 9

Which 2 techniques try to work by the principles of cue- dependent forgetting

Answer 9

• report everything
• reinstate the context
  This is because tiny details could trigger (cue) more info .

Question 10

Which two techniques help reduce the impact of schema

Answer 10

• recalling in a different order
• change of perspective

Because the witness is less likely to depend on their expectations and remember things how they actually were

Question 11

The enhanced cognitive interview

Answer 11

Presented by Fisher and Geiselman (1987)
- the ecl BUILDS a trusting relationship between interviewer and witness, improving the communication between the two

Question 12

What does the eci involve

Answer 12

• reducecing anxiety
• minimising distractions
• asking. Open ended questions
  -getting the witness to speak slowly
• the interviewer needs to know when to establish vs relinquish eye contact

Question 13

Research into the eci

Answer 13

Coker et al (2013) eci produced more accurate detail than the ci
- especially for personal details of people, greatest effect was if the eci was one week after the event
- therefore TIMING IS VITAL to the effectiveness of the eci

Question 14

A03- the ci is time consuming

Answer 14

• takes much more time than a standard police interview.
• therefore they may be more reluctant to use it
• more time is needed to establish rapport and allow them to relax
• also requires special training

= therefore it is unlikely that the ‘proper’ ci is actually used.

Question 15

A03- some elements may be more valuable than others

Answer 15

Milne and bell (2002( found that each individual technique still produced more info than a standard police interview.
- however also found than the combo of report everything + context reinstatement. Produced better recall

= a strength because it suggest that at least 2 of the elements should be used to improve interviewing of eyewitnesses.
- increases the credibility of the ci amongst those who use it

Question 16

A03- support for the effectiveness of the eci

Answer 16

Meta analysis by kohnken et al (1999) showed that the eci consistently provided more correct info than the standard interview.

= a strength because it indicates that there are real life practical benefits to police using the eci
- gives a greater chance to catching the criminal = beneficial to society as a whole

Question 17

A03- The ci creates an increase in inaccurate info

Answer 17

• the techniques of the ci aim to increase the amount of correct info remebered but the recall of INCOORECT INFO may also be increased.
• kohnken (1999) found that whilst there was an increase of 81% correct info, there was also a 61% increase of false positives (incorrect info) when the eci was compared to a standard interview.