Memory - cognitive interview Flashcards
What is the cognitive interview?
A technique designed to help the eyewitness to recreate the original context of the event in order to increase the accessibility of stored information and improve EWT therefore
Who came up with the techniques?
Fisher and Geiselman (1992)
What are the 4 techniques?
- Report everything
- Reinstate the context
- Reverse the order
- Change perspective
What does report everything involve?
Encouraged to report every single thing they remember, even if they think it’s insignificant
Why does report everything work?
The details act as cues which might trigger important memories so can help overcome retrieval failure and state/context dependent forgetting
What does reinstate the context involve?
Witnesses return to the scene in their minds and imagine the environment
Why does reinstate the context work?
It can help overcome context and state dependent forgetting as cues present at time of encoding are present at time of retrieval too
What does reverse the order involve?
Events recalled in a different order to that of chronological (end to start)
Why does reverse the order work?
Schemas (cognitive frameworks that help organise and interpret info) are prevented from filling in gaps in the memory
What does change perspective involve?
Witnesses should recall the incident from other peoples’ perspectives who were present at the time of the incident
Why does change the perspective work?
Disrupts the effect of expectations and schemas on recall to help the account become more objective
What is meant by the enhanced cognitive interview?
Fisher at al (1987) developed additional elements to add the the original CI
Interviewers ensuring social dynamics are considered (good eye contact, speaking slowly, no distractions)
These elements are conducive to making people give information
What is a strength of the CI? - Empirical evidence to support its effectiveness in improving EWT
===> Kohnken et al (1999) conducted comprehensive meta-analysis pooling data from 55 studies. Consistently demonstrated cognitive interview yielded a higher rate of accurate information compared to standard interview. Average 34% increase in correct info. Increases validity of CI and highlights practical benefits in real-life setting
What is a limitation of the CI? - Contradictory research findings
===> Despite Kohnken et al’s (1999) reported a maximum 81% increase in accurate info when the CI was used, they also found an increase of 61% in amount of incorrect info and false negatives. Indicates the CI elicits more info but doesn’t guarantee accuracy of that info. False positives may prove tragic in apprehending criminals so there’s a need for further research to understand conditions in which the CI would be most effective
What is a limitation of the CI? - Some aspects are more valuable than others
===> Milne and Bull (2002) whilst each individual element is better than a standard interviews, using a combination of ‘report everything’ and ‘reinstate the context’ produced better recall than any others. Results can improve the CI within the police force who have limited time and resources but questions the importance of other aspects of the CI
