The Cognitive Interview Flashcards
How can eyewitness testimony be improved
Using the cognitive interview
Who developed the cognitive interview
Geiselman et al
What are the four components of the cognitive interview
- Mental reinstatement of original context
2.Report everything
3.Change order of events or go alternate routes through timeline
4.Change perspective or recall event from multiple perspectives
What does mental reinstatement of original context do in the cognitive interview
The interviewer encourages the interviewee to mentally recreate the physical and psychological environment of the incident. The aim is to make more memories accesible by providing contextual and emotional cues to retrieve memories
What does report everything do in the cognitive interview
The interviewer encourages the interviewee to report every single detail of the event without leaving anything out, even if it’s irrelevant. This is done because memories are interconnected so one recollection can cue other memories. In addition small pieces can be pieced together to form a clearer picture of the event
What does changing the order of events do in the cognitive interview
As recollections are often influenced by schemas, having to recall an event differently prevents these pre-existing schemas from influencing what you are gonna recall
What does changing perspectives or recalling the event from multiple persepectives do in the cognitive interview
It disrupts schemas that effect recall, and was added by Anderson and Pichert
Who added the change perspective or recall from multiple perspectives element to the cognitive interview
Anderson and Pichert
What is research support for the effectiveness of the cognitive interview
Kohnken et al did a meta analysis of 53 studies and found a 34% increase in the amount of correct information gathered using the cognitive interview versus the standard interview techniques.However much of this research is criticised for a lack of mundane realism, as it was done in a lab so didn’t match real life conditions
How did Milne and Bull support the full force of the cognitive interview (mix with other research support of cognitive interview)
Milne and Bull supported the combined use of techniques in the interview, finding recall was significantly higher when all elements of the interview were used. However much of this research is criticised for a lack of mundane realism, as it was done in a lab so didn’t match real life conditions
Who found that recall was higher if all parts of the cognitive interview were used rather than just one part
Milne and Bull
Who found evidence of the effectiveness of the cognitive interview
Kohnken et al
What issues does the cognitive interview have in practise
It requires a lot of time and training to implement. Kebbell and Wagstaff interviewed police officers, and found that the interview takes more time than is often available and they often prefer deliberate strategies aimed to limit an eyewitness report to the minimum amount of information they felt was necessary. Many forces simply cannot provide more than a few hours to an interview
Who found that police officers don’t like the cognitive interview
Kebbell and Wagstaff
