The Cognitive Interview Flashcards
What is the cognitive interview and who developed it?
A method of interviewing witnesses for a crime to help them retrieve more accurate memories.
Geiselman et al. (1985)
4 components of the cognitive interview
- Recall everything
- Context reinstatement
- Reverse the order
- Change perspective
Describe recall everything
Witness asked to report all details of event, even those that may seem trivial or irrelevant
Describe context reinstatement
Involves the witness mentally re-creating the situation in their mind, such as details of environment (e.g. weather, time etc.) and emotions (e.g. what they were feeling)
Describe Reverse the order
Witnesses are asked to describe the event in a different chronological order
Describe change perspective
Witness is asked to mentally recreate the situation from another person’s point of view
How does context reinstatement improve accuracy of memory?
Makes memories accessible through contextual and emotional cues – helps to retrieve memories
How does Change Perspective improve accuracy of memory
Disrupts effects of schemas on recall as schemas generate expectations of what would have happened and therefore it could be the schema that is recalled rather than what actually happened
How does Reverse The Order improve accuracy of memory
Prevents people from reporting expectations of how event happened rather than the actual events and prevents dishonesty as it’s harder to produce untruthful account if have to reverse it
How does recall everything improve accuracy of memory
Memories are interconnected so a seemingly unimportant detail may cue an important memory to the surface.
1 Strength and Counter for the Cognitive Interview
Supporting Research evidence:
Kohnken et al (1999) meta-analysis. Found an average increase of 41% correct info generated by Cognitive Interview vs standard interview. Suggests it is helpful for recalling info that is stored in memory but not immediately accessible.
COUNTER - However, Kohnken also found a 61% increase in incorrect info. May sacrifice the quality of EWT for quantity
2 Limitations of the Cognitive Interview
Time consuming:
Requires a lot of time and training. Kebbell and Wagstaff (1999) reported significant problems with the Cognitive Interview in practice. Takes more time as must establish rapport and allow them to relax prior to questioning. Also requires special training which many forces are not able to provide adequate time for.
Comparisons are difficult:
Thames Valley police use a version that does not include “Change Perspective” component. Other forces use only “Context Reinstatement” and “Report everything”. Hard to evaluate its overall effectiveness as in the real world it is not just one procedure but a collection of related techniques.
