Cognitive interview

• What is the standard police interview typically characterized by?


  Short pre-determined questions in a police station
• What is context-dependent forgetting?


  Forgetting that occurs when the context at recall differs from the context at encoding
• How can the nerves of a police setting affect memory?


  They can impair memory recall
• What role do retrieval cues play in memory recall?


  They help trigger memories that may otherwise be forgotten
• What is a leading question?

  A question that suggests a particular answer
• Who developed the cognitive interview?

  Geiselman and Fisher
• What is the encoding specificity principle?


  Cues present at encoding need to be present at recall for effective memory retrieval
• What are the main components of the cognitive interview?


  • Reinstating the context of the event
  • Report everything
  • Change order
  • Change perspective
• How does reinstating the context of the event help in memory recall?


  It acts as retrieval cues to prevent state/context-dependent forgetting
• Why is it important to ask witnesses to report everything they remember?

  Memories are interconnected, and one detail may trigger another
• What is the purpose of changing the order of recall in a cognitive interview?


  To prevent the use of existing schema expectations that may distort memories
• How does changing perspective aid in the cognitive interview?


  It helps to prevent schemas and expectations from influencing recall
• What are the additional components of the enhanced cognitive interview developed by Fisher?


  • Reducing anxiety by establishing rapport
  • Minimizing distractions in the room
  • Encouraging the witness to speak slowly
  • Encouraging open questions to avoid guessing
• What was the sample size in Fisher et al.'s (1989) study on the cognitive interview?


  47 witnesses or victims
• What was the independent variable (IV) in Fisher et al.'s (1989) study?


  The type of interview conducted
• What was the dependent variable (DV) in Fisher et al.'s (1989) study?


  The number of accurately recorded facts
• What did Fisher et al. (1989) find regarding the cognitive interview compared to the standard interview?


  The cognitive interview gained 47% more facts
• What conclusion can be drawn from Geiselman et al.'s (1986) study regarding the cognitive interview?


  The cognitive interview improves accuracy and reduces the effect of leading questions
• What issue arises from the instructions of the cognitive interview?


  Some people find the instructions confusing, leading to false answers
• What did Kohnken et al. (1999) find when comparing the enhanced cognitive interview to the standard interview?


  There was an 81% increase in correct information but also a 61% increase in incorrect information
• What limitation did Mello & Fisher (1996) find regarding the cognitive interview?


  It is most effective for certain people, such as the elderly
• What is a drawback of the cognitive interview in terms of police investigations?


  It is time-consuming and can slow down investigations
• How does the cognitive interview potentially reduce wrongful convictions?


  By increasing the accuracy of detail recalled
• Why might police be reluctant to use the cognitive interview?


  Because it takes a lot of time to conduct