Cognitive Interview

• What is step one of the Cognitive Interview?

  Report everything - Include even unimportant details as these details could be important and may trigger other memories
• What is the second step in the Cognitive Interview?

  Reinstate the Context - Picture the scene and how you felt. Avoids context dependent forgetting
• What is the third step in the Cognitive Interview?

  Reverse the order - Recall from the end and work backwards. This disrupts expectations
• What is the fourth step in the Cognitive Interview?

  Change Perspective - Put yourself in the shoes of someone else who was present. Disrupts Schema
• What is fifth step in the Cognitive Interview?

  The enhanced cognitive interview (ECI) - Adds social dynamics e.g. establishing eye contact, asking open ended questions, getting witness to speak slowly, minimising distractions to reduce anxiety
• Advantages of cognitive interview?

  • Designed to increase quantity without compromising quality
  • Research supporting effectiveness - Kohnken on average the CI generates 34% more information
• Disadvantages of cognitive interview?

  • Very time consuming and requires special training
  • Does not guarantee accuracy - research found CI led to an 81% increase in correct information but 61% increase in incorrect information
  • Different police forces use different components eg Thames Valley don’t use ”changing perspectives” which makes comparisons difficult