AO1

• What is the cognitive interview technique?

  Geisalman (1984) developed the C.I. to improve the accuracy and amount of information that eyewitnesses recall during police interviews. It is a police technique for interviewing witnesses to a crime, which encourages them to recreate the original context of the crime in order to increase the accessibility of stored information.

  It is based on psychological research into memory.
• How many stages are there of the cognitive interview?

  4
• What are the stages of the cognitive interview?

  1. Mental reinstatement of the context
  2. Report everything
  3. Change order
  4. Change the perspective
• What is 1. Mental reinstatement of original context?


  The witness is asked to mentally recreate how they felt during the time the crime/event took place.
• Why does 1. Mental reinstatement of original context help?

  Provides context and state cues which will trigger memories for the event that are available but not accessible
• What is 2. Report everything?

  The witness is instructed to report all details from the crime/event, regardless of how insignificant they may feel it is.
• Why does 2. Report everything help?

  Memories are interconnected with one another, so by recalling one detail it could trigger the recollection of another memory. These small details may be eventually pierced together to form a clear picture of events.
• What is 3. Change order?

  The witness is instructed to recall the crime/event from a range of orders. For example, they may be asked to recall it backwards, starting with the last thing that happened.
• Why does 3. Change order help?

  By changing the order, it prevents pre-existing schemas from influencing their recall of events.
• What is 4. Change perspective?

  The witness is instructed to recall the crime/event from the perspective of other witnesses. For example, they may be asked to recall a robbery from the shop keepers perspective.
• Why does 4. Change perspective help?

  This is done to disrupt the effect of pre-existing schemas may have on recall of events.
• What did Geisalman argue that traditional police interviews were?

  • Lead by the police officer as opposed to the witness
  • Contained too many rigid questions (including leading questions)
  • Did not encourage the witness to provide additional information