Cognitive interview

• Research has looked at ways in which the accuracy of EWT can be improved.

  Traditional interviews tended to ask witnesses what had happened.
• The cognitive interview was developed by Fisher and Geiselman in response to research showing EWT can be inaccurate.

  It is a way to interview eyewitnesses to help them retrieve more accurate memories, using insights from cognitive psychology
• Cognitive interview has 4 distinct components:

  1. Report everything
  2. Mental reinstatement of the original context
  3. Changing the order when recalling
  4. Changing the perspective
• Step 1 - report everything

  The interviewer encourages the reporting of every single detail even those details which may seem irrelevant such as uninvolved on-lookers or even if the witness doesn't feel confident about it

  Trivial details may be important and could act as cues triggering recall of other important details
• Step 2 - Mental reinstatement of the original context

  The interviewers encourages the interviewee to mentally recreate the original crime scene in their mind. This could include sounds, smells, weather conditions etc.

  May act as cues to recall reducing risk of contact dependant forgetting
• Step 3 - changing the order when recalling

  The interviewer may try alternative ways through the timeline of the incident such as reversing the order by recalling the end of the incident first then working backwards

  To avoid the use of schemas which may create inaccuracies based on what we think makes sense
• Step 4 - changing perspective

  The interviewee is asked to recall the incident from different perspectives such as imagining how it would have appeared to other witnesses present at the crime

  Disrupts the effect of schema and expectations on recall
• Enhanced cognitive interview was developed by Fisher and includes some additional elements such as

  • Use of eye contact
  • Reducing eye witness anxiety
  • Minimising distractions
  • Using open ended questions
• AO3 - meta analysis

  Meta analysis of 53 studies found that on average an increase of 34% in the amount of correct information generated in the cognitive interview compared with standard interviewing

  Shows that cognitive interview is effective in promoting more accurate recall
• AO3 - stein and lemon

  Recruited women from the cleaning staff of a university and asked them to watch an abduction

  The p's who had a cognitive interview provided far superior data which was rich in detail compared to the P's who had the standard interview procedure
• AO3 - difficult to evaluate the effectiveness

  Different police constabularies use different parts of the cognitive interview to save time and therefore it is difficult to draw comparisons between those constabularies
• AO3 - time consuming

  The fact that police officers often don't use all of the parts of the cognitive interview suggests that it may be too time consuming to use in real life
• AO3 - depends on officers getting right data

  Effectiveness of the cognitive interview depends on officers getting the right quantity and quality of training in using the techniques involved in the cognitive interview and having the time to use it properly
• AO3 - implications for the economy

  Takes much longer than a standard interview which could mean that there is need for greater funding for the police, requiring increased public spending

  However, as it is a more successful method of getting information it could increase police efficiency