improving accuracy of EWT

• What are the four stages of the cognitive interview?

  Reinstatement of Context. Report Everything. Change Order. Change Perspective
• What are participants asked to do for reinstatement of context?

  The interviewer encourages the interviewee to mentally recreate both the physical and psychological environment of the original incident.
• What are participants asked to do for report everything?

  The interviewer encourages the reporting of every single detail of the event without editing anything out, even though it may seem irrelevant.
• What are participants asked to do for change the order?

  The interviewer may try alternative ways through the timeline of the incident, for example by reversing the order in which the events occurred.
• What are participants asked to do for change the perspective?

  The interviewee is asked to recall the incident from multiple perspectives, for example by imagining how it would have appeared to other witnesses present at the time.
• Why do interviewers ask them to reinstate the context?

  The aim is to make memories accessible as people often struggle to access memories that are there without cues.
• Why do interviewers ask them to report everything?

  Memories are interconnected with one another so that recollection of one item may then cue a whole lot of other memories.
• Why do interviewers ask them to change the order?

  Prevents your pre-existing schema influencing what you recall.
• Why do interviewers ask them to change the perspective?

  Prevents your pre-existing schema influencing what you recall.
• What evidence supports the effectiveness of the Cognitive Interview?

  Fisher et al. (1989) found that trained detectives elicited 46% more information and over 90% of it was accurate.
• How does the Cognitive Interview improve EWT accuracy?

  Witnesses report greater detail and higher accuracy when the CI is used.
• What is a weakness of the Cognitive Interview?

  Some elements may be more valuable than others, suggesting the need for streamlining.
• What combination of techniques in the Cognitive Interview produces better recall?

  'Report everything' and 'context reinstatement'.
• How does the time required for the Cognitive Interview compare to the standard interview?

  The CI is far more time-consuming than the standard interview.
• What is a potential consequence of the time-consuming nature of the Cognitive Interview?

  It may reduce the number of interviews the police can conduct.