The cognitive interview is a procedure designed for use in police interviews. Witnesses are encouraged to relax and speak slowly as a reduction in anxiety may improve recall.
The 4 main features of the cognitive interview are: Context reinstatement, report everything, recall from changed perspective and recall in reverse order.
Context reinstatement asks interviewees to mentally recreate an image of the situation (e.g. details of the environment and personal context of the crime) in the mind of the witness. This includes factors such as sights and sounds. This technique is linked to retrieval failure as context may provide cues/triggers.
Report everything ensures that every detail is reported, however unimportant it may seem. This means that no details are overlooked.
Recall from changed perspective means that witnesses recreate the incident from a range of perspectives, including those of bystanders or even the criminals themselves. This promotes a more holistic view of the event.
Recall in reverse order encourages witnesses to recount the details of events in different chronological orders moving backwards and forwards in time. This verifies the accuracy of the testimony.
