Cognitive interview- improving EWT accuracy

• Who identified the ways standard interview could reduce EWT accuracy?

  Geiselman and colleagues (1985)
• what are examples of methods identified by Geiselmand and colleagues that suggest standard interview to reduce accuracy of EWT?


  leading questions, regular jumps in questioning between memory modalities, triggering of mental schemas in unhelpful ways.
• How has the cognitive interview been developed?

  By police and psychologist over the last 30 plus tears. They have applied what cognitive psychology tells us about how memory works, to create a more effective interview that maximises quality and quantity of EWT.
• what are the four techniques of the cognitive interview?

  report everything, context reinstatement, recall events in a different/reverse order, change the perspective.
• what does report everything involve and help with?


  involves reporting every single detail of the event, no matter how trivial. Witnesses may omit details they feel are irrelevant, especially if they don't fit into their existing schema. Reporting everything prevents judgements, and may cue other memories about the crime.
• what does context reinstatement involve and help with?


  involves mentally recreating the original incident. Context cues are encoded at the time of the crime and can be recalled. This can trigger recall of memories that otherwise might be forgotten.
• what does report everything link to?

  Tulving's encoding specificity principle
• what does context reinstatement link to?

  Tulving's encoding specificity principle and Godden and Baddeley's context dependent cue of deep sea divers.
• what does recalling events in a different order involve and help with?

  involves alternative ways through the timeline of an incident. This interrupts mental schemas and prevents expectations of what might of happened from dictating their testimony. it also makes it harder to make anything up.
• what does changing the perspective involve and help with?


  imagines how the event would have happened from other viewpoints at the scene. this prevents activation of own schemas, you may report something that usually happens rather than what actually happened.
• additional elements were added to the cognitive interview to focus on the dynamics between interviewer and witness. what is this known as and who came up with it?

  the enhanced cognitive interview by Fisher (and Geiselman) 1987
• what were the additional elements of the enhanced cognitive interview?

  asking open questions, establishing and letting go eye contact, helping the witness to relax, minimising distractions and slowing down the witnesses rate of speech.
• what research support shows the effectiveness of the enhanced interview?

  kohen carried out a meta-analysis of 50 studies showing the enhanced interview consistently produced more correct answers than the standard interview. this means crimes are likely to be solved and avoid further crimes.
• which elements have been found particularly effective in the cognitive interview?

  combination of report everything and reinstating the context. this can save time and focus on the important parts so it is purposeful.
• what is a limitation of Kohen's meta-analysis?

  there was an 81% increase in accurate information but also a 61% increase of incorrect information compared to standard. this can make it harder to solve the crime and its hard to verify the accuracy.
• what is a negative of reporting everything?

  it is very time consuming so may not be effective. forces may not be trained properly to save time so it may not be carried out properly.