9. Accuracy of eyewitness testimony: Cognitive interview

• The cognitive interview - AO1

  - Method of interviewing eyewitnesses to help them retrieve more accurate memories.

  - It uses four main techniques based on knowledge from the human memory
• Fisher and Geiselman (1992) - AO1


  - Argued that EWT could be improved if the police used better techniques when interviewing witnesses.

  - They recommended 4 techniques that would be better alternatives based on cognitive psychology.
• Report everything


  - The interviewer encourages the witness to report all details about the event, even though these details may seem unimportant.
• Reinstate the context - AO1

  - They should return to the original crime scene in their mind and imagine the environment. - Related to context-dependant forgetting.
• Reverse the order - AO1

  - Events recalled in a different order from the original sequence.

  - Done to prevent people reporting their expectations rather than actual events.

  - Prevents dishonesty - makes it harder to lie if they reverse it.
• Change the perspective - AO1


  - They should recall the incident from other people's perspective. - Done to disrupt the effects of expectations and also the schema. - Schema you have on a particular setting can generate expectations on what would have happened.
• The enhanced cognitive interview (ECI) -

  - Developed some additional elements. - Interview needs to know when to establish eye contact and when to stop. - Also included ways to reduce eyewitness anxiety, minimising distractions - getting the witness to speak slowly and asking open ended questions.
• Support for the effectiveness of the CI😊- AO3

  - It works

  - Kohnken et al (1999) - meta-analysis of 55 studies comparing the CI with the standard police interview

  - CI gave an average of 42% increases in accurate info compared to police interview

  - Only 4 studies showed no difference

  - CI effective in helping witnesses recall accurate information
• CP to the effectiveness of the CI - AO3

  - Also found an increase in the amount of inaccurate information recalled by participants

  - ECI produces more in correct information compared to CI

  - May sacrifice the quality of EWT
• Some elements may be more useful 🙁 - AO3


  - Not all elements are equally useful and effective

  - Milne and Bull (2002) - each of the 4 techniques used alone produced more useful information than a standard interview

  - Using a combination of reinstate the context and report everything produced a better recall than any of the other elements

  - Confirms that some aspects of CI are more useful than others
• The CI is time consuming - AO3

  - Police officers may be reluctant because CI takes more training and time than standard interview

  - More time needed to allow witness than relax

  - Also requires special training which many forces do not have the recourses to provide

  - The complete CI is not a realistic method for police officers to use