improving the accuracy of eyewitness testimony

• the cognitive interview was developed by Fisher & Geiselman in 1985
• cognitive interview


  a method of interviewing eyewitnesses which aims to help them provide more accurate EWT
• In standard police interviews, witnesses are often interrupted and asked closed questions encouraging shorter answers with less detail
• the aim of cognitive interviews is to encourage eyewitnesses to recall more information
• There are 4 techniques used in the cognitive interview:

  • context reinstatement
  • report everything
  • change the perspective
  • reverse the order
• context reinstatement 


  asking the eyewitness to mentally return to the crime scene, including how they felt and all aspects of the environment. This provides retrieval cues to help them access their memory of the event
• report everything


  eyewitnesses report every single detail of the event even if it seems irrelevant - it could be relevant to the investigation or it may serve as a retrieval cue to prompt more recall
• change the perspective


  eyewitness recalls the incident from multiple perspectives - such as how the incident would appear to other witnesses or the criminal at the time. Memories can be retrieved through different routes so it is productive to vary the routes
• reverse the order


  the eyewitness recalls the events in a different chronological order such as by recalling the incident backwards
• A weakness of CI is that it requires more time as an interview technique compared to a standard interview. It requires a lot of valuable police time to conduct as well as time to train interviewers. This is problematic as it may not be practical to use.
• A weakness of CI is ethical issues. Asking witnesses who were victims of rape/ violent attacks to mentally relive the crime may be traumatic and a lack of protection from harm. This is problematic as it goes against the ethical code of conduct
• A strength of CI is supporting evidence comes from Kohnken et al (1999) where a meta-analysis of 53 studies found cognitive interviews generated 34% more correct information than standard interviewing techniques suggesting it is more effective. This is positive as it supports the view CI can increase accuracy of EWT
• a strength of CI is that it may have a positive effect on the economy. By improving the accuracy of EWT, the CI may be helping to improve efficiency in the legal system. It may help police identify criminals sooner. this is positive as it helps reduce waste and improve efficiency in the justice system.