Lesson 11 - The Cognitive Interview - improving EWT

Question 1

Who developed the ‘Cognitive Interview’

Answer 1

Fisher and Geiselman - argued EWT can be improved by improving the policies techniques when interviewing eye witnesses.

Question 2

What are the four stages of the Cognitive Interview

Answer 2

1. Report everything
2. Reinstate the context
3. Reverse the order
4. Change perspective

Question 3

Report everything…

Answer 3

Witnesses are encouraged to include every single detail of the event. Seemingly trivial details may be important and may trigger other important memories.

Question 4

Reinstate the context…

Answer 4

The witness should return to the original crime scene ‘in their mind’ and imagine the environment and their emotions.

Question 5

Reverse the order…

Answer 5

Events should be recalled in a different chronological order to the original sequence. Prevents people reporting their expectations of how an event must have happened rather than the actual events.

Question 6

Change perspective…

Answer 6

Witnesses should recall the incident from other peoples perspectives. This is done to disrupt the effect of expectations and schema on recall, this schema generate expectations and that is what is recalled rather than what happened.

Question 7

What is meant by the ‘Enhanced Cognitive Interview’

Answer 7

• Fisher et al developed some additional elements of the CI to focus on the social dynamics of the interaction.
• Enhanced CI also includes reducing eye witnesses anxiety, diminishing distractions etc.