Memory - The Cognitive Interview (Improving EWT)

Question 1

CI

Answer 1

Cognitive interview

Question 2

Aim of CI

Answer 2

To improve how effective an interviewer is to question witnesses by improving the techniques used

Question 3

What is the CI based on?

Answer 3

Research and scientific evidence

Question 4

What have psychologists been trying to develop over time?

Answer 4

Trying to develop memory retrieval techniques aimed at trying to entice more accurate information out of witnesses

Question 5

Who developed the CI?

Answer 5

Geiselman

Question 6

When was the CI developed?

Answer 6

1984

Question 7

What was psychological research applied to the standard interview to show?

Answer 7

To show that memory isn’t like a camera, but more like an active process

Question 8

Active processes that may affect EWT

Answer 8

Schema
Post-event discussion
Distortion
Misleading information
Interference
Anxiety

Question 9

Adjective to describe an eyewitness account as a result of memory being an active process

Answer 9

Fallible

Question 10

Fallible def

Answer 10

Capable of changing

Question 11

What acronym is used to remember the stages of the CI?

Answer 11

ROPE

Question 12

R of ROPE

Answer 12

Reinstate the context

Question 13

During the reinstating of context stage of the CI, what does the interviewer ask the witness to do?

Answer 13

To mentally recreate the scene of the crime

Question 14

What details will interviewers ask the eyewitness in the reinstate the context stage of the CI?

Answer 14

Details such as:
Weather
Mood
Anybody who was around
Distinctive smell
Lighting
(As much detail as possible)

Question 15

O of ROPE

Answer 15

Order

Question 16

What order would witnesses be asked to describe the information in in standard interviews?

Answer 16

Chronological order

Question 17

Why is recalling information in chronological order an issue?

Answer 17

Memory is an active process which is effected by lots of different factors so any event that one witnesses isn’t stored chronologically in memory

Question 18

In a CI, what order are witnesses asked to recall information in?

Answer 18

A completely different order e.g. reverse order or an order starting from particular point

Question 19

Why is the order changed for a CI?

Answer 19

Because stating information from a point not at the start may lead to another memory trace

Question 20

P of ROPE

Answer 20

Perspective

Question 21

What do interviewers ask witnesses during the perspective stage?

Answer 21

They ask witnesses to describe what the crime would look like from a different persons perspective

Question 22

Why is perspective there least likely stage of a CI to be used?

Answer 22

Because it involves making the witnesses think about other viewpoints which are not their own (inaccurate)

Question 23

E of ROPE

Answer 23

Everything recalled

Question 24

What do interviewers not do during the everything recalled stage of a CI?

Answer 24

Interviewers don’t interrupt their witnesses to not disturb their thought processes

Question 25

Encoding challenges of EWT

Answer 25

Setting e.g. lighting and distance from crime
Distractions
Stress or guilt

Question 26

Retrieval challenges of EWT

Answer 26

Schemas
Emotional factors

Question 27

Interviewer challenges of EWT

Answer 27

Types of questions being asked e.g. leading questions
Body language
Schemas
Emotions

Question 28

Who carried out research support to support the CI?

Answer 28

Geiselman

Question 29

Aim of Geiselman’s research into CI

Answer 29

Test the effectiveness of the CI by comparing it to the standard interview

Question 30

How many participants were there in Geiselman’s research into CI?

Answer 30

89 undergraduate students

Question 31

What were the participants shown in Geiselman’s research into CI?

Answer 31

A police training video of violent crimes

Question 32

What took place 48 hours after the participants were shown a police training video Geiselman’s research into CI?

Answer 32

Students were interviewed individually by CIA investigators, detectives and private investigators

Question 33

What techniques had the students been interviewed with in Geiselman’s research into CI?

Answer 33

Using standard police interviewing techniques and the CI

Question 34

What were the results recorded as in Geiselman’s research into CI?

Answer 34

Recorded as number of correct items recalled correctly and number of error

Question 35

Which interview did students recall more information in in Geiselman’s research into CI?

Answer 35

CI

Question 36

Error rates of both interviewing techniques Geiselman’s research into CI

Answer 36

Very similar

Question 37

Mean correct items recalled for CI group in Geiselman’s research into CI

Answer 37

41.5

Question 38

Mean correct items recalled for standard interview group in Geiselman’s research into CI

Answer 38

29.4

Question 39

Mean incorrect items recalled for CI group in Geiselman’s research into CI

Answer 39

7.3

Question 40

Mean incorrect items recalled for standard interview group in Geiselman’s research into CI

Answer 40

6.1

Question 41

Conclusion of Geiselman’s research into CI

Answer 41

Memory is still fallible when carrying out a cognitive interview as error rates were very similar between both techniques

Question 42

Positive evaluation of CI: research

Answer 42

Research supports that CI is better interviewing technique for EWT than standard interview

Question 43

Negative evaluation for CI: time

Answer 43

Time consuming and costly

Question 44

Negative evaluation for CI: training

Answer 44

Specialist training required

Question 45

Negative evaluation for CI: stages

Answer 45

Not all stages are that important

Question 46

Negative evaluation for CI: research

Answer 46

Research shows that some inaccurate information can be gathered