eyewitness testimony: cognitive interview

Question 1

how is it based on the psychological understanding of memory (fisher and Geiselman 92)

Answer 1

• fisher and geiselman (92) claim EWT could be improved if police use techniques based on psychological insight into how memory works
• called cognitive because it has cognitive psychology foundations
• Rapport/ understanding is established with interviewees

Question 2

why do they say to report everything?

Answer 2

• witnesses encouraged to include every detail , even if irrelevant or not confident
• seemingly trivial things could be important and may trigger other memories

Question 3

why should you reinstate the context?

Answer 3

• person returns to crime scene in their mind and imagines environment (like weather and emotions)
• this based on the concept of context dependant forgetting- cues from context may trigger recall

Question 4

why should the order be reversed?

Answer 4

• events recalled in different chronological order
• prevents people using expectation of how events must have happened rather than actual events
• also prevents dishonestly (harder to lie when recall in reverse)

Question 5

why should there be a change in perspective?

Answer 5

• witness recall the incident from other peoples perspective - how would it have appeared to another witness or perpetrator?
• prevents influence of expectations and schema on recall (packages of information with expectations of the world)

Question 6

how did Fisher et al (87) enhance the interview?

Answer 6

• fisher develop additional elements of CI
  includes focus on social dynamics of interaction (like knowing when to establishes eye contact)
• enhances CI by including ideas like reducing eyewitness anxiety, minimising distractions, speaking slowly, asking open questions

Question 7

• CI is time consuming

Answer 7

• more time than standard police interview (need time to relax)
• also requires special training which many forces cant get the time for (Kebbell (96)
• proper version of CI isle tased which is why police don’t rate it

Question 8

+/- some elements more valuable than others

Answer 8

• Milne and Bull (02) found each technique produces more info than police interview
• but report everything and context reinstatement produce better recall than any other techniques
• suggests at least 2 of the elements should be used in police interview too increase credibility

Question 9

+ support for effectiveness of ECI

Answer 9

• meta-analysis by Kohnken (99) combined data from 50 studies
• CI consistently provide more correct info than police interview
• show real practical benefits to police using Enhanced version of CI (benefits whole of society)