Cognitive Interview Techniques

Question 1

Outline 6 points about cognitive interview techniques

Answer 1

• Designed to maximise the accuracy of information obtained during interviews

4 main elements of a cognitive interview:
- REINSTATE context
Witness is asked to form image of the event in their mind and to retell the event
- Report event in different ORDERS
The witness is asked to recall the event from different points
- Reporting event from different PERSPECTIVES
Witnesses are asked to report the event from different perspectives
- Reporting EVERY detail even if trivial
Witnesses are encouraged to recall everything about the event even if they think the information is unimportant. An unimportant detail may trigger key information that the witness had previously gotten wrong or forgotten. They are not interrupted

Question 2

List 3 other elements which are important to consider in a cognitive interview

Answer 2

1) Open questions
2) No leading questions
3) Using focused questions only on things the witness has mentioned to get more detail

Question 3

Strength?

Answer 3

P- Used successfully to solve cases
E- E.g. kidnapping, a politically motivated bombing and violent crime
E- Reliable as has been proved to work more than once

Question 4

2x Weaknesses?

Answer 4

P- Practical issues
E- Time consuming, often requiring more time to do fully than police officers have
E- Might not be able to be used often

P- Hard to assess effectiveness as CI is composed of several techniques and different police forces tend ti use different versions of it
E- Makes comparisons difficult

Question 5

Supporting research?

Answer 5

P- Milne and Bull (2002)
E- Found ‘report everything’ and ‘context reinstatement’ components to be the key techniques in CI
E- Gained an accurate, detailed recall