Memory - The Cognitive Interview Flashcards
What is the cognitive interview?
A method of interviewing eyewitnesses to help them retrieve more accurate memories
Who came up with the cognitive interview & why?
Fisher & Geiselman created the cognitive interview as a way of improving eyewitness testimony based on psychological insights into how memory works
What are the 4 main characteristics of the cognitive interview?
Report everything
Reinstate the context
Reverse the order
Change perspective
Why are eyewitnesses made to report everything in a cognitive interview?
Details that they recall, that seem unimportant, can act as cues & trigger more memories to be recalled
Why are eyewitnesses made to reinstate the context in a cognitive interview?
Getting the eyewitness to return to the crime scene in their mind (experiencing their senses again) can trigger memories to be recalled (context dependent forgetting -> the environment acts as a trigger)
Why are eyewitnesses made to reverse the order of events in a cognitive interview?
Prevents people lying & recalling their expectations/schemas of the event or how it should’ve happened
Why are eyewitnesses made to change perspective in a cognitive interview?
Stops people recalling their schemas & lying about the event
What is the enhanced cognitive interview?
The cognitive interview which focuses on the social dynamics of the interaction
What is included in an ECI?
When/when not to give eye contact
Reduction of eyewitness anxiety
Minimisation of distractions
Getting the witness to speak slowly
Asking open ended questions
What is the modified cognitive interview?
The cognitive interview which is suitable for children as it has the ‘change perspective’ element removed from it as children aren’t mature enough to empathise with others
What are some strengths of the cognitive interview?
Some elements may be more valuable than others -> Milne & Bull found each element is equally valuable and each produced more information than a single police interview however using a combination & context reinstatement produced better recall -> strength as it suggests at least 2 elements should be used to improve police interviews & increases the credibility towards police officers
Support for the effectiveness of the ECI -> Kohnken et al did a meta analysis of 50 studies and the ECI produced more accurate information than the standard police interview -> real practical benefits of using the ECI
What are some limitations of the cognitive interview?
Time consuming -> police may be reluctant to use it as it takes longer to establish a rapport with the witness & allow them to relax & requires special training which many forces haven’t been able to provide more than a few hours so the proper version isnt being used -> explains why the police dont like it
Creates an increase in inaccurate information -> Kohnken et al found 81% increase in accurate information but also a 61% of inaccurate information when the CI was compared to a standard police interview
