cognitive interview

Question 1

The cognitive interview is time consuming

Answer 1

P-The police may be less reluctant to use the cognitive interview because it takes much longer than the standard police interview
E-More time is needed too establish rapport with witnesses and allow them to relax
E-The ci also requires special training and many forces have not been able to provide more than a few hours (Kebbell and Wagstaff)
L-This means it is unlikely the ‘proper’ version of the ci is actually used, which may explain why police have not been that impressed by it

Question 2

Some elements may be more valuable than others

Answer 2

P-Milne and Bull found that each individual element was equally valuable
E- Each technique used singly produced more info than the standard police interview
E-However, Milne and Bull found that using a combination of reporting everything and reinstate context produced better recall than other conditions,confirming police suspicions that some are more useful than others
L-This is a strength because it suggests at least two elements should be used to improve police interviewing of eyewitnesses even if full ci isnt used

Question 3

Support for the effectiveness of ci

Answer 3

P-Research suggests that enhanced cognitive interview may offer special benefits
E-A meta analysis by Kohnken et al combined data from 50 studies and found eci consistently provided more correct answers than standard police interview
E-This research shows that it gives the police a greater chance at catching and charging criminals, which is beneficial to society as a whole
L-This is a strength because studies such as these indicate there are practical benefits to the police using the enhanced version of the cognitive interview.