Lesson 12 Cognitive Interview

Question 1

Cognitive Interview

Answer 1

Fisher et al. (1987) studied real police interviews over a four-month period and found that questions were brief, direct, fact based and closed. Witnesses were often interrupted and not allowed to expand upon their answers. This was referred to as the standard interview. Fisher et al. (1987) argued that this might be contributing to the failure of eyewitnesses to accurately recall the event they had witnessed.

Geiselman et al. (1985) developed the cognitive interview to improve police interview techniques and obtain more accurate information from eyewitnesses. It consists of four main stages.

Question 2

Four main Stages of Cognitive Interview

Answer 2

1. Context Reinstatement
2. Report Everything
3. Recall From Changed Perspective
4. Recall in Reverse Order

Question 3

Context Reinstatement

Answer 3

The witness tries to mentally recreate an image of the situation, including details of the environment, such as the weather conditions and their emotional state, including their feelings at the time of the incident. These may act as retrieval cues (context-dependent cues) to improve recall.

Question 4

Report Everything

Answer 4

The interviewer encourages the witness to recall all details about the event, even though these details may seem to be unimportant. This may highlight details which have been overlooked and trigger other memories.

Question 5

Recall of Changed Perspective

Answer 5

The witness tries to mentally recreate the situation from different points of view, e.g. describing what another witness present at the scene would have seen. This promotes a more holistic view of the event which might enhance recall and reduce the influence of schemas. Schemas are mental structures of preconceived ideas.

Question 6

Recall in Reversed Order

Answer 6

The witness is asked to recall the scene in a different chronological order, e.g. from the end to the beginning. This should verify the accuracy of the witnesses’ account and reduce the possibility that recall may be influenced by schemas/expectations.

Question 7

Enhanced Cognitive Interview

Answer 7

Fisher (1987) added additional guidelines for police interviews;

1. Encourage the witness to relax and speak slowly (this will reduce anxiety and may enhance recall).
2. Avoid distractions.
3. Use open-ended questions.
4. Offer comments to help clarify witness statements (may improve detail of the statement).

Question 8

Advantages of The Cognitive Interview

Answer 8

+ Geiselman et al. (1985) showed participants a video of a simulated crime and tested recall using the cognitive interview, standard interview or hypnosis. The cognitive interview led to the most information being recalled by the eyewitnesses

+ Fisher et al. (1990) trained real police officers in Miami to use the enhanced cognitive interview when interviewing eyewitnesses. They found that on average there was a 46% increase in the amount of information witnesses gave. 90% of the information that could be verified was accurate.

Question 9

Disadvantages of The Cognitive Interview

Answer 9

• Koehnken et al. (1999) found that witnesses recalled more incorrect information when interviewed with the cognitive interview compared to the standard interview technique, perhaps because more detailed recall increases the chance of making a mistake.
• The cognitive interview is time consuming to implement and police officers often do not have the time, training and resources to use it.
• Memon et al. (1993) reported that police officers believed that Recall From Changed Perspective stage of the cognitive interview misleads witnesses into speculating about the event they witnessed rather than reporting what they actually saw. For this reason the police were reluctant to use it.