What is meant by “cognitive interview”?
Method of interviewing based on techniques to improve memory recall.
Who created cognitive interviews and when?
Fisher and Geiselman in 1992.
What do Fisher and Geiselman state about cognitive interviews?
- reduces leading questions.
- police technique for interviewing witnesses to a crime.
- encourages witnesses to recreate the original context in order to increase accessibility of stored information.
- uses four strategies designed to maximise recall.
What are the four stages of a cognitive interview?
- report everything.
- context reinstatement.
- recall in reverse order.
- recall from a changed perspective.
What is the stage report everything in cognitive interviews?
- encouraged to include every single detail of an event even if they feel it is irrelevant.
- information that may be trivial or unimportant could trigger other important memories or help build a story.
What is the stage context reinstatement in cognitive interviews?
- should return to original crime scene in their mind.
- need to imagine emotions and environment.
- related to context dependent forgetting.
- gives witnesses a cue.
What is the stage recall in reverse order in cognitive interviews?
- events should be recalled in a different chronological order
↳ e.g. start from the end or remind police what happened form a certain point. - prevents witnesses from reporting their expectations of a crime and prevent dishonesty.
- starting from the beginning allows witnesses to have expectations of what happened or what normally would happen in crimes.
What is the stage recall from a changed perspective in cognitive interviews?
- events should be recalled from another person’s POV
↳ e.g. how would it have appeared to another witness or perpetrator. - disrupts the expectations and schemas a witness may have.
What are the elements Fisher added to cognitive interviews?
- no distractions.
- active listening.
- open ended questions.
- speak slowly.
- eye contact.
Why did Fisher add some elements to cognitive interviews?
To focus on the social dynamics of the interaction.
What is a strength of the cognitive interview?
- support for the effectiveness of the CI.
What are the weaknesses of the cognitive interview?
- some elements are more valuable than others.
- time consuming.
- creates an increase in inaccurate information.
What is the evaluation of the cognitive interview - support for the effectiveness of the CI?
POINT - one strength is there is research support.
EVIDENCE - a meta-analysis by Kohnken et al (1999) combined data from 50 studies. Results concluded that enhanced cognitive interview consistently provided more correct information.
EXPLANATION - suggests by using CI there is ability to obtain accurate information from eyewitnesses increasing chances of identifying and convicting the correct perpetrator. Helps ensure our society is protected and kept safe from criminals.
LINK - can conclude that CI are an effective way of obtaining accurate eyewitness testimonies.
What is the evaluation of the cognitive interview - some elements are more valuable than others?
POINT - one weakness is not all elements are equally effective or useful.
EVIDENCE - Milne and Bull (2002) found despite each element being valuable, a combination of report everything and context reinstatement produced better recall than any other conditions.
EXPLANATION - suggests that the two features such as report everything and context reinstatement should be used at the very least.
LINK - questions whether the overall cognitive interview is even needed.
What is the evaluation of the cognitive interview - time consuming?
POINT - one weakness is it is time consuming.
EVIDENCE - Kebbell and Wagstaff (1996) found more time is needed to establish rapport with witness allowing them to relax. Requires special training and many forces have not been able to provide more than few hours.
EXPLANATION - crimes or accidents are traumatising experiences so it is important for police to form level of trust and provide them with a safe place to disclose information. Training is vital in order for police to have skills to conduct an effective interview.
LINK - not a practice that can be easily implemented within the police force.
What is the evaluation of the cognitive interview - creates an increase in inaccurate information?
POINT - one weakness is that despite its aims to increase the amount of correct information remembered it can also increase the recall of incorrect information.
EVIDENCE - Kohnken et al (1999) study found 81% increase of correct information but also a 61% increase of incorrect information.
EXPLANATION - suggest it may not produce most accurate eyewitness testimonies. Can be detrimental when prosecuting a suspect as there is potential to convict an innocent person.
LINK - may not be as effective and so police will need to remain cautious of what has been expressed by an eyewitness as no guarantee that the EWT would be accurate.
What is the evaluation point of the cognitive interview - support for the effectiveness of the CI?
One strength is there is research support.
What is the evaluation evidence of the cognitive interview - support for the effectiveness of the CI?
- a meta-analysis by Kohnken et al (1999) combined data from 50 studies.
- results concluded that enhanced cognitive interview consistently provided more correct information.
What is the evaluation explanation of the cognitive interview - support for the effectiveness of the CI?
- suggests by using CI there is ability to obtain accurate information from eyewitnesses increasing chances of identifying and convicting the correct perpetrator.
- Helps ensure our society is protected and kept safe from criminals.
What is the evaluation link of the cognitive interview - support for the effectiveness of the CI?
Can conclude that CI are an effective way of obtaining accurate eyewitness testimonies.
What is the evaluation point of the cognitive interview - some elements are more valuable than others?
One weakness is not all elements are equally effective or useful.
What is the evaluation evidence of the cognitive interview - some elements are more valuable than others?
Milne and Bull (2002) found despite each element being valuable, a combination of report everything and context reinstatement produced better recall than any other conditions.
What is the evaluation explanation of the cognitive interview - some elements are more valuable than others?
Suggests that the two features such as report everything and context reinstatement should be used at the very least.
What is the evaluation link of the cognitive interview - some elements are more valuable than others?
Questions whether the overall cognitive interview is even needed.
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approaches in psychology.81
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approaches in psychology - cognitive approach.37
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biopsychology - nervous system n endocrine system.49
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biopsychology - types of neurons n synaptic transmission.35
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biopsychology - localisation of brain function.36
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biopsychology - split-brain research n hemispheric lateralisation.16
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biopsychology - brain plasticity n functional recovery of the brain after trauma.28
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biopsychology - investigating the brain.21
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biopsychology - circadian rhythms.24
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biopsychology - infradian n ultradian rhythms.31
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biopsychology - endogenous pacemakers n exogenous zeitgebers.28
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approaches in psychology - keywords in comparison.8
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approaches in psychology - origins of psychology.30
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approaches in psychology - behaviourism: the learning approach.85
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approaches in psychology - behaviourism: social learning theory.38
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approaches in psychology - cognitive approach.18
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memory - coding, capacity n duration.87
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memory - the multi-store model of memory.51
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memory - the working memory model.41
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memory - types of long-term memory.34
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memory - explanations of forgetting: interference theory.43
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memory - explanations of forgetting: retrieval failure.40
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memory - eyewitness testimonies: misleading information.43
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memory - factors affecting accuracy of EWT: anxiety.36
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memory - cognitive interview.32
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research methods - types of experiments.17
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research methods - sampling.20
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research methods - ethical issues.17
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research methods - pilot studies, single-blind n double-blind procedures.9
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research methods - observations.22
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research methods - observational design.22
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research methods - self-report techniques n design.19
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research methods - correlations.18
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research methods - descriptive statistics.26
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research methods - types of data.23
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research methods - graphs n distributions.19
