Memory: Improving EWT - The Cognitive Interview

Question 1

What Is The Cognitive Interview?

Answer 1

• A more effective recall technique which achieved more detailed and accurate eyewitness testimonies.
• Interviewer helps the witness feel relaxed and tailor their language to suit the individual.
• There is 4 methods of CI: report everything, reinstate the context, reverse the order, change perspective.

Question 2

Describe Report Everything.

Answer 2

• Witness are encouraged to include every single detail of the event regardless if they feel as though it is irrelevant.
• This is done as trivial details may be important and may trigger other important memories.

Question 3

Describe Reinstate The Context.

Answer 3

• Witness returns to the original crime scene in their mind and imagine the environment and their emotions.
• This is related to context-dependant forgetting. Allows them to regain past memory that they forgot about.

Question 4

Describe Reverse The Order.

Answer 4

• Events should be recalled in a different chronological order to the original sequence.
• Done to prevent people reporting their expectations of how events must have happened rather than actual events.
• It also prevents dishonesty as it harder for people to say an untruthful account if they reverse it.

Question 5

Describe Change Perspective.

Answer 5

• Witnesses should recall incident from other people perspective.
• This is done to disrupt the effect of expectations and schema on recall.
• The schema you have for a particular setting generate expectations of what would have happened and it is the schema that is recalled rather than what actually happened.

Question 6

What Is The Enhance Cognitive Interview?

Answer 6

• Fischer added additional elements of CI to focus on the social dynamic of the interaction e.g eye contact or no eye contact.
• The ECI also includes ideas such as reducing eyewitness anxiety, minimising distractions, asking open-ended questions etc.

Question 7

Evaluation: Strength

Answer 7

• There is research to show ECI is effective. Kohken et al combined data from 50 studies in meta analysis and showed there were consistently more correct information (81%).
• Can be useful for older witness who think they are wasting time as they are told to recall everything,
• Aims to reduce context forgetting.

Question 8

Evaluation: Limitation

Answer 8

• The CI is more time consuming as requires special training.
• Some elements are more valuable than others.
• Creates an increase in inaccurate information 61% increase in false positives.
• There is a range of variations of the CI or ECI which could lead to difficulties in assessing the effectiveness of the method.