Cognitive Interview

What is the cognitive interview (CI) and why is it important?_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

A01

4 Stages

Cognitive Interview:EvaluationAO3

Point Evidence Explanation

Kohnken et al (1999) – meta analysis 53 studies – 34% improvement in generated correct information (but used college students sample)

Milne and Bull – interviewed students and children and found that the best components for generating information are ‘report everything’ and ‘mental reinstatement’ when used together.

Because CI now uses a range of procedures in the process, it is difficult to evaluate CI as an independent process.

Mello and Fisher (1996) said that the ‘reporting everything’ component of the CI was more effective than the standard interview at helping older witnesses (average age 72) to recall information.

Kebbell interviewed police officers and found that CI requires more time than is often available.

Stein and Memon (2006) tested the effectiveness of CI in Brazil. They found that CI was superior in producing rich and correct information than the standard police interview (interrogative). BUT the sample of witnesses were all women (estrocentric) and all cleaners so not representative sample.

Memon (1994) found that police officers need quality training for the procedure to be carried out effectively. This costs money from the government.

Strength Weakness

The murder of John Staples (who did it?)- Standard Police Interview. Imagine you are detectives trying to solve the murder of John Staples. John Staples was killed by a fatal stab wound to the abdomen during a fight in a pub. Below is a list of questions you might ask. Can you describe the person who stabbed John Staples? What was he wearing? Any other distinguishing features? Who was he with? Can you describe them? What was said by the assailant in the run up to the murder? What were the other events in the run up to the murder?

What happened after the fight?

The murder of John Staples (who did it?)-Cognitive Interview. Imagine you are detectives trying to solve the murder of John Staples. John Staples was killed by a fatal stab wound to the abdomen during a fight in a pub. You are trained in the procedure of the Cognitive interview, which means you do not ask a series of single questions as in a standard interview. Follow the instructions below. Ask the witness to close their eyes and put themselves back in the pub eating their lunch. Ask them what they hear, smell, see; their description generally of the pub? Still with their eyes closed ask your witness to tell the whole story starting at the beginning in their own words. Do not interrupt or ask questions. Ask them to imagine that they are somebody else in the bar and then describe what they would have seen. Anything new to add? Ask them to think about the stabbing and describe events in a backwards order. Anything new to add?