Cognitive interview

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A Cognitive interview is a procedure designed for use in police interviews that involve
witnesses and victims. Its goal is to help the victims or witnesses mentally put themselves at the
crime scene to gather more information about the crime. It can sometimes be known as a way to
"trigger memories." The investigator would first have to reconstruct the circumstances of the
crime or incident. Then they would have the person report all information that they could. Next
they would ask the person to recall all the events in a different order. Lastly they would try to get
the person to change perspectives and have them report what happened as if from another
person's point of view.

There were two main forces behind the development of the CI. The first was the need to improve
the effectiveness of police interviews when questioning witnesses. The seconds was to apply the
results of psychological research to this area, particularly the work of Elizabeth Loftus, whose
research had already dispelled the myth that eyewitnesses memory operates like a video camera.'
- Psychology, The Complete Companion