Cognitive

interview
Eyewitness
testimony
The Role of Memory
Eyewitness testimony relies on
encoding, storing, and recalling
information
Storing memories requires
several steps including
attention, encoding, short-term
memory, and long-term memory
The Role of Memory
Not all memories pass
successfully through these
stages and problems may
occur at each stage
The Stages of Memory
Encoding

Storage

Retrieval
Types of Eyewitness Memory (1)

 There are two types of memory

retrieval that eyewitnesses
perform:
 Recall memory: Reporting
details of a previously
witnessed event/person
Types of Eyewitness Memory (2)

Recognition memory:
Determining whether what is
currently being viewed/heard is
the same as the previously
witnessed item/person
Recall of the Event/Culprit
Recall of the crime event can
take two forms:
Open ended recall/free
narrative: Witnesses are asked
to recount what they witnessed
without being prompted
Recall of the Event/Culprit
Direct question recall:
Witnesses are asked specific
questions about the
event/culprit
Types of Eyewitness Dependent
Variables
There are three general
dependent variables used in
eyewitness studies:
 Recall of the event

 Recall of the culprit

 Recognition of the culprit

 Interviewing Witnesses
Police officers may impede
the interview process by:
 Interrupting witnesses
during free recall

Interviewing Witnesses
 Asking short specific
questions which may not get
at critical information
 Asking questions not

relevant to what the witness

is currently describing
The Misinformation Effect
Occurs when a witness is
provided with inaccurate
information about an event
after it is witnessed and
incorporates the
‘misinformation’ in their later
recall (Loftus, 1975)
Misinformation Studies: Results
Participantswho are given
misinformation provide
different reports than those
who receive no misleading
information
Misinformation Studies: Results
Subtle differences in
phrasing of the question
(e.g., using ‘smashed’ instead
of ‘hit’), may bias witness’
responses (Loftus & Palmer,
1974
Explaining the Misinformation
Effect
 Threetheories attempt to explain
the misinformation effect:
 Misinformation acceptance

hypothesis
 Source misattribution

hypothesis
 Memory impairment hypothesis
Facilitating Eyewitness Recall
Procedures used in the
investigative process to aid
eyewitness recall include:
 Hypnosis

 Cognitive Interview

 Enhanced Cognitive Interview

 Cognitive Interview
Based on memory retrieval
techniques:
 Reinstating the context

 Reporting everything

 Recalling event in different

orders
 Changing perspectives
Enhanced Cognitive
Interview
 Thefollowing components were
added to the original Cognitive
Interview (Fisher & Geiselman,
1992):
 Rapport building

 Supportive interviewer behaviour

 Transfer of control

 Focused retrieval

 Witness compatible questioning

Cognitive Interview: Results
 Cognitive interviews elicit more
information than “standard police
interviews”, without an increase in
inaccurate information (Memon &
Bull, 1991)
 Unclear which components elicit this
increase in accurate information
(Kebbell & Wagstaff, 1998)
 Police Interviews
Inadequate Technique
Close-ended questioning
“What color was the car?”
Interrupting the witness
Asking questions in a
predetermined order
 Police interviews
More Effective Technique
Open-ended questioning
“What can you tell me about the
car?”
Allowing the witness time to finish
responding
Ask relevant follow-up questions
 Police Interviews
Result
Generates more complete
responses without leading the
witness
Doesn’t disrupt
concentration/retrieval cues
Takes account of previous
answers
Improving Police Interviews
The Cognitive Interview
(Geiselman et al., 1985)
Retrieval Rule
Mental reinstatement of
context
Improving Police Interviews
Encouraging complete
reporting (even small details)
Attempting to describe the
events in several different
orders
Reporting the incident from
different viewpoints
Improving Police Interviews
Encoding Specificity
Principle
Memory traces are complex
and contain various features
Improving Police Interviews
Goal
Improve the match between
encoding and retrieval
contexts
Prompting access to multiple,
different cues improves
recall
Improving Police Interviews
Enhanced Cognitive Interview (Fisher et
al., 1987
In addition to the four rules,
investigators should:
Minimize distractions
Induce the subject to speak slowly
Allow for a pause between responses
and new questions
Use appropriate language for the
witness
Improving Police Interviews
Follow up responses with an
interpretive comment
Try to reduce eyewitness
anxiety
Avoid judgmental and personal
comments
Review the eyewitness’s
description of events/people
under investigation
Comparing Interview Methods

The Cognitive Interview:

Generally produces the
most accurate information
Cautions:
It is most effective when
conducted immediately
after the crime
Comparing Interview Methods

It is more valuable for

recalling minor than central
details (Groeger, 1997)
It is not yet clear how the
individual guidelines of the
interview contribute to its
effects
Comparing Interview Methods