Cognitive Interview

Cognitive Interview

1. CONTEXT REINSTATEMENT

   • mentally recreate environment + how they were feeling + think back to before, during and after event
     • mental consistency + act as a trigger + increase accuracy of recall

2. REPORT EVERYTHING

   • every detail even if it is trivial
     • may bring up info that others would mentally edit out - interview decides what is important

3. RECALL IN CHANGED PERSPECTIVE

   • mentally recreate - differnt perspective from other people present at the time
     • complete recollection of event can enhance recall

4. REVERSE ORDER

   • start with aspect which seems most memorable and work backwards
     • verify accuracy of original EWT from chronological order

5. IMPROVES RECALL

   • Milne + Bull found each technique produced more info than standard
     • Report everything + context reinstatement = best recall
       • evidence it is better than standard; valuable to improve recall

6. TIME CONSUMING

   • time to build rapport with withness + allow to relax - requires special training - some police may not use CI

7. SUPPORTING EVIDENCE

   • Geiselman showed police training videos of violent crimes; 48 hr and they were interviewed using CI/standard - found CI had most accurate recall