1. Cognitive interview

2. The Cognitive Interview
You have just three minutes to research what the Cognitive interview is. Grab pack, book, smartphone, I pad or any other resource to find out what this is. Your three minutes has already begun. A bell will indicate when that is over…

3. Stop research
Now in your groups, each grab a pen and go to the wall mounted white boards and write as much as you can remember in 90 seconds. The group with the most (accurate) information wins the activity. Go go go go ! Time has begun

4. Stop - who has won?
Go to the board of who is next to you (clockwise) Read their answers. You have one honest judgement to make. Which is the best? Your group’s answers or theirs? Teacher makes final decision!

5. Answers to Activity A
Memories are complex, and are made up from different types of memory
Old information can interfere with new information, so stereotypes about criminal behaviour may distort the recall of what actually happened
New information can interfere with old information, so if witnesses discuss the events, this could distort the recall of what actually happened
Retrieval cues are important, and their absence can lead to inaccuracy
Leading questions can distort the accuracy of recall

6. Activity B - answers Recreate the context of the original incident
Report every detail
Recall the event in reverse order
Change perspectives

7. Activity C - answers

8. Activity D
Watch the clip of from the series Criminal Minds. Decide which two Cognitive interview techniques the interviewer is using and which she is not Answers: Did use – report everything and recreate the context Didn’t use – report in reverse order and report from a changed perspective (although it maybe argued that the boy talking implied this was used)

9. Careers
Nearly always, dramatisations are not the same as what happens in real life, and most cognitive interviews are far more mundane than this. However, if you are interested in using psychology in regards to a legal career, then forensic psychology is the field you would need to study at degree or beyond. Take a moment to look at the information from Portsmouth University on the activity sheet

10. Exam question – model answer
The student could ask the participants to recall the event in reverse order (1 mark) this would mean the interviewer would ask the witness to begin after the explosion and go backwards through the events (2 marks). For example, the student may ask the witness to report on what happened just before the accident but after take off. The student could then ask the witness to explain events during countdown, as the astronauts got onto the shuttle, the witness’s observations during pre-flight interviews and so on until they get to the first events of the day (3 marks). This would have the effect of the witness recalling events not in a stereotyped way and giving a more accurate account of the events (4 marks). Now you use a different cognitive interview technique to answer the question in activity E

11. Activity F (a)
(P) The research findings have shown to be reliable, (E) for example, Kohnken et al (1999) carried out a meta-analysis of 53 studies investigating cognitive interview, albeit an enhanced version, and found, on average, a 34% increase in the amount of correct information generated compared with standard police interviews, (S) This shows that the findings are not a ‘one-off’ and we should be confident in suggesting that cognitive interview does produce more accurate EWT than standard interview, so the development and use of it have real tangible benefits

12. Activity F (b)
(P) Additionally, since the initial reconceptualisation of the police interview, there have been a number of changes to the original use of the cognitive interview, and new techniques known as enhanced cognitive interviews (ECI) are now common (E) for example, dynamics were taken into account, such as when to (or not to) establish eye-contact, ways to reduce anxiety, minimising distractions, asking the witness to speak slowly and to ask open ended questions. (S) So although cognitive interview has shown to be beneficial, researchers and legal agencies should not stop developing research and refining the procedures, so that even more accurate EWTs can be garnered.

13. Activity F (c)
(P) However, the economic impact of the cognitive interview must be considered. (E) The Cognitive Interview tends to take longer and use more resources than the traditional interview, and some critics suggest that some of the procedures are more valuable than others, whilst others are mindful of the increase in time and resources required to conduct the interviews, it also requires more training. (S) In times when police funding is under pressure, it may be more viable to only use aspects of the CI, or not use it at all, so that time and resources are not being used without good reason to do so, although it could be counter argued that the increase in accuracy has economic benefits in the long term, as the more accurate EWTs there are, the fewer cases will be dismissed, meaning taking cases to court becomes much more efficient.