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| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cognitive interview | 2/4 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_interview | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T14:11:04.645971+00:00 | kb-cron |
Mental Reinstatement of Environmental and Personal Contexts: The participant is asked to mentally revisit the to-be-remembered (TBR) event. The interviewer may ask them to form a mental picture of the environment in which they witnessed the event. This picture could include the placement of objects such as windows or furniture, the lighting, or even the temperature. The participant is also asked to revisit their personal mental state during the event and then describe it in detail. The purpose of this process is to increase the feature overlap between initial witnessing and subsequent retrieval contexts. In-depth Reporting: The interviewer encourages the reporting of every detail, regardless of how peripheral it may seem to the main incident. This step is important for two reasons. First, the participant may only initially report what information they assume to be important regardless of the fact that they are unaware of what information will have value. Second, recalling partial details may lead to subsequent recall of additional relevant information. Describing the TBR Event in Several Orders: The participant creates a narrative of the TBR event. He or she is then prompted to start the narrative from a point that is different from their initial starting point. This process may provide a new perspective of the event which subsequently provides an opportunity for new information to be recalled. Reporting the TBR Event from Different Perspectives: The participant is asked to report the event from several different perspectives; like that of another witness or even a participant. If the participant witnessed a robbery, the interviewer may ask ‘What do you think the cashier saw?’ and then ask for the participant’s perspective. Supplementary Techniques: These techniques are used to elicit specific items from the narrative that the participant provides about what they witnessed. These techniques are questions posed to the interviewee that may jog their memory for details such as physical appearance (‘Did the intruder remind you of anyone you know?’), objects (‘Did they appear to be heavy to carry?’), or speech characteristics (‘Were any unusual words or foreign words used?’). Each of the four retrieval rules were tested and proved to be useful in the interview process.
=== The enhanced cognitive interview === The enhanced version of the cognitive interview contains the same four retrieval rules as the original. The enhanced CI includes more social aspects to the interview setting and procedure, which adds a further increase in recall from the original version. The enhanced version also includes several general principles for improving communication between the interviewer and the participant. These recommendations include minimizing any distractions, allowing for a pause between the response and the next question, as well as tailoring the language used to suit the eyewitness. These recommendations allow the interviewer to provide an environment that allows for increased context reinstatement from the participant.
== Performing a cognitive interview ==
=== Process === The cognitive interview is carried out in a series of several steps. First, an introduction is made which establishes a relationship between the witness and the interviewer. At this point the interviewer introduces the four retrieval rules to the witness and asks him or her to use these techniques. The interviewer then gives the witness an opportunity to provide an uninterrupted narration of what they saw. During this time, the interviewer is able to construct a strategy for carrying out the remainder of the interview. The interviewer will then guide the witness through several information-rich memory representations, after which the interviewer will assess the witness' recollections. The completion of this last step is followed by the completion of the interview. The interview is formally ended, but with a suggestion that will prolong its functional life. According to Willis, although two-hour interviews are possible the optimal length for a cognitive interview is about an hour.
=== The effective interviewer === One of the main goals of the interviewer is to maximize memory retrieval from a detailed level of representation and to minimize memory retrieval from the general level. In a study done by Fisher, Geiselman, and Amador several suggestions are provided for the interviewer to use when they feel appropriate in order to maximize memory retrieval.
Based on what is known about the encoding specificity principle, the interviewer should encourage the witness to revisit their state of mind at the time of the event. The interviewer would encourage that the witness think about any external factors (e.g., weather), emotional factors (e.g., feelings of fear), and cognitive factors (e.g., relevant thoughts) that were present. The interviewer should make every effort to assist the witness to remain in a state of focused concentration because if there is any disruption, the retrieval process will be impaired. To encourage the witnesses’ participation, the interviewer should use open-ended questions. The series of events witnessed will be stored differently for each participant. The effective interviewer makes every effort to tailor the interview to each witness. Interviewers should be flexible and alter their approach to meet the needs of each witness rather than use a rigid, uniform style of questioning thereby forcing witnesses to adjust their mental representations to the interviewer's questioning.
== Limitations == Though cognitive interviews have been shown to yield many positive results, this technique is not without its limitations. The most commonly cited problem regarding cognitive interviews is that they are more difficult to perform than standard police interviews. Cognitive interviews (CI) are more difficult to conduct than standard interviews (SI) in two main ways:
The CI takes longer to conduct than a standard police interview. Cognitive interviews are only useful with certain eyewitnesses. Ultimately, when performing a cognitive interview it is important to develop a rapport and trust between the interviewer and eyewitness to obtain the necessary information. This relationship is integral when conducting a cognitive interview as interrogation tactics often found in standard police interviews are not used.