The Cognitive Interview

Question	Answer
What is the cognitive interview?	A method of interviewing eyewitnesses to help then retrieve more accurate memories.
What are the four main techniques used in the cognitive interview?	Report everything, reinstate the context, reverse the order, change perspective
What do we mean by reporting everything?	Witnesses are encouraged to report every single detail about the event, even if it may seem irrelevant.
What do we mean by reinstating the context?	They should return to to the original crime scene in their mind. imaging the weather and what they could see and smell etc
What do we mean by reversing the order?	Should be recalled in a different order such as end to beginning. Makes sure that witnesses are not reporting their expectations.
What do we mean by changing perspective?	recall the incidents from other people's perspectives.
What is a limitation of the cognitive interview?	It takes much more time than the standard police interview
What is another strength of the cognitive interview?	at least two of the elements are extremely useful such as report everything and reinstating the context.

Resource summary

	Created by Elise Lambert over 8 years ago