High quality in-class notes with 4 detailed evaluation paragraphs on the Cognitive Interview for AQA A-level Psychology. In-depth notes on each of the key components as well information on the enhanced cognitive interview. Everything you need for a 8 or 16 mark essay.
Psychology – Improving the accuracy of eyewitness testimony: Cognitive Interview
Cognitive Interview – A method of interviewing eyewitnesses to help them retrieve
more accurate memories. Features of the cognitive interview:
No standard questions.
No time limit.
Interviewer normally remains silent.
Open ended and non-leading questions.
Memories can be retrieved and context dependent based.
Ronald Fisher and Edward Geiselman argued that eyewitness testimony could be
improved if the police used better techniques when interviewing witnesses. There are
four main parts of the cognitive interview:
1) Report everything – witnesses are encouraged to include every single detail of
the event, even though they may seem irrelevant, they may trigger other
important memories.
2) Reinstate the context – the witness should return to the original crime scene in
their mind and imagine the environment (weather, what they could see etc) and
their emotions (happy, bored etc). This is related to context-dependent
forgetting.
3) Reverse the order – events should be recalled in a different order from the
original sequence. This prevents people reporting their expectations of how the
event must have happened and it also prevents dishonesty.
4) Change perspective – witnesses should recall the incident from other people’s
perspectives. E.g. how it would have appeared to other witnesses or to the
perpetrator. This also disrupts the effect of expectations of how the event
happened and the effect of schema on recall. E.g. schema for a particular setting,
such as a shop.
The enhanced cognitive interview:
Fisher added some additional elements into the cognitive interview. These include:
When to establish eye contact and when not to.
How to reduce eyewitness anxiety.
How to minimise distractions.
How to make sure witnesses speak slowly.
Ask open-ended questions.
Evaluation:
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller eviedequinceyadams. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for £4.99. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
