Enhancement of Eyewitness Memory with the Cognitive Interview

TLDR

This study evaluated the cognitive interview as a method to enhance eyewitness recall and examined its constituent mnemonic components. The authors tested the procedure with 51 nonstudents who watched simulated violent crimes and were interviewed 48 hours later, then dissected the interview into its four mnemonic elements. The cognitive interview yielded significantly more accurate details than standard interviews, with no increase in errors, and all four mnemonic components proved useful, confirming the technique as effective, efficient, and legally acceptable.

Abstract

This research evaluated an innovative interview procedure, the cognitive interview, that was designed to aid eyewitnesses recall the details of crimes. Experiment 1 was conducted to examine the success of the cognitive interview in a nonstudent population. Fifty-one nonstudent volunteers viewed police training films of simulated violent crimes and were questioned individually in interactive interviews 48 hr later by experienced law-enforcement personnel. The cognitive interview elicited significantly more correct information from the subjects than did the standard police interview, and without an accompanying increase in incorrect information or confabulation. Experiment 2 was designed to separate the cognitive interview into its constituent parts and to evaluate the success of each mnemonic. It was concluded that all four general mnemonics contained in the interview (two increasing feature overlap between encoding and retrieval contexts; two encouraging use of many retrieval paths) are useful and should be retained. The cognitive interview is a viable memory-enhancement technique that is effective, efficient, and legally acceptable.