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Questions and Answers
What is one of the main limitations of the cognitive interview?
Which combination of cognitive interview techniques has been shown to improve recall?
What was the average number of correctly recalled facts in the cognitive interview according to Geiselman's study?
What does the need for extensive training imply about the cognitive interview's practical use?
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Why might elements of the cognitive interview be valued differently?
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What is a primary finding of the study conducted by Yuille and Cutshall regarding eyewitness memory?
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How does the presence of a weapon influence a witness's memory according to the content provided?
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What is one limitation of the cognitive interview techniques?
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Which of the following explains the ecological validity concern of Loftus and Palmer’s study?
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What is the primary psychological issue affecting eyewitness memory when individuals experience high stress?
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Study Notes
Cognitive Interview
- The cognitive interview is a technique used to improve eyewitness recall.
- It involves several techniques:
- Context Reinstatement: Mentally recreating the situation, including environment and emotional state.
- Recall from a Changed Perspective: Imagining the scene from different viewpoints.
- Recall in Reverse Order: Describing the event in reverse chronological order.
- Report Everything: Reporting all details, even seemingly unimportant ones.
- The cognitive interview is time-consuming to conduct and requires training for officers.
- Research suggests that combining 'report everything' and 'context reinstatement' yields better recall than individual techniques.
Enhanced Cognitive Interview
- Builds upon the original cognitive interview by adding:
- Encouraging relaxation and slow speech.
- Offering clarifying comments.
- Adapting questions to individual witness understanding.
Misleading Information
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Loftus & Palmer (1974) studied the impact of misleading information on eyewitness memory.
- Participants watched a video of a car accident.
- They were then asked questions with different verbs describing the impact (e.g., "smashed," "hit").
- The verb used influenced participants' estimated speeds.
- Those asked "smashed" reported higher speeds than those asked "hit."
- Strengths: The study is easy to replicate due to its standardized procedure.
- Limitations: The study lacks mundane realism (emotional impact of a real accident) and ecological validity (student sample not representative of general population).
Anxiety/Stress
- Anxiety can focus attention on the source of fear, potentially impairing recall of other details.
- However, Yuille & Cutshall (1986) found that stress didn't significantly affect eyewitness accuracy in a real-life shooting incident.
- Participants (13 witnesses) were highly accurate 4-5 months post-event.
- Higher stress levels were even linked to slightly better accuracy.
- Strengths: High ecological validity due to real-world scenario.
- Limitations: Extraneous variable: witnesses with higher stress levels were closer to the event, potentially aiding their recall.
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