The Cognitive Interview

The Cognitive Interview (CI) was developed by Fisher & Geiselman (1992) as an improved technique for interviewing eyewitnesses. It is based on psychological research into memory retrieval and was designed to increase the amount of accurate information obtained from witnesses without increasing the risk of false memories. The CI represents one of the most successful applications of psychological research to real-world practice.

Key Definition: The Cognitive Interview is a police interviewing technique designed to improve the accuracy and completeness of eyewitness recall by using psychologically-based retrieval strategies.

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The Four Original Techniques

Fisher and Geiselman proposed four key techniques, each grounded in psychological theory:

1. Mental Reinstatement of Context

Key Definition: Mental reinstatement of context involves asking the witness to mentally recreate the environment and their internal state at the time of the event — including sights, sounds, smells, weather, emotions, and thoughts.

• Psychological basis: Based on the Encoding Specificity Principle (Tulving & Thomson, 1973) — memory is improved when the context at retrieval matches the context at encoding.
• By mentally returning to the scene, the witness provides themselves with contextual cues that help trigger memories that might otherwise be inaccessible.
• Example: "Think back to the day of the incident. Where were you standing? What could you see? What were you feeling? What was the weather like?"

2. Report Everything

• The witness is encouraged to report every detail they can remember, no matter how trivial or irrelevant it may seem.
• Psychological basis: Seemingly unimportant details may act as cues that trigger further memories, or may provide information that is valuable when combined with other evidence.
• This also reduces the tendency for witnesses to edit or filter their accounts based on what they think is important.
• Example: "Don't hold anything back, even if you think it might not be relevant. Sometimes small details can help us piece things together."

3. Change Order

• The witness is asked to recall the event in a different chronological order — for example, starting from the end and working backwards, or starting from the most memorable moment.
• Psychological basis: This disrupts the witness's tendency to use schemas (mental shortcuts based on expectations) to fill in gaps. Recalling in a different order forces the witness to focus on what they actually remember rather than what they expect to have happened.
• It also provides a second retrieval attempt, which may access memories that were missed during the first account.

4. Change Perspective

• The witness is asked to recall the event from a different perspective — for example, from the viewpoint of another person who was present, or from the perspective of the perpetrator.
• Psychological basis: This disrupts schema-based recall by encouraging the witness to consider the event from a different angle, which may trigger additional details.
• It also reduces the influence of the witness's own expectations and assumptions.
• Example: "Try to think about what you would have seen if you had been standing where the shop assistant was."

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Summary of the Four Techniques

Technique	What the Witness Does	Psychological Basis
Mental reinstatement of context	Mentally recreates the scene and their feelings	Encoding specificity principle (Tulving & Thomson, 1973)
Report everything	Reports all details, even seemingly trivial ones	Small details may act as retrieval cues
Change order	Recalls event in a different order (e.g., backwards)	Disrupts schema-based recall; provides additional retrieval attempt
Change perspective	Recalls event from another person's viewpoint	Disrupts expectations; may trigger different memories

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The Enhanced Cognitive Interview (ECI)

Fisher, Geiselman & Amador (1989) developed the Enhanced Cognitive Interview, which added several practical elements to improve the interview process:

Additional Element	Detail
Rapport building	Establishing a comfortable, supportive relationship with the witness before questioning begins
Open-ended questions	Using questions that allow the witness to give full, detailed answers rather than yes/no responses
Reducing anxiety	Creating a calm, non-pressured environment; allowing the witness to take their time
Witness-compatible questioning	Adapting the order and style of questions to suit the individual witness's account
Minimising distractions	Conducting the interview in a quiet, private setting

The ECI recognises that the social dynamics of the interview (not just the cognitive techniques) are crucial for obtaining accurate testimony. A witness who feels anxious, rushed, or disbelieved is less likely to provide detailed and accurate information.

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Research Evidence for the Cognitive Interview (AO3)

Kohnken et al. (1999): Meta-Analysis

Procedure:

• Conducted a meta-analysis of 55 studies comparing the cognitive interview with standard police interviews.

Findings:

Measure	CI vs Standard Interview
Correct information	CI produced a 34% increase in accurate details
Inaccurate information	CI also produced a slight increase in inaccurate details, but the ratio of correct to incorrect information remained favourable