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Cognitive interview

Definition

An evidence-based technique developed by Geiselman and Fisher in the 1980s that uses specific memory-retrieval strategies (context reinstatement, report everything, mental reinstatement, change order, change perspective) to enhance the completeness and accuracy of an eyewitness or witness account.

Related terms

Behavior analysis interview (BAI)
An interview technique developed by John Reid that involves a structured diagnostic question sequence and claims to differentiate truthful from deceptive subjects...
Cognitive load
The mental effort required to process and respond. Some interview approaches deliberately increase cognitive load on the basis that maintaining a fabricated...
Free narrative
The uninterrupted portion of an interview in which the subject recounts events in their own words and order. Research consistently shows that...
PEACE model
A five-stage interview framework developed in England and Wales in 1992 as an alternative to confession-focused interrogation: Preparation and Planning, Engage and...
Reid technique
The dominant North American police interrogation method developed by John E. Reid and Fred Inbau (1962; 5th edition 2013). Characterised by a...

Explained in

  • Forensic Interviewing TechniquesAn evidence-based technique developed by Geiselman and Fisher in the 1980s that uses specific memory-retrieval strategies (context reinstatement, report everyt...

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