The Cognitive Interview and its effect on witnesses' confidence

• Today there is ample evidence that the Cognitive Interview (CI) enhances witnesses' memory. However, less is known about how the CI affects eyewitnesses' confidence. To address this shortcoming we conducted a study analyzing how realism in confidence was affected by the CI. All participants were first shown a filmed kidnapping. After 2 weeks we interviewed one-third of the participants according to the guidelines of the CI, one-third according to a Standard Interview (SI), and one-third were not interviewed at all (Control condition). Participants in all three conditions were then asked to answer 45 forced-choice questions, and to give a confidence judgment after each choice. For the questions, no differences in accuracy were found between the three conditions. Confidence was higher in the CI and SI conditions, compared with the Control condition. CI and SI did not differ in meta-cognitive realism but both showed lower realism compared with the Control condition, although only CI significantly so. The results indicate that the inflation in confidence is more likely to be explained in terms of a reiteration effect, than as a consequence of the particular mnemonics characterizing the CI (e.g. "mental reinstatement of context"). In sum, CI does not seem to impair (or improve) the realism in witnesses' confidence, and does not inflate confidence in erroneous recall, compared to a SI.

Subject headings

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Psykologi (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Psychology (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Confidence

calibration

cognitive interview

reiteration effect

The Cognitive Interview

realism in confidence

cognitive interveiw

Lärarutbildning och pedagogisk yrkesverksamhet

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)