WEEK 4 - interviewing eye witnesses

what is the spreading activation theory of memory?

• information is encoded into cognitive units

• the units form an interconnected netowkr

• the strength of these units increases with practice and decays with delay

• retrieval is achieved by spreading activation throughout the network

• the level of activation in the network determines the rate and probability of recall

retrieval is a joint product of what?

1. stored memory traces

2. cues that are available at retrieval

these will predict what you remember

what is the encoding specificty principle?

to the extent that encoding conditions and retrieval conditions are similar, memory will be enhanced

what plays a large role in retrieval?

context

when are you more likely to remember words?

if you are tested in the same place you learnt them

interviews conducted when are are the most crucial in determining whether a case is solved?

during the initial phase of the investigation

describe what good and bad interviews can do to the investigation?

good - advance the investiagtion

bad - contaminate the whole investiagtion

what are 2 types of interview protocols used and what is the aim of them?

cognitive interview

NICHD protocol

maximising the quantity and quality of eyewitness testimony

describe which protocol is used for children or adults

cognitive interview

NICHD protocol

cogntive interview - adult

NICHD protocol - children

what 4 things do each protocol all agree on the importance of?

1. questioning style

2. rapport

3. ground rules

4. interviewer objectivity

describe the hiarachy on questioning style (in order from best to worse)

• open ended questions

• specific questions

• force choiced questions

• suggestive questions

• leading questions

what should interviews start with?

a free recall phase

when can you ask suggestive questions?

if the person is not forthcoming

what was the mean length of uninterrupted free recall? why is this

7.5 secs

interviewers find it very difficult to not interupt

loftus and palmer conducted a study on questioning style looking at a film of a car accident. There were asked questions about the film straight away and the wording fo the question was manipulated. what was found?

• subjectes estimates of speeds were dependent on the question wording

• they assessed report of broken glass at scene and found that it was related to the wording of the speed estimate question

what is the holy grail technique?

a technique that increases the amount of information provided without compromsing accuracy

anatomically detailed dolls require children to what?

• understand dual representation

• map past events ontol dolls

• stay on tasks without drifting into play

what are the unsupportive findings of dolls?

• children suspected of abuse engage in more play and report more fantastic details when interviewed with dolls

• dolls lead to increased false reports of genital and anal touching

• dolls tend to increase errors without necessarily leading to an increase in detail

should dolls be used?

no

By the 1990s what was decided about the use of anatomically detailed dolls?

• childrens interactions with dolls are not diagnostic of abuse

• interviewers should not use dolls in ways that ask children to demonstrate abuse prior to verbal reports of abuse

• dolls are risk with children under 5

martyn, jack and zajac conducted a study looking at visual aids, they showed children, adolescents, adults a film clip of a stimulated crime, then what happened? what was found from the study?

• 15 misn later were asked to give a free recall account of what just happened

• then asked to recall the event again. This time, they were assigned to one of four conditions.

1. own sketch

2. provided sketch

3. photograph

4. no visual aid

found:

• regardless of age, visual aids increased the amount of information the participants provided

• visual aids increased the proportion of accurate information provided

what are the 5 ways in which visual aids can help?

1. increase amoutn of time spent in interview

2. decrease social barriers between interviewer and interviewee

3. help witnesses provide own retrieval cues

4. help witnesses to mentall reinstate context

5. influence the interviewers behaviour

describe rapport

the more at ease a witness is, the more information they ar elikely to impart

especially when topic is sensitive or traumatic

rapport building is linked to what

interview performance

sternberg looked at 51 investigative interviews with child complaints of sexual abuse, what age were these kids?

what was manipulated in this study?

what was found in this study?

between 4 and 12 yrs

the style of rapport building phase (open ended or direct questions)

open ended questions gave twice as many words and gave over twice as many details than closed ended

what are the 3 components the tripartite model of rapport emphasise?

1. mutual attentiveness

2. positivity

3. coordination

is using interviewees names helpful?

yes

In the norway bombing and mass shooting, victims reported the most positive experience of their police interview if they did what?

• could control their own narrative

• were able to present a coherent account

• listened by an interviewer promoting safety

• perceived the police as empathetic and professional

• could cope with emotional reactions in the interview

• regarded the interview as meaningful

what are ground rules?

instructions for the interviews

level of reporting is selected based on?

• past experiences

• assumed communication rules

• assumptions about the interviewers knowledge

a study was conducted where104 participants watched a simulated crime where someone was shot at the end, they were all interviewed with what type of ground rules? what were the findings?

• standardinstructions

• free recall

• open ended

• yes/no questions

half were then given a pen example

found:

• the pen example resulted in more information during free recall with no loss of accuracy

• there was no significant effect of pen condition on responses to open questions, or yes/no questions

• But when free recall and open ended questions combined the pen example had no effect

when interviewers not objective they can what?

• shape witnesses reports

• overlook or ignore relevant information

• inaccurately report interview contents

describe the mcmartin preschool case

mother noticed gential rash on her 2 year old

child and police became certain child was abused by teacher

interviews were conducted

350 allegations againt 7 teachers at this school

what were the 5 problematic questioning techniques from the mcmartin preschool case?

1. suggestive questions

2. referring to other people

3. positive and negative consequences

4. asked and answered

5. inviting speculation

what are the implications for eyewitnesses retrieval?

• investigators have influence over the evidence they elicit from eyewitness

• the retrieval process itself can damage memory

• eyewitness evidence needs to be collected in such a way that is preserved, rather than contaminated

• a dogged focus on detail could be misguided