- Memory researchers have found that individuals trying to remember a past event often only recall portions of the relevant information. Human memory is selective. It also deteriorates over time and can be confused with similar memories. Memory is distorted by stress. An individual's accurate recall of an event or understanding of a question can be improved using specific interviewing techniques.
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The two primary uses for cognitive interviewing are helping cooperative witnesses recall information about an event and helping researchers develop survey questions that will extract relevant information from subjects.
According to Gordon Willis from the Research Triangle Institute, "Cognitive Interviews is a common means for applying the cognitive model in a manner that may ultimately improve the quality of survey questions, through the study of comprehension, retrieval, judgment, and response processes."
Police departments use cognitive interviewing techniques to assist witnesses in recalling details about observed crimes, and accident investigators apply these techniques to help victims remember events. - Eye witness testimony is often key in criminal investigations and must be accurate and complete. The result of research that relies on survey questions impacts the evaluation of treatments and our understanding of the behavior of people. For research results to be valid, it is essential the subjects understand the questions being asked.
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Graham Davis describes four cognitive interview techniques commonly applied in witness interviews:
• Restate the conditions or context surrounding the event such as time of day, weather conditions, the scene and the subject's emotional state.
• Report everything remembered no matter how trivial it may seem.
• Recall events in a different order.
• Change perspective. For example, a cognitive interviewer might ask the witness to recall an event from the perspective of a third party.
Added to these techniques are the more general cognitive interview techniques of thinking aloud and verbal probing from the interviewer.
In terms of research subjects, cognitive interviews attempt to understand how a subject from a different culture, education level or age might interpret a question as asked in the survey. Researchers use probing, thinking aloud or asking the subject to rephrase the question to clarify or reword questions. - Cognitive interviews are valuable tools in improving survey-based research and the accuracy and completeness of witness testimony.
