R. Edward Geiselman

Field Test of the Cognitive Interview: Enhancing the Recollection of Actual Victims and Witnesses of Crime

The Cognitive Interview was tested in the field to enhance the recollection of actual victims and witnesses of crime. The technique is based on laboratory-tested principles of memory retrieval, knowledge representation, and communication. Seven experienced detectives from the Metro-Dade Police Department were trained to use the technique and were compared with 9 untrained detectives. Before and after training, all detectives tape-recorded interviews with victims and witnesses of crime. The trained detectives elicited 47% more information after than before training, and 63% more information than did the untrained detectives. Overall collaboration rates (94%) were extremely high and were equivalent for pre- and posttrained interviews. Because the Cognitive Interview reliably enhances memory and is easily learned and administered, it should be useful for a variety of investigative interviews.

Enhancement of eyewitness memory with the cognitive interview

This research evaluated an innovative interview procedure, the cognitive interview, that was designed to aid eyewitnesses recall the details of crimes. Experiment 1 was conducted to examine the success of the cognitive interview in a nonstudent population. Fifty-one nonstudent volunteers viewed police training films of simulated violent crimes and were questioned individually in interactive interviews 48 hr later by experienced law-enforcement personnel. The cognitive interview elicited significantly more correct information from the subjects than did the standard police interview, and without an accompanying increase in incorrect information or confabulation. Experiment 2 was designed to separate the cognitive interview into its constituent parts and to evaluate the success of each mnemonic. It was concluded that all four general mnemonics contained in the interview (two increasing feature overlap between encoding and retrieval contexts; two encouraging use of many retrieval paths) are useful and should be retained. The cognitive interview is a viable memory-enhancement technique that is effective, efficient, and legally acceptable.

A formal analysis of ratings of physical attractiveness: Successive contrast and simultaneous assimilation

Photographs of faces were presented in a series, either singly or in pairs, for ratings of physical attractiveness. In Experiment 1, faces were presented singly, and both the range and relative frequencies of physical attractiveness (on baseline scaling) were manipulated experimentally. The same face elicited higher ratings when less attractive faces predominated in the experimental series, successive contrast. Increasing the number of available categories resulted in higher ratings but did not reduce the amount of successive contrast. Both range and skewing effects were in accordance with a range-frequency model that permits the subjective range to vary with number of categories. In Experiment 2, faces were presented in pairs. The same face now elicited lower ratings when presented simultaneously with a less attractive face, simultaneous assimilation. Successive contrast was again observed between pairs and was greater for 5- than for 101-point rating scales. A model that uses the judgments resulting from a range-frequency compromise as the stimulus values for integration within pairs provides the best account of how both contrast and assimilation occur within the same experimental session. Alternative interpretations of the observed contrast and assimilation were discussed.

Adult Eyewitness Testimony: Improving eyewitness testimony with the Cognitive Interview

In a comprehensive study of criminal investigation processes, the Rand Corporation (1975) reported that the principal determinant of whether or not a case is solved is the completeness and accuracy of the eyewitnesss account. This official document mirrors the feelings unofficially held by many law enforcement agents (Sanders, 1986). Defense attorneys have made similar claims: The more evidence they can marshal, the better they can defend a client (Visher, 1987). In short, all concerned profit from having more complete and accurate eyewitness evidence. The criminal is more effectively pursued and tried; the innocent person is less likely to be harassed by the police or falsely convicted. Despite the obvious importance of eyewitness evidence, police receive inadequate training in conducting effective interviews with cooperative eyewitnesses (Sanders, 1986). A poll of American police departments revealed that more than half had no formal training whatsoever for newly appointed investigators (Rand Corporation, 1975). A comparable lack of systematic training was found for British police (Cahill & Mingay, 1986). Most textbooks in police science either completely omit the issue of effective interviewing techniques or provide only superficial coverage (although see Flanagan, 1981, and Wells, 1988, for notable exceptions). How do police learn to conduct eyewitness interviews? Typically, they either observe and try to emulate the style of a senior officer or they learn by trial and error. Often they are given a checklist of evidence to be gathered and are left on their own, without guidance, to elicit the information. It should not be surprising that police investigators (and others equally untrained, like attorneys or accident investigators) frequently make avoidable mistakes and fail to elicit potentially valuable information.

Context effects on the perceived physical attractiveness of faces

Abstract Four experiments were conducted to study the nature of context effects on the perceived physical attractiveness of faces. In Experiment 1, photos of faces scaled on attractiveness were presented in sets of three, with target faces appearing in the middle flanked by two context faces. The target faces were of average attractiveness, with the context faces being either high, average, or low in attractiveness. The effect of the context was one of assimilation, rather than contrast, regardless of whether the persons in the photos were portrayed to be associated. This result was interpreted in terms of a “generalized halo effect” for judgments of the physical attractiveness of stimuli within a group. Presenting the persons of a set as friends enhanced the perceived attractiveness of the target face but only when the context did not contain a face of low attractiveness. In Experiment 2, the assimilation effect was observed to carry over to influence ratings of the target faces several minutes after the context faces had been removed. Experiment 3 showed the assimilation effect to be robust regardless of whether the context was composed of two faces or one, but Experiment 4 showed the assimilation effect to be evident only when the context faces were presented simultaneously with the target.

Effects of constructing identi-kit composites on photospread identification performance

Previous research has found some forms of post-event activity, such as working with a sketch artist or viewing mugshots, to negatively affect the subsequent identification performance of an eyewitness. The present experiment examined potential carryover effects of forming an Identi-kit composite and writing a verbal description on the identification of an assailant from a photoarray. Both interventions were compared to a no-treatment (control) condition. Forming an Identi-kit composite increased witness sensitivity, causing subjects to be less likely to select any photo. In contrast, writing a description increased the likelihood that subjects identified the photo of the assailant. Neither intervention affected the likelihood of misidentification. Alternative theoretical explanations for the results and implications for field procedures are explored.

THE EFFECTS OF EFFORT ON STROOP INTERFERENCE

Abstract Stroop interference was defined as the difference in time needed to name the ink colors of printed color and color-related words versus control plus signs. The effect of effort on Stroop interference was studied using an inter-subject competition procedure designed to manipulate effort. In experiment 1, subjects in the competition group were successful at inhibiting Stroop interference when compared to the performance of subjects in the no-competition group. This result is consistent with theories that postulate attentional effects on Stroop interference. In experiment 2, the significant decrease in Stroop interference was accompanied by a significant reduction in recognition memory for Stroop list items. Therefore, Stroop interference was reduced at a stage during the processing of word meaning. This result is consistent with theories that locate Stroop interference before response output.

Observer Mood and Cross-Racial Recognition of Faces

Cross-race recognition (CRR) was examined for White and Black faces with participants from four racial groups: Whites, Blacks, Latinos, and Asians. Before viewing the faces, participants were asked to complete a passage to induce either a pleasant or an unpleasant mood. Each participant viewed a set of intermixed Black and White faces under each mood condition. A strong CRR effect was observed between Black and White participants, such that participants from either racial group were more likely to recognize faces of their own race and more likely to have a false alarm to faces of the other race. Latinos and Asians also were less accurate in their recognition of Black faces than Black participants, but they were no less accurate in their recognition of White faces than White participants. Face recognition was more accurate when participants from any of the racial groups were induced to be in unpleasant moods versus pleasant moods. However, mood did not interact with the CRR effect, and thus mood is unlikely to be a mediating variable for the effect.

Building composite facial images: Effects of feature saliency and delay of construction.

The utility of Identi-kit composites was evaluated for representation and identification of faces in 5 studies with 229 undergraduates. Ss constructed a composite immediately after exposure to a face or after 1 week. Other Ss attempted to identify the faces from photospreads by using the composites

Human Performance Evaluation of Alternative Graphic Display Symbologies

Nonmilitary subjects learned each of two types of foreground symbol sets (conventional symbols and iconic symbols) and were then shown a series of computer displays containing various symbol configurations. Each subject was required to search for specified foreground symbols under the conditions of high and low density of symbols, restricted and nonrestricted search, and pictorial versus nonpictorial target-symbol presentation. Iconic symbols yielded faster search times than conventional symbols under the condition of nonrestricted search and under the condition of nonpictorial target symbol presentation. These results suggest that iconic symbols are both easier to locate and easier to recall from memory. In addition, regardless of the type of symbology, high-density display increased search times. It was concluded that a system that incorporates both iconic symbols and selective call-up on foreground information would likely result in optimal human performance on search-related tasks.