The history of an idea: The cognitive interview

Abstract

Purpose

We describe here the 40-year history of the Cognitive Interview (CI) protocol, which was developed initially to enhance victim and witness recall of crime.

Methods

We begin with the serendipitous events that led to the creation of the CI, initially a simple procedure, and then describe the various events and encounters that led to revising the technique. Much of the development of the CI benefited from our learning from other psychologists and real-world practitioners.

Results

We describe the controlled, laboratory testing of the CI, and equally important, testing in real-world investigations, including non-criminal investigations (e.g., accidents, health-related events).

Conclusion

We conclude by noting some of the potential costs of the CI and offer some suggestions to guide the direction of future research to improve the CI.