Can provision of investigation-specific
training information improve initial
eyewitness online recall?
Gabrielle Gower, MSc and Dr. Anne Ridley
Division of Psychology
School of Applied Sciences
• Psychological theory of memory (Tulving, 1985; Baddeley,
1986).
• Cognitive Interview (Geiselman et al., 1984).
• Enhanced Cognitive Interview (Fisher et al., 1987).
• Sketch Reinstatement of Context (Dando, Wilcock, Milne &
Henry, 2009).
• Self-Administered Interview (Gabbert, Hope & Fisher, 2009).
• CI poorly implemented due to factors such as time pressures
in real-life investigations. (Dando, Wilcock & Milne, 2009).
• SAI an excellent solution for mass interviews. May not always
be time for witnesses to fill in full. (Gabbert, Hope, Fisher &
Jamieson, 2012).
• In practice, most police interviews begin with “Tell me
everything…” instruction. (English & English, 2003).
• Suggestibility (Loftus, 1979), often caused by misleading
information (LaPaglia et al., 2014). Difficult to avoid,
particularly in situations with multiple witnesses who confer
(Ridley, Gabbert & LaRooy, 2013).
• Incidental versus intentional learning (Naveh-Benjamin et al.,
2009): does it matter whether witnesses were consciously
encoding the information during the crime event or not?
• Some studies shown that police perform better in recall tests of
crime events than civilians (Yuille, 1984). But does this mean police
have better memories or have they just been trained?
• Pre-interview training of witnesses has been shown to improve
subsequent performance in questioning, particularly in children
(e.g. Gee, Gregory & Pipe, 1999), in line-up identifications (e.g.
Storozuk & Dupius, 2013) and when requesting a verbal description
of the perpetrator (Demarchi & Py, 2009).
• So can we train civilians to think like police officers and so improve
their recall of a crime event?
• Most crimes still reported in person. As a result, there are
currently limited means to report a crime online.
• Advent of digital age means this likely to have to change.
• Study into effectiveness of online crime reporting conducted
last year but further research yet to be done (e.g. Open Policy
UK, 2015 ).
• Mass terrorist incidents and multiple witnesses mean methods
for obtaining evidence quickly and in bulk are essential.
• Prevalence of social media means consideration should be given
to ways to collect detailed multiple online statements as
effectively as possible.
• Provision of training information would significantly improve the
quality of initial witness recall.
• It was predicted that those who received the training
information before viewing the crime event would perform
better than those who did not due to greater levels of
intentional encoding.
• An interaction between timing of information provided and
presence or absence of training information was predicted.
While training information would improve the quality of witness
statements, it was hypothesised that those who received the
training information before witnessing the event would show
greater improvements than those who received it afterwards.
• 95 adult participants from non-law enforcement backgrounds.
• 2x2 between subjects design. Interview training: training/basic instructions only;
Timing of training: before/after viewing simulated crime video.
• Online survey with an embedded short (2 minutes 13 seconds) video of simulated
crime event.
• Online free recall task; three forced choice (yes/no) misleading questions plus one
forced choice filler question (not analysed).
• Participants’ free recall scored for the number of bits of correct and incorrect
information and the number of correct responses to misleading questions.
• High inter-rater reliability: Pearson’s correlations varied from 0.87-0.98 on the different
measures with the significance levels (all at p < 0.001).
• Training information:
“You are about to watch a short film. After the film, you will be asked to state everything you can
remember about what happened. Please read carefully the following information taken from a police
training manual on how to achieve best evidence from witnesses before continuing to the next page:
A witness statement is a written record of a person's first-hand knowledge of an incident. In order for it to
be as helpful as possible for the police investigation, it should ideally contain the following:
- As many details as possible about what was seen, heard or felt;
- As much detail as possible about any individuals involved;
- As many details as possible about what actually happened.
If a witness is not sure about a particular detail, they should state so clearly.”
• Basic instructions:
“You are about to watch a short film. After the film, you will be asked to state everything you can
remember about what happened.”
Table 1: Means and standard deviations (in parentheses) of dependent variables by condition
(training or basic instructions only provided and whether the information was provided
before or after watching the video).
Training
Before video
After video
Basic instructions
Before video
After video
FR: Correct
37.18 (13.12) 38.17 (9.75)
24.55 (7.10)
25.21 (9.14)
FR: Incorrect
1.12 (1.17)
0.83 (0.65)
1.76 (1.35)
1.55 (1.79)
FR: Accuracy
0.97 (0.02)
0.98 (0.02)
0.94 (0.07)
0.94 (0.04)
Misleading
correct
2.88 (0.33)
2.91 (0.29)
2.9 (0.31)
2.94 (0.24)
Results
•
Multivariate analysis of variance conducted on correct and incorrect
responses with training condition and timing of training as
independent variables:
–
Free Recall: Significant multivariate effect of training on information recalled, F(2, 88) = 26.38, p <
0.001, partial η2 = 0.38; no significant effect of timing on amount of information recalled (p = 0.90)
and no significant interaction effect (p = 0.64).
–
Univariate effects showed significant main effects of training on number of bits of correct
information, F(1, 89) = 37.64, p < 0.001, partial η2 = 0.30 with more recalled in the training (M =
37.75, SD = 11.16) than brief information condition (M = 24.96, SD = 8.36) and on number of bits of
incorrect information, F(1, 89) = 6.04, p < 0.05, partial η2 = 0.06, with fewer errors in the training (M
= 0.95, SD = 0.90) than brief information condition (M = 1.68, SD = 1.52).
–
No significant univariate effects of timing (p ≥ 0.69) and no significant interactions (p ≥ 0.37).
Results
• Univariate ANOVAs carried out on Accuracy (number of
correct responses/total bits of information recalled) and
number of correct responses to misleading questions with
training and timing of instructions as dependent variables:
– Univariate effects showed significant main effects of training on
accuracy of free recall answers, F(1, 89) = 13.36, p < 0.001, partial η2 =
0.13 with greater accuracy in the training (M = 97%, SD = 0.02) than
brief information condition (M = 94%, SD = 0.05).
– No significant univariate effects found on accuracy of misleading
questions (p ≥ 0.57).
• In line with previous research (e.g. Demarchi & Py, 2009),
provision of training information significantly improved
performance on all free recall measures. No significant
effect on misleading, forced-choice questions found.
• Timing of provision of training also not found to have
significant impact on recall, nor was there any significant
interaction between being given training information and
the time it was provided.
– Reassuring in real-world scenarios where training cannot be
provided before witnessing an incident.
• Hypothesis therefore only partially supported.
• Brief, context-specific training significantly
increases quantity and quality in online free
recall context.
• However: field testing required. Age group of
sample potentially older than generation most
confident using online methods of
communication.
• Galvanising of social media to support the
retrieval of accurate information has to be
considered by the policing authorities.
• User-friendly online application or link on a
police website could be the next venture in
the development of witness recall in
contemporary times.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Baddeley, A. D. (1986). Working memory. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Dando, C. J., Wilcock, R. & Milne, R. (2009). The Cognitive Interview: Novice police officers’
witness/victim interviewing practices. Psychology, Crime & Law, 15, 679-696. doi:
10.1080/10683160802203963.
Dando, C, J., Wilcock, R., Milne, R. & Henry, L. (2009). A modified cognitive interview procedure for
frontline police investigators. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 23, 698-716. doi: 10.1002/acp.1501.
Deffenbacher, K. A., Bornstein, B. H., Penrod, S. D. & McGorty, E. K. (2004). A meta-analytic review
of the effects of high stress on eyewitness memory. Law & Human Behaviour, 28, 687-706.
Retrieved from: http://www.unomaha.edu on 11/02/15.
Demarchi, S. & Py, J. (2009). A method to enhance person description: A field study. In R. Bull, T.
Valentine & T. Williamson (Eds.), Handbook of psychology of investigative interviewing (pp. 514517). Sussex: Wiley-Blackwell.
English, J. & English, B. (2003). Police Training Manual. Berkshire: McGraw-Hill Professional.
Fisher, R. P., Geiselman, R. E., Raymond, D. S., Jurkevich, L. & Warhaftig, M. M. (1987). Enhancing
eyewitness memory: Refining the Cognitive Interview. Journal of Police Science & Administration,
15, 291-297. doi: 10.1037/0021-9010.74.5.722.
Gabbert, F., Hope, L. & Fisher, R. P. (2009). Protecting eyewitness evidence: Examining the efficacy
of a self-administered interview tool. Law & Human Behaviour, 33, 298-307. Retrieved from:
http://www.jstor.org on 03/12/15.
•
•
•
•
•
Gabbert, F., Hope, L., Fisher, R. P. & Jamieson, K. (2012). Protecting against
misleading post-event information with a Self-Administered Interview. Applied
Cognitive Psychology, 26, 568–575. doi: 10.1002/acp.2828.
Gee, S., Gregory, M. & Pipe, M-E. (1999). ‘What colour is your pet dinosaur?’ The
impact of pre-interview training and question type on children's answers. Legal &
Criminological Psychology, 4, 111-128. doi: 10.1348/135532599167716.
Geiselman, R. E., Fisher, R. P., Firstenberg, I., Hutton, L. A., Sullivan, S. J., Avetissian,
I. V. & Prosk, A. L. (1984). Enhancement of eyewitness memory: An empirical
evaluation of the cognitive interview. Journal of Police Science & Administration,
12, 74-80. Retrieved from: http://psycnet.apa.org/psycinfo/1984-25081-001 on
03/12/15.
Krahenbuhl, S. & Blades, M. (2006). The effect of interviewing techniques on
young children's responses to questions. Child: Care, Health & Development, 32,
321-331. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2214.2006.00608.x.
LaPaglia, J. A., Wilford, M. M., Rivard, J. R., Chan, J. C. K. & Fisher, R. P. (2014).
Misleading suggestions can alter later memory reports even following a Cognitive
Interview. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 28, 1-9. doi: 10/1002/acp.2950.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Loftus, E. F. (1979). Eyewitness testimony. 2nd ed. Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.
Naveh-Benjamin, M., Shing, Y. L., Kilb, A., Werkle-Bergner, M., Lindenberger, U. & Li, S-C. (2009).
Adult age differences in memory for name-face associations: The effects of intentional and
incidental learning. Memory, 17, 220-232. doi: 10.1080/09658210802222183.
Open Policy UK (2015). Prototyping an online crime reporting service: A policy lab success story.
Retrieved from: https://openpolicy.blog.gov.uk/2015/02/03/prototyping-an-online-crimereporting-service-a-policy-lab-success- story/ on 10/01/16.
Ridley, A., Gabbert, F. & La Rooy, D. (2013). Suggestibility in legal contexts: Psychological research
and forensic implications. London: Wiley-Blackwell.
Storozuk, M. & Dupuis, M. (2013). The impact of criminal code training on eyewitness identification
accuracy. Psychology, 4, 1027-1029. doi: 10.4236/psych.2013.412149.
Tulving, E. (1985). How many memory systems are there? American Psychologist, 40, 385-398.
Retrieved from: http://www.alicekim.ca on 24/04/15.
Vaughan, M. (2012). Does current police investigative interviewing practice assist the child witness
to give their best possible evidence? Charles Sturt University. Retrieved from:
https://www.vaughantraining.co.uk on 29/11/15.
Wilford, M. M., Chan, J. C. K., & Tuhn, S. J. (2014). Retrieval enhances eyewitness suggestibility to
misinformation in free and cued recall. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 20, 81-93. doi:
10.1037/xap0000001.
Yuille, J. C. (1984). Research and teaching with police: a Canadian example. Applied Psychology, 33,
5-22. doi: 10.1111/j.1464-0597.1984.tb01412.x.