U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

NCJRS Virtual Library

The Virtual Library houses over 235,000 criminal justice resources, including all known OJP works.
Click here to search the NCJRS Virtual Library

Effects of Cognitive Interviewing and Practice on Children's Recall Performance

NCJ Number
157010
Journal
Journal of Applied Psychology Volume: 77 Issue: 5 Dated: (1992) Pages: 744-756
Author(s)
K J Saywitz; R E Geiselman; G K Bornstein
Date Published
1992
Length
13 pages
Annotation
This article presents data obtained from two experiments to determine the effects of cognitive interviewing and practice on children's recall performance.
Abstract
In the first experiment a staged event was carried out that involved a private encounter between an unfamiliar man and two children. Results showed that questioning techniques based on principles from cognitive psychology significantly increased the number of correct facts recalled by both 7- to 8-year-olds and 10- to 11-year-olds over that gained with standard interview procedures and without affecting the number of incorrect items generated. These results were replicated in the second experiment with a different staged event and with 8-to 9-year-olds and 11- to 12-year-olds. The second experiment also assessed the impact of a prior practice cognitive interview, and practice was found to be effective for both age groups. Tables, references, appendixes