Understanding Cognitive Interviews

Tune into your favorite forensics show and you’ll see witnesses at an interview being asked to recall a memory from a crime. This powerful interview technique is called cognitive interviewing where you, the candidate, would be encouraged to share in-depth responses recalled from your short-term memory. This technique isn’t just used in law enforcement, but it’s used in recruiting as a way to get to know your skills, abilities, and experiences.

“During a cognitive interview, we focus on obtaining a narrative from the interviewee by asking them to tap into their memory and allowing them and encouraging them to give all the details,” says John Rappa, Interview and Interrogation Instructor. “We use phrases like, “What do you remember the most about (the incident?)”. We encourage dialogue by asking them to “explain that” or “describe that”. We also tap into the five senses.”

What to Expect When Interviewing

While a cognitive interview can be longer than a traditional interview, interviewers can glean valuable information. For example, how you arrive at your answer using your senses and thought process is the focus. Before the interview begins, traditionally the interviewer will build rapport to help you understand the process and share context on the questions to come.

Why Cognitive Interviews Can Be More Beneficial

• Experience a More Relaxed Environment: The interviewer will set the tone of the interview at a casual pace, allowing you to feel more at ease.
• Improve Comprehension: The cognitive interview technique helps you focus your thoughts on a specific event for more accurate answers.
• Feel Understood With Less Subjectivity: With open-ended questions, dig into the details of each answer to help you clarify and articulate.
• Boost Your Short-Term Memory: As the interviewer cues you to recall a memory, close your eyes if needed to visualize and sharpen the moments from that memory.

The cognitive interview method can be traced back to psychology developed by Ronald Fisher

and Edward Geiselman between 1984 and 1985. This method of enhancing memories is more focused on the witness—or you, the interviewee, to improve your recall process. Geiselman and Fisher recommend these four techniques to stimulate as many memory cues as possible:

1. Report All Details: The interviewer gathers all information from your interview—even if those details seem inconsistent or insignificant.
2. Reinstate the Context: Get ready to share your visualization or memory that comes to mind while imagining yourself reliving that scenario.
3. Change Your Sequence of Recall: Discuss the event in reverse chronological order, starting with the last remembered episode.
4. Shift Your Perspective: Tell the story from another person’s point of view, like your boss or colleague, for example.

Preparing for a Cognitive Interview

Picture yourself sitting in an office or on Zoom, interviewing with your potential employer. Start to set the scene by cultivating a calm presence, so you’ll be able to take a deep breath and focus on the questions. Draw on your senses to recall memories or specific details from a memory. Most importantly, write down a list of memorable events to ponder so it’s easier for you to recall information on the day of the interview.

To get a sense of what cognitive interview questions the interviewer may ask, click here.

Like your favorite crime TV show, the cognitive interview helps the interviewer get to know you on a deeper level. Check out our open jobs to see if this strategy works for you.