THE EFFECT OF BELIEF THAT TESTIMONY WAS ELICITED WITH A COGNITIVE INTERVIEW ON JURORS JUDGMENTS OF GUILT

Although the 'cognitive interview' has been shown to have the potentia l to enhance eyewitness recall, the proportion of correct to incorrect information it generates is similar to a 'standard' police interview. If the Police are to employ the cognitive interview, therefore, it is important that jurors and jurists do not accept information gained th rough it uncritically. Thus, the present study was designed to investi gate mock jurors' perceptions of the usefulness of the cognitive inter view or its individual components, and how they might influence jurors ' assignments of guilt in a mock trial. One hundred and fifty particip ants read transcripts of a mock trial that focused on the testimony of an eyewitness. Participants were informed that the testimony was elic ited with a cognitive interview, its individual components or a contro l procedure. Broadly speaking, the results showed no significant diffe rences between the cognitive interview or its individual components in terms of mock jurors' perceptions of usefulness and assignments of gu ilt. Implications are discussed.