The effects of cognitive load on investigative interviewers' performance

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Accurate and reliable witness testimony is essential to ensure fairness for all in the criminal justice system. International psychological research has explored how information is encoded, retained and recalled by witnesses. This research has provided guidance regarding best practice for conducting optimum witness interviews. However, despite the advice police officers do not, or perhaps cannot, comply with the guidance. This can have serious consequences for criminal justice, as poor interviews may be deemed inadmissible in court or may negatively impact upon perceived witness credibility. During an interview there are numerous attentional demands imposed upon interviewers, for example, listening carefully, evaluating information, deciding on questions to ask, and adhering to the strict guidance. From a psychological perspective, interviewers have limited processing capacity to simultaneously perform these difficult tasks. The effort and attention required to conduct interviews may result in cognitive load and fewer cognitive resources being available for other mental processes. As such, memory failure, susceptibility to bias and poor questioning could arise for interviewers. Investigative interviewers may simply have too much to contend with and cognitive load could contribute to their lack of compliance with guidance. Previous research has explored the effects of cognitive load in diverse settings although how it affects interviewers in forensic settings has, to date, been overlooked. This research programme has been designed to examine cognitive capacity limitations and their impact upon interviewers' performance. The challenges faced by interviewers that may impair their performance and negatively impact upon the quality of witness evidence will be explored.