Lesson 4.1.2.4

4.1.2.4 Eyewitness testimony and the cognitive interview Quiz: AQA Psychology, Unit 1

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

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Lesson 4.1.2.4, Eyewitness testimony and the cognitive interview: 20 multiple choice questions for the AQA Psychology (7182), Unit 1: Introductory topics in Psychology, written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. Which factor affecting eyewitness testimony involves the wording of a question that suggests an answer?

    • Post-event discussion
    • Leading questions
    • Anxiety
    • Cognitive interview

  2. In Loftus and Palmer's (1974) study, what did participants who heard the word 'smashed' tend to do compared with those who heard 'hit'?

    • Give lower estimates of the speed of the cars
    • Refuse to estimate the speed at all
    • Give higher estimates of the speed of the cars
    • Estimate the same speed for both verbs

  3. In Loftus and Palmer's study, what happened when participants were later asked whether they had seen broken glass?

    • More participants who heard 'smashed' reported seeing broken glass, although no glass had been shown
    • Fewer participants who heard 'smashed' reported seeing broken glass than those who heard 'hit'
    • All participants correctly reported that there was no broken glass
    • The wording of the first question had no effect on later answers

  4. What is post-event discussion as a factor affecting eyewitness testimony?

    • Witnesses describing an event in writing shortly after it happens
    • Witnesses being shown a video of the event before answering questions
    • Witnesses being interviewed by a police officer after the event
    • Witnesses talking about an event with others, which can change what each remembers

  5. Which study is best known for showing that discussion with others can lead to the incorporation of details into witnesses' memories?

    • Gabbert and colleagues' study of collaborative recall of a video
    • Peterson and Peterson's study of short-term memory duration
    • Loftus and Palmer's study of car crash speed estimates
    • Yuille and Cutshall's study of a real-life shooting

  6. How does anxiety affect eyewitness testimony according to research such as Loftus's weapon focus studies?

    • Anxiety only affects witnesses who are children
    • High anxiety always improves memory for every detail of the event
    • Anxiety has no effect on the accuracy of eyewitness memory in any situation
    • High anxiety can narrow attention to central details, such as a weapon

  7. Which study found that witnesses to a real-life shooting were often accurate in their recall, even though the event was stressful?

    • Yuille and Cutshall's study of a real-life shooting
    • Gabbert's collaborative recall study
    • Loftus and Palmer's car crash study
    • Peterson and Peterson's short-term memory study

  8. What is the cognitive interview designed to do?

    • Make witnesses more confident in their answers regardless of accuracy
    • Improve the amount and accuracy of information recalled by a witness
    • Replace witness testimony with physical evidence only
    • Train witnesses to repeat the same answer in every interview

  9. Which of these is one of the four main techniques of the cognitive interview?

    • Context reinstatement, where the witness mentally returns to the scene
    • Leading questions, which suggest the answer to the witness
    • Repeated questioning until the witness changes their answer
    • Post-event discussion with other witnesses

  10. Which technique in the cognitive interview asks the witness to recall the event in a different order?

    • Reporting everything
    • Changing the order
    • Context reinstatement
    • Changing the perspective

  11. Which technique in the cognitive interview asks the witness to recall the event from another person's point of view?

    • Context reinstatement
    • Changing the order
    • Changing the perspective
    • Reporting everything

  12. Why does the cognitive interview ask witnesses to report everything they remember, even if it seems trivial?

    • It increases the chance that a witness will guess the answer
    • It makes the interviewer's job easier by reducing the time needed
    • Small details can act as retrieval cues that help access other memories
    • Small details are always inaccurate and should be avoided

  13. A witness is interviewed about a theft. The interviewer asks them to think about the shop's sights, smells and sounds at the time. Which cognitive interview technique is being used?

    • Leading questioning
    • Context reinstatement
    • Changing the order
    • Changing the perspective

  14. Which evaluation point applies to the cognitive interview?

    • It takes longer than a standard police interview and requires specific training for interviewers
    • It has no basis in memory research, since its techniques were developed through interviews rather than laboratory studies
    • It has been shown to reduce accuracy in all research studies, with witnesses recalling fewer details than in standard interviews
    • It is the same as using leading questions, because both techniques suggest possible answers to the witness being questioned

  15. A witness is asked 'How fast was the car going when it smashed into the wall?' Which factor affecting eyewitness testimony is most clearly involved?

    • Cognitive interview
    • Leading questions
    • Post-event discussion
    • Anxiety

  16. A witness discusses a robbery with a friend who saw it too, and afterwards recalls details that were only mentioned by the friend. Which factor is most relevant?

    • Context reinstatement
    • Post-event discussion
    • Leading questions
    • Weapon focus

  17. A researcher wants to test whether anxiety reduces the accuracy of eyewitness memory. Which design would be most informative?

    • Compare the accuracy of recall for witnesses to a stressful event with witnesses to a calm event, using the same kinds of questions
    • Compare witnesses who are all of the same age and gender only, using a single calm scenario repeated across the sessions
    • Ask witnesses to recall a calm event only, and then compare their answers with the accounts given by the police officers
    • Measure the accuracy of recall from memory alone without any comparison, so that the effects of stress cannot be separated

  18. A witness to a crime recalls the weapon in detail but cannot describe the attacker's face. Which factor is most likely at work?

    • Post-event discussion, where witnesses talk about the crime with others who saw it and absorb their accounts
    • Weapon focus, where attention is drawn to a central threat
    • The cognitive interview, which helps witnesses recall more details using several retrieval techniques
    • Leading questions, where the wording of a question suggests a particular answer to the witness being questioned

  19. A psychologist claims that the cognitive interview improves eyewitness recall by providing better retrieval cues. Which result would best support this claim?

    • Witnesses recalled more incorrect details only with the cognitive interview
    • Witnesses recalled the same amount with both interviews
    • Witnesses recalled more correct details with the cognitive interview than with a standard interview
    • Witnesses recalled fewer correct details with the cognitive interview than with a standard interview

  20. Why might the findings of Loftus and Palmer's study be considered important for the justice system?

    • They show that eyewitness memory is unaffected by the wording of questions, which means that police can ask any question
    • They suggest that the wording of questions by police or lawyers can change what witnesses report
    • They show that witnesses are always accurate when questioned by police, because officers use careful and neutral wording
    • They show that only trained psychologists should interview witnesses, since untrained officers always distort memories

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