Lesson 6.1.2

6.1.2 Understanding offenders: cognitive and ethical interviews and formulation Quiz: Pearson Edexcel Psychology, Unit 6

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

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Lesson 6.1.2, Understanding offenders: cognitive and ethical interviews and formulation: 20 multiple choice questions for the Pearson Edexcel Psychology (9PS0), Unit 6: Criminological psychology, written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. Which technique is part of the cognitive interview used with witnesses and offenders?

    • Using only yes or no questions throughout the interview so the answers are simple to record
    • Asking leading questions to speed up recall and to keep the interview moving along quickly
    • Interrupting the witness to correct them whenever they seem to be remembering the wrong detail
    • Context reinstatement, where the witness mentally recreates the setting of the event

  2. What does the instruction to report everything in a cognitive interview aim to do?

    • Limit the witness to one short answer for each question so the interview stays on track quickly
    • Remove the need for a structured interview by letting the witness decide the whole sequence
    • Discourage witnesses from remembering small details, since they often distract from the main event
    • Obtain all details, even those that seem trivial, to help recall

  3. Which feature of the cognitive interview changes the order in which events are recalled?

    • Asking the witness to skip the first part of the event so that the interview covers less ground
    • Interrupting the witness every ten seconds to check that the answers are being recorded correctly
    • Using the same question sequence for every witness so that all the interviews are identical
    • Changing the order, which helps reduce the chance that a witness simply repeats a script

  4. What is the main purpose of an ethical interview in criminological psychology?

    • To replace all written records with memory alone so that no notes need to be kept in the file
    • To maximise the length of the interview regardless of the person's consent or wellbeing at the time
    • To make the person confess as quickly as possible so that the investigation can be closed early
    • To conduct the interview in a way that respects the rights and welfare of the person being questioned

  5. What is psychological formulation in relation to offenders?

    • A standardised test that gives an IQ score used to compare offenders with the general public
    • An account of the function that offending behaviour serves for the individual
    • A legal ruling on sentence length that is set by the court after the trial has finished
    • A record of how many offences a person has committed over their lifetime, kept by the police

  6. Why is it useful to understand the function of an offender's behaviour?

    • It helps practitioners choose interventions that address the reasons the behaviour continues
    • It removes the need for any assessment or review of the offender's progress in treatment
    • It guarantees that the offender will never reoffend once the right intervention has been chosen
    • It proves that all offenders have the same motive, which makes treatment planning simple

  7. A practitioner notices an offender's anger only arises in situations involving criticism. Which element of formulation is this?

    • An identification of the situation and trigger that maintains the behaviour
    • A calculation of prison sentence length based on the offence and the offender's record
    • A description of the offender's favourite food, recorded to help with mealtime planning
    • A measurement of the offender's height and weight, recorded at intake for the case file

  8. Which statement about the cognitive interview is most accurate?

    • It is designed to improve recall using memory-based techniques, and can produce more details than standard interviews
    • It is unhelpful for witnesses who are anxious, because it asks them to recall too much detail
    • It always produces perfectly accurate testimony from every witness, whatever the situation
    • It can be used only with children and never with adults, because it is designed for young people

  9. A researcher wants a witness to recall an event as fully as possible. Which combination of techniques best fits the cognitive interview?

    • Reinstating context and reporting everything from different perspectives
    • Using leading questions and interrupting the witness
    • Presenting alternative versions of the event to the witness
    • Asking only closed questions with yes or no answers

  10. Which is a limitation of using the cognitive interview in real police investigations?

    • It always confuses the witness into lying, so the testimony it produces cannot be relied on
    • It cannot be used with any witness at any age, because it depends on a specific training course
    • It takes longer to conduct than a standard interview, which may be impractical under time pressure
    • It is illegal in every country where it is used, so it cannot be used in any police investigation

  11. What does the phrase 'function of offending behaviour' refer to in formulation?

    • The number of years of the sentence handed down, including any suspended or conditional element
    • The purpose or payoff the behaviour serves for the individual, such as gaining status or escaping distress
    • The legal category assigned to the crime by the court once the trial has concluded and sentence is passed
    • The place where the offence was committed, recorded for the police file and the local crime map

  12. A formulation identifies that an offender uses violence to escape feelings of shame. Which explanation of the behaviour does this give?

    • A legal account based on the statute that defines the offence and the sentence available to the court
    • A functional account showing the behaviour helps the offender avoid an unpleasant emotional state
    • A purely visual account of the crime scene, built from photographs and the position of objects
    • A genetic account of inherited violence passed down through families, which fixes behaviour from birth

  13. Why should an ethical interview include informing the interviewee about the purpose of the interview?

    • It ensures the interviewee cannot ask any questions
    • It allows the interviewer to hide the real aim from the interviewee
    • It means the interview can be recorded without consent
    • Informed participation respects autonomy and helps the person decide what to share

  14. Which is the best evaluation of formulation as a method in criminological psychology?

    • It is objective and identical for every practitioner, so two clinicians always reach the same account
    • It has no value for planning treatment, since it describes the past rather than what the person needs
    • It gives an individual, function-based account that can guide treatment, but its judgements can be subjective
    • It replaces the need for any evidence about the offender, because the clinician's judgement is enough

  15. Which type of question is most useful in an interview to avoid suggesting an answer to the witness?

    • Multiple-choice questions with one correct option, which make it easy to check the answers quickly
    • Leading questions that name a specific detail and steer the witness towards the interviewer's view
    • Questions that contain the interviewer's assumed answer, so the witness only has to confirm it
    • Open-ended questions that let the witness describe events in their own words

  16. Why does formulation consider a person's history alongside the offence itself?

    • Because history is the only part of formulation that can be tested
    • Because the law requires a complete life history for every case
    • Because history alone determines whether someone is guilty
    • Because past experiences can shape the current function of the offending behaviour

  17. Which feature of the cognitive interview asks the witness to recall the event from another person's point of view?

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

  18. Which ethical principle applies when an offender is interviewed about past offences?

    • Sharing the offender's account with the media so that the public understands the case fully
    • Recording the interview without telling the offender, so that nothing is lost from the account
    • Hiding the purpose of the interview so that the offender speaks more freely about the offences
    • Explaining how the information will be used and the limits of confidentiality before the interview

  19. A formulation based on incomplete information is most at risk of which problem?

    • Using standard language that all readers understand, which makes the account less precise
    • Being too brief for a reader to finish, so the key points are often lost before the end of the report
    • Requiring too little time to write, so the clinician rushes the account and misses key details
    • Drawing inaccurate conclusions about the function of the offending behaviour

  20. A practitioner uses formulation to plan treatment for an offender. Which outcome would be the strongest sign that formulation is useful?

    • The formulation is shared with no other professionals, so the team cannot act on it together
    • The formulation is written neatly, filed carefully and then kept on record without being reviewed again
    • Treatment targets the identified function, and the offender's behaviour changes in that area
    • The formulation is long and uses technical language that most readers find hard to follow in practice

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