Cognitive Interview & Admissions Flashcards
7 cards from real CFA practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Cognitive Interview & Admissions flashcards as text
When a subject suddenly becomes overly cooperative and agrees with everything the examiner says during an admission-seeking interview, this may signal:
Answer: A rehearsed compliance strategy to appear innocent
Sudden over-cooperation can indicate a rehearsed strategy where the subject attempts to appear transparent while withholding incriminating information.
The 'change of perspective' technique in cognitive interviewing asks a witness to:
Answer: Describe the event as another person present might have seen it
Changing perspective prompts the subject to mentally adopt another witness's viewpoint, which can surface details not recalled from their own vantage point.
In the context of fraud interviews, 'theme development' is a technique where the examiner:
Answer: Offers a moral or practical justification that makes confession seem reasonable
Theme development involves constructing a narrative that minimizes the moral seriousness of the act (e.g., 'anyone in your situation might have done the same') to lower the psychological barrier to confession.
Which factor is MOST likely to produce a false confession during a high-pressure interrogation?
Answer: Extended sleep deprivation combined with false evidence ploys
Sleep deprivation impairs cognitive function and resistance, and false evidence ploys (telling suspects their DNA was found) dramatically increase false confession risk.
A fraud examiner should document an admission by:
Answer: Recording exact quotes immediately, having the subject initial key statements, and retaining notes
Best practice requires verbatim contemporaneous notes, subject initials on key passages, and preservation of all recordings to withstand legal scrutiny.
The term 'cognitive load' is relevant to deception detection because liars typically exhibit:
Answer: Higher cognitive load due to constructing and monitoring a false story
Fabricating a coherent false account while simultaneously monitoring the interviewer's reactions imposes a significantly higher cognitive load on liars compared to truth-tellers.
Under the ACFE's ethical guidelines, a fraud examiner conducting an interview must NOT:
Answer: Record the interview without consent where required by law
Recording an interview without legally required consent violates privacy laws and ACFE professional standards, potentially making the admission inadmissible.