About the Institute

The Investigative Interview Institute® (I³)

The Investigative Interview Institute - The Geiselman Group

Mission: Protect memory integrity and advance ethical, evidence-based methods for obtaining accurate information in high-stakes environments.

Vision: Apply original, peer-reviewed human factors and memory research, along with foundational methodologies developed by the creators of the Cognitive Interview, to investigative interviewing—ensuring instruction that is scientifically valid, ethically applied, and operationally effective.

Purpose: Deliver training, consulting, and education across high-stakes professional domains.

Guiding Philosophy: Information obtained from human beings is among the most important forms of evidence available to organizations. Its quality depends not only upon what was experienced, but also upon how that experience is encoded, retrieved, communicated, and understood. The Investigative Interview Institute is committed to advancing scientifically grounded, ethically sound methods that preserve memory integrity while improving organizational learning and decision-making.

Our Values:

Scientific Integrity

Our work is grounded in peer-reviewed research and the continual advancement of scientific knowledge.

Ethical Practice

We are committed to protecting memory integrity through interviewing practices that minimize contamination and maximize fairness.

Operational Excellence

Scientific principles must be translated into practical methods that improve real-world decision-making.

Professional Collaboration

We believe the strongest solutions emerge through partnerships among researchers, practitioners, educators, and organizations.

Continuous Learning

Evidence evolves. Our educational programs evolve with it.

The I³ Methodology: The Investigative Interview Institute applies an evidence-based methodology that integrates contemporary research in human memory, attention, perception, communication, decision-making, and investigative interviewing to improve the quality, completeness, and integrity of information obtained following high-consequence events.

Positioning Statement: The Investigative Interview Institute (I³) advances the science and practice of human information gathering through research, executive education, professional certification, and organizational implementation.

The Investigative Interview Institute - The Geiselman Group was founded to bring the highest standard of investigative interviewing to professions that depend on accurate, reliable human information. At the center of our mission is Dr. Ed Geiselman, co-creator of the Cognitive Interview (CI) and the Enhanced Cognitive Interview (ECI) - the most scientifically validated interviewing methodologies in the world.

For the first time, professionals can learn the CI & ECI directly from its originator, gaining insights, depth, and mastery that only a co-creator can provide. This Masterclass experience is available exclusively through The Cognitive Interview Institute - The Geiselman Group.

In 1975, the RAND Corporation completed a study on criminal-investigations. The study found that the testimony of an eyewitness was an important determinant in whether the case was solved or not. However, it has been found that many eyewitness reports were unreliable as they could be incomplete, partially constructed and vulnerable to suggestions during the interviewing process. Studies have shown that interviewing techniques such as asking leading questions and closed-ended questions can influence the responses given by the interviewee.

Cognitive interviews were developed in 1984 by researchers R. Edward Geiselman, Ronald Fisher and their colleagues in response to the ineffective police interviewing techniques used in the past. Their goal was to suggest methods that increased the accuracies of eyewitness testimony. They found that when participants were trained in memory retrieval techniques, the participants recalled more correct information about an event than occurred on a questionnaire.

They based the techniques on four general memory retrieval rules based on the encoding specificity principle, and the assumption that memory traces are usually complex with various kinds of information. In 1985 Geiselman, Fisher and their colleagues MacKinnon and Holland further showed that the cognitive interview had ecological validity by having participants watch videos of simulated violent crimes. The original concept of the cognitive interview was revised in 1987 by Fisher, Geiselman and their colleagues.

The revisions to the original cognitive interview incorporated the idea of structuring the interview to be more compatible with how the brain retrieves memories. The revised version of the cognitive interview showed an increase of 45 percent in correct information retrieved.

In 1992, Fisher and Geiselman wrote a training manual for investigative services on how to conduct a cognitive interview. The techniques they developed are widely used today by a variety of investigative services such as police departments, private investigators, and attorneys.

In 2023, Dr. Ed Geiselman and Retired Chief Michael W. Albin developed The Veritas Method©, a modern interviewing framework that integrates the Enhanced Cognitive Interview (ECI) with the latest peer-reviewed human factors research. This method provides investigators with a scientifically grounded understanding of how vision, attention, perception, emotion, stress, and memory truly function during high-stakes events.

Students learn how these human factors influence both accurate recall and memory gaps, gaining practical, research-based skills they can apply immediately in the field. Through hands-on exercises and foundational science, The Veritas Method© equips interviewers to elicit more complete, reliable, and meaningful accounts from their interviews.

What Makes I³ Different?

Instruction developed and delivered by the co-developer of the Cognitive Interview.
Evidence-based education grounded in peer-reviewed research.
Integration of contemporary human factors, memory science, and operational practice.
Programs designed for high-consequence professions including law enforcement, aviation, healthcare, corporate investigations, and government.

Our Story

Why Our Training Is Different

For more than four decades, research has shown that the ECI can elicit up to 45% more correct information compared to standard interviewing methods—without increasing errors or confabulations. Students in our program learn these methods exactly as they were designed: grounded in experimental psychology, validated through rigorous peer-reviewed research, and refined through decades of field application. Learning directly from Dr. Geiselman provides unparalleled advantages:

Immediate access to the latest advancements in the methodology
A deep understanding of the science of memory and recall
Insight found nowhere else—except from the person who helped create the technique

The Science Behind the Method

Effective interviewing begins with understanding how human memory works—how experiences are encoded, stored, and retrieved, and how stress or trauma can affect recall. Our program integrates the latest research in memory science, cognitive psychology, and neuroscience to help professionals recover more complete, accurate, and reliable information.

Professional Disciplines We Serve

The Investigative Interview Institute (I³) serves organizations and professionals whose responsibilities depend upon obtaining accurate, complete, and ethically acquired information following significant events. Our evidence-based educational programs integrate contemporary research in human memory, attention, perception, communication, and decision-making to strengthen information gathering, support organizational learning, and improve professional practice across high-consequence environments.

Our executive education and professional training programs are applicable across multiple disciplines where the quality and integrity of human information are essential to informed decision-making, safety, accountability, and organizational performance.

Public Safety & Justice

Improve the quality, completeness, and reliability of information obtained from victims, witnesses, officers, investigators, and other participants in the justice process.
Strengthen investigative interviewing through ethical, evidence-based methods that protect memory integrity while minimizing interviewer influence and post-event contamination.
Support critical incident reviews, administrative investigations, and criminal investigations by integrating contemporary research in memory, attention, perception, communication, and decision-making.
Enhance organizational learning and professional decision-making through scientifically grounded interviewing practices that promote fairness, accountability, and the pursuit of accurate information.

Aviation

Enhance post-event debriefing following safety events, incidents, and operational anomalies.
Improve the quality and completeness of information obtained from flight crews, maintenance personnel, dispatchers, and other aviation professionals.
Support evidence-based safety investigations while protecting the integrity of human memory and minimizing post-event information contamination.
Strengthen organizational learning by integrating scientifically grounded interviewing practices with objective flight data and operational analysis.

Healthcare & Clinical Care

Improve information gathering following adverse events, patient safety incidents, and sentinel event reviews.
Enhance interviews with clinicians, patients, families, and healthcare teams through evidence-based communication and memory retrieval practices.
Support root cause analyses and quality improvement initiatives by obtaining more complete and reliable information while minimizing interviewer influence.
Promote ethical, patient-centered information gathering that strengthens clinical decision-making, organizational learning, and healthcare outcomes.

Human Services

Improve the quality and completeness of information obtained during child protection, family services, victim advocacy, social services, and community support interactions.
Strengthen professional interviews through evidence-based methods that promote ethical communication, minimize interviewer influence, and protect memory integrity.
Support multidisciplinary assessments, case planning, and service coordination by integrating contemporary research in human memory, attention, perception, communication, and decision-making.
Enhance organizational learning and client-centered practice through scientifically grounded approaches to information gathering in complex human service environments.

Security, Military & Intelligence

Improve the quality, completeness, and reliability of information obtained during operational debriefings, intelligence interviews, security investigations, and mission reviews.
Strengthen information gathering through evidence-based interviewing methods that protect memory integrity while minimizing interviewer influence and post-event information contamination.
Support operational planning, intelligence analysis, and organizational learning by integrating contemporary research in human memory, attention, perception, communication, and decision-making.
Enhance professional judgment and mission effectiveness through scientifically grounded interviewing practices applicable to high-consequence operational environments.

Business, HR & Research

Improve the quality and reliability of information obtained during workplace investigations, employee interviews, organizational assessments, compliance reviews, and research initiatives.
Strengthen professional interviewing through evidence-based methods that promote ethical communication, minimize interviewer influence, and protect memory integrity.
Support organizational decision-making by integrating contemporary research in human memory, attention, perception, communication, and decision-making.
Enhance organizational learning, leadership development, and evidence-informed practice through scientifically grounded approaches to human information gathering.