Webinar on Cognitive and Human Factors in Forensic Decision Making

Join ANAB for a webinar on the preview of Cognitive and Human Factors in Forensic Decision Making.

In this event we will take a step in this direction by first dispelling the common misbelief that “the evidence is the evidence.” Once we acknowledge and understand that implicit cognitive bias impacts all of us, including experts and what the data are, we can explore the sources of bias and consider bias countermeasures. Bias countermeasures, such as blinding and Linear Sequential Unmasking (LSU-E), must go beyond ‘awareness’ and ‘willpower’ –mitigating bias requires tools that disrupt the cognitive and psychological factors that create bias in the first place.  

“For forensic science to successfully take on the issue of contextual bias, it is important that one correctly considers the risks, that measures are taken when needed, and that they are proportionate and appropriate” (taken from Dror, 2012).

Key Takeaways

• Humans are involved and are important in forensic decisions. 
• There are specific measures that can enhance forensic judgements.
• These involve not only in how meaning is assigned to the evidence, but also what the evidence is.
• Understanding the risks enables us to know if & when action is needed, and what is proportionate and appropriate. 

Who Should Attend

This webinar preview is for anyone whose work touches a forensic conclusion, not just the person who reaches it. That includes CSIs collecting the evidence, lab analysts and QA staff examining it, supervisors reviewing it, and the legal professionals who rely on it in court. Because cognitive bias doesn’t respect discipline lines, the discussion applies across forensic domains, and because it shapes judgment differently at every career stage, it’s just as relevant for someone new to the field as for an examiner with decades of casework behind them.

Audience Questions

At the end of the webinar, questions were asked by the webinar’s attendees. These included:

• Does AI improve or increase the risk of cognitive bias?
• Do you think that in DNA analysis programs like STRmix help reduce cognitive bias?
• What is the difference between Cognitive Bias and Confirmational Bias?
• Can you give a quick pitch for why using tools like linear sequential unmasking is important enough or worth reducing overall casework output? That is an argument I hear often I would like to hear your take on it.
• In a homicide and suicide crime scene, how can we control the cognitive bias?
• I was going to ask if there’s any hope for us and our biases before Dr. Dror got to point 6. the practical examples which is helpful and hopeful. So instead, I’ll ask, are we seeing evidence of bias reduction through awareness and behavior training with LSU by those who practice these techniques or does the brain like to relapse into old biases?
• If you’ve identified and flagged such instances of biases arising from an expert witness report or testimony in court. How can you point out and raise such critical sources of cognitive bias to the jury or judge without complexity?