crime - collecting evidence (fingerprints)

Question 1

bottom up processing

Answer 1

data driven, based on what is infront of us - induction

Question 2

top down processing

Answer 2

based on memories, motivations and expectations - deduction

Question 3

5 cognitive distortions

Answer 3

Selective attention
Conformity bias
Over confidence
Needs attention
Expectancy bias

Question 4

Dror - 2006

Answer 4

5 volunteers fingerprint experts (average of 17 years’ experience and all unfamiliar with the Brandon Mayfield’s case). They were to identify a definite match they made 5 years earlier. they were told that these two prints were a pair of prints wrongly identified by the FBI as the Madrid bomber. 1/5 agreed with their original decision that the prints were a definite match.

Question 5

Dror - 2005

Answer 5

27 university student volunteers’ were selected. Half of the prints were either an obvious matched (bottom-up) the other half not clear (top-down). Two emotional states were used, low emotional state, victimless, high emotional state, victim included. Unambiguous prints weren’t affected by the emotional context being manipulated, however results in ambiguous were affected.

Question 6

Hall and Player: A,M,PPS

Answer 6

A: are fingerprint experts affected by emotional context of a case and does a written report affect a fingerprint experts interpretation
M: lab experiment, new scotland yard, independent measures.
pps: 70 volunteer fingerprint experts. 11 year mean length of experience. 12 were no longer active.

Question 7

Hall and Player: Pr

Answer 7

randomly assigned to groups of 8, asked to not discuss the finger prints. 35 pps in low context group (forgery), 35 pps in high context group (murder). they were given a latent print and 10 comparison fingerprints, they were asked to see if it was: a match, not a match or if there was insufficient evidence. they also provided observations on their findings.

Question 8

Hall and Player: R+C

Answer 8

57pps read the crime scene information (30 in HEC, 27 in LEC)
52% of 30 said they were effected.
6% of 27 said they were effected.
emotional context and severity of case affects fingerprint experts, but not on final decision.

Question 9

application: six pack method

Answer 9

examiner should be given 6 samples, 5 foils and 1 latent sample to reduce bias.
miller - a similar line up is less likely to lead to a false positive, when using hair samples

Question 10

application: remove crime scene exposure

Answer 10

examiner should be unaware of crime scene info - link to Dror or H+P

Question 11

application: isolation of experts

Answer 11

experts shouldn’t know what each other conclude about the study - link to Dror or H+P