Lecture 9- Invesigative decision making Flashcards
what cognitive processes do we use when making decision
routine activity
rational choice
least effort principle
how would you understand what type of decision maker you are
- Recognise we all approach decision making differently – kahneman Thinking, Fast and Slow (rational / irrational / intuitive / accquise / Risky or are you risk adverse
- What about our emotional state in the here and now – who here thinks stress and negative emotions can influence the type of decisions we make?
- We know stress can impair cognitive processing.
- Decision making under uncertainty – how much information is enough information or when there’s risk attached – personal / repertational / organisational / conviction??
- My wife…
- Think about the decision making process you went through in deciding to sit where you’re sat? Least effort / routine activity / rationale choice
what are the rules of Occams razor
Principle recommending that from among competing hypothese the theory that makes the fewest complex asumptions is usually the right ones
names some influences on our assumptions
- Values
- Beliefs
- Personal and professional experiences
- Knowledge
- Training
- Heuristics
how does the role of a police officer affect decision making
o Too difficult & don’t want to say or ask
o Too busy – resources and demand
o Fear of getting it wrong
o Professional embarrassment/ego
o Reflection in action – reflection on action
o By understanding the type of decision maker you are allows you to combat these errors
as a police officer, how can you combat errors in decision making
by understanding the type of decision maker that you are
name some factors which negtatively impact upon an investigative decision
- Limited personal experience
- Unconscious nature of working rules
- Personal bias
- Verification bias
- Internal/external stressors
- Group think
- paralysis by analysis
- Availability bias
- Decision inertia
what is group think- where does it originate from
o Comes out of the bay of pigs
o JFK breaking protocol by persuading generals for something to happen no one in the room spoke up saying that the bay of pigs wouldn’t work ended up being a failed invasion
o Now introduced the ‘11th man’ put someone into the groups whose sole purpose is to challenge what they are saying
what is decision interia
o Police officers attatch more fear to making a decision and it going wrong, than not making a decision at all
o Internal and external scrutiny around what the police do and don’t do
Would prefer therefore not to make the decision
Often delay, ignore or deligate making decisons
Is not making a decision still a decision?–> courts can also probe decisions which have not been made
what is involved in having an investigative mindset
- Understanding the source of the material
- planning and preperation
- Examination
- Recording and collation
- Evaluation
- Impssivle to teach what you do everyday/ from training develop over a period of time
- What does the investigative decision making process start with?
- Understanding the reliability of the information or investigative material
- Deciding on its possible meaning or relevance
- Admissibility of the material
- Actions that need to be taken to progress the investigation
what did Koriat, Lichtenstein & Fischhoff, 1980 say that confirmation bias is
People tend to seek and interpret information in ways that are partial toward existing belief. Conversely, they tend to avoid information that would contradict those beliefs and support alternative possibilities”
what did Evans 1985, Nickerson 1998 day that confirmation bias is
- “Committing oneself strongly to a single casual explanation of criminal evidence may be detrimental to the efficiency of a police investigation.
- The dangers become evident when considering one of the most fundamental tendencies of human cognition - the confirmation bias”
what is confirmation bias
- When the brain is faced with information it looks for patterns to filter the information – the brain takes short cuts
o We are unable to make conscious decisions regarding everyday decisions
o However when you’re in investigations, should have the ability to be able to be able to move from unconscious to a conscious decision maker - When faced by a lot of information or information we can’t readily understand or interpret the brain looks for patterns to filter that information.
- The brain takes short cuts and realises on these patterns to process the information – it works – but can’t work through all information
what are the negatives of confirmation bias
- The patterns are an accumulation of everything you’ve been exposed to in your life.
- Less likely to acknowledge inconsistencies – see a plausible motive – investigations are theory driven activities
- Resource and demand
what is selective information search
- People tend to request info tot confirm
- Positive testing strategies focussed on finding incriminating (ie confirmatory) evidence while no efforts are made to find exonerating (ie disconfirmatory) information
- Confirmatory investigators are driven by motivation
