GFALE II Domain VI Human Factors

What important human factors have been overlooked?

environment in which forensic work is carried out, specifically issues of:

stress

anxiety

well-being

What techniques help mitigate negative workplace pressures?

mindfulness

What kind of stress can be useful in small spurts?

eustress

-can help increase performance & productivity

chronic stress can lead to

mental & physical exhaustion, illness, depression, anxiety

shared triggers of stress across workplaces

workload volume, tight deadlines, lack of achievement, number of working hours, low salary, technology distractions, fluctuating priorities

women-specific stressors

*women generally under more pressure in life as those who work outside the home are still often primary caretaker for children & elderly parents

-coping styles & evolutionary differences in neurobiology & hormones between men & women further contribute to the problem

*forensic science field becoming more predominantly women

-wellness factors affecting women become an important cultural factor to consider in catering to women's health and workplace performance.

forensic-specific pressures

*increased workload volume

-culture is under continuous pressures to do more, regardless of how efficient they are

*not a lot of room for advancement

-analysts that succeed in securing higher-level positions often stay in those position majority of their career

-competition increases as civilian/noncivilian staff compete for positions

*long work days, longer workweeks

*often low paid

-despite desire for higher-level education needed to understand, train, convey results

*same technology distractions as other fields

-hard to ever turn work off

*priority fluctuations

-change & may be triggered by validations of new tech, training, meetings, pressures from stakeholders, violent crimes demands, trial & testimony dates

industry-specific pressures

*technique criticism

*repeated exposure to crime scene or horrific case details

*access to funding

*working in an adversarial legal system

*zero tolerance for "errors"

Technique criticism

*field has recently found itself highly criticized by committees aiming to improve the science.

-reports such as NAS and PCAST critically examines the forensic field.

-have raised questions about the very foundation of many forensic domains, as well as specific criticisms about how they are practiced.

-reports have created an environment of feeling threatened and an adverse atmosphere

Exposure to Case Details

*in some jurisdictions, forensic scientists may act or assist crime scene investigators by working to recover items viable for forensic testing from crime scene.

-even if not exposed directly to a crime scene, many forensic scientists and managers are involved in case details with law enforcement in order to triage a testing strategy to assist the investigation.

*while certain mechanisms are employed in an attempt to stay detached & dispassionate to disturbing & distressing case details, these mechanisms have limited effectiveness overtime.

-crimes of this nature can be especially stressing when the forensic testing is not able to help the investigation

Funding

*many forensic labs are under substantial funding pressures.

-can lead to employees with uncertain job security, feeling unsupported by the jurisdiction being served, and the inability to properly serve stakeholders

Adversarial Legal System

*many forensic examiners work within the adversarial legal system, which brings about a number of problems. 1) they're often pawns in legal litigation where they are used to make arguments rather than actually help uncover the truth & fulfill their role as scientist,

2) forensic scientist & their work is attacked by attorneys & opposing experts working within the adversarial system

Tolerance for Errors

*forensic practitioners are humans performing procedures, often involved with analysis, subjective interpretation, & comparisons, & therefore, mistakes do happen.

-knowing this along with the understanding that the outcome of a forensic examination can have a significant impact on human lives can cause pressure and stress in conducting work.

-forensic practitioners are often held to unreasonable standards where "honest" mistakes are not tolerated.

-process of investigating error thru CAR can be a very negative process in lab cultures that do not have open communication or practice a continuous cycle of improvement but are accusatory or attuned to placing blame

Reaction to stress often first causes ____________ and _______________ to suffer

communication; decision making

-As the brain enters "stress-reaction" mode based on changes in hormones, a person tends to enter fearful decision making becoming defensive & disorganized

Continued stress reactions can cause:

fatigue, mistakes & injuries all based on physical & psychological responses

What happens when stress factor(s) continue to exist?

absenteeism and presenteeism avail

What is absenteeism?

easy to track,

-scientist will start to come to work later, leave earlier, or call in sick more

What is preseentism?

scientist still present for work;

-however their performance levels are low due to illness or mental fog;

-more difficult to understand and measure

People in positions with high levels of pressure and stress are more likely to have:

poor work performance, be less productive, and suffer from emotional and physical negativity bias

effective tools to cope with common workplace- and industry-specific pressures

1) one must recognize the role of stress and well-being as an important human factor issue in forensic science

-individuals can use techniques: exercise, healthy eating, meditation, vacations & hobbies

2) there should also be an industry wide effort to improve forensic science by taking this issue on board & improving the resilience & wellness of the practitioners.

-workplaces can try: flexible work schedules, exercise initiatives, provide healthy nutrition sources at work

-wellness programs

3) To counteract the "fight or flight" stress response, methods to train the brain and body are needed

-training in techniques such as mindfulness can retrain the brain by reducing cortisol levels & altering the brain in areas such as learning, emotional regulation, & perspective

Mindfulness

*training provides necessary techniques needed to effectively respond to challenges instead of reacting on auto-pilot

*generates awareness to stress triggers both psychologically and physically and brings the mind back to the present moment for focused attention

*programs may explore exercises in breath functions, mental body scans, conscious communication, focused attention, compassion, and physical movements to provide various tools to employ during stressful moments

*psychological & physical benefits

What is the view of the National Commission on Forensic Science?

1.) forensic scientists should rely solely on TASK-RELEVANT info when performing forensic analyses

2.). the standards & guidelines for forensic practice being developed by the Organization of Scientific Area Committee (OSAC) should specify what types of info are TASK-IRRELEVANT for common forensic tasks

3) forensic laboratories should take appropriate steps to avoid exposing analysts to task-irrelevant information through the use of CONTEXT MANAGEMENT PROCEDURES

What is task-relevant information?

*info that forensic scientists SHOULD consider when performing a particular task

*will always depend on the nature of the task

*necessary for drawing conclusions:

(i) about the propositions in question,

(ii) from the physical evidence that has been designated for examination,

(iii) through the correct application of an accepted analytic method by a qualified analyst.

What is task-irrelevant information?

* info that SHOULD NOT be considered

* if info is NOT necessary for drawing conclusions about propositions in question

* if info assists only in drawing conclusions from something other than the physical evidence designated for testing

* if info assists only in drawing conclusions by some means other than an appropriate analytic method

Forensic scientists should base their conclusions on _________ that are accepted as valid within their specific disciplines. They should draw conclusions only from _________ or ____________ that they are trained and qualified to use

-methods;

-methods or techniques

Where should forensic scientists draw conclusions about the proposition in question from?

physical evidence that they are asked to evaluate (along with any task-relevant context) and not from other evidence in the case

What is an example of task-irrelevant information?

-info about suspect's criminal history

-info that suspect confessed to the crime

-info that suspect was implicated by other physical evidence at crime scene (eg DNA evidence)

-info that another latent print examiner identified the suspect as the source of a print found on a different item at the same crime scene

Information is task-relevant if it is necessary for drawing conclusions:

* about propositions in question

* from physical evidence that has been designated for examination

* through the correct application of an accepted analytic method by a qualified analyst

When is ancillary contextual information relevant?

*when it helps examiner draw accurate forensic conclusion from physical evidence designated for testing using accepted methods;

*helps analyst assess directly the strength of the inferential connection between evidence in question and propositions the analyst is evaluating

When is contextual information task-irrelevant?

when it supports inferences about a proposition only through a chain of logic that does not involve assessment of the physical evidence

What did the National Research Council (NRC) conclude in 2009?

"forensic science experts are vulnerable to cognitive and contextual bias"

Contextual Bias

where someone has other information (background info) aside from that being considered, which influences the outcome of the consideration

-contaminating impact can occur beneath level of conscious awareness

-not limited to cases of misconduct or bad intent

-exposure to task irrelevant information can bias the work of forensic scientists who perform their job with utmost honesty and professional commitment.

Particularly when their evaluations involve subjective elements, and when there are ambiguities in the underlying data, forensic scientists may be influenced by information that is __________to their task.

irrelevant

Can a person detect when contextual bias is influencing them?

No, the non-conscious nature of it means people cannot detect it;

-task-irrelevant info can bias work even when they earnestly & honestly believe they are working with utmost objectivity

What is the best way to minimize contextual bias?

avoid exposing analysts to task-irrelevant information

Ways to minimize contextual bias: context management procedures

1) dividing duties within forensic lab between case manager (who is fully informed about case facts) and analysts (who are told only what they need to know to perform specific tasts);

--case manager decides what information is task-relevant & task-irrelevant for each task to be performed, & conveys to the analyst only information that is relevant to that task

2) design the workflow in the lab in a manner that assures that analysts make critical assessments BEFORE they become aware of potentially biasing information;

--helpful when information that is irrelevant for some tasks is relevant & necessary for other tasks that are performed by same analyst

-ie DNA sequential unmasking

-ie latent prints "linear ACE-V" (ANALYSIS/COMPARISON/EVALUATION/VERIFICATION)

How can analysts be shielded from exposure to task-irrelevant information?

* use of CONTEXT MANAGEMENT PROCEDURES

What can be done to reduce potential for bias in DNA testing?

some labs require analysts to follow a procedure known as "sequential unmasking" - controlling flow of task-irrelevant info to analysts

What is sequential unmasking in DNA?

* evidentiary samples from crime scenes are typed & interpreted before analysts learn of the profiles of any known or suspected contributors;

*DNA profiles of known contributors & possible suspects are then "unmasked" in a specific sequence to minimize likelihood that info about reference profiles will influence interpretation of evidentiary samples

Contextual bias theory

that with limited individual items for a comparative base, the analyst might be swayed to make a confirmation call because the item "fits" a limited number of questioned data

linear ACE-V

FBI's procedure involves temporary masking of reference prints while analysts make and record their initial assessments of the evidentiary prints

How can biases impact forensic science?

can impact actual observation and perception of data, testing strategies, as well as how the results are then interpreted and how conclusions are reached

-what the data are (what's collected, what's considered as noise & disregarded, etc)

-the results of analyses themselves (testing strategy as to what tests and types of analysis to conduct, how they are carried out and by whom, and when to stop testing)

What is the first step in dealing with biases?

acknowledge their existence and the impact they may have on hard working, dedicated, and competent experts

How many fallacies about cognitive bias are there?

six

What is the first fallacy of cognitive bias?

*Ethical Issues: It only happens to corrupt and unscrupulous individuals, an issue of morals and personal integrity, a question of personal character.

- not a matter of dishonesty, intentional discrimination, or of a deliberate act arising from underlying ethical issues.

- cognitive bias is not about such ethical issues of personal character, integrity, or intentional misconduct

What is the second fallacy of cognitive bias?

*Bad Apples: It is a question of competency and happens to experts who do not know how to do their job properly.

- often when errors occur, experts are blamed, rather than acknowledging systemic issues, such as human element in the analysis and general susceptibility to bias

What is the third fallacy of cognitive bias?

*Expert Immunity: Experts are impartial and are not affected because bias does not impact competent experts doing their job with integrity.

- no one is immune to bias, not even experts;

- experts are more susceptible to certain biases because experience and expertise may increase it;

- experts are subject to cognitive vulnerabilities

What is the fourth fallacy of cognitive bias?

*Technological Protection: Using technology, instrumentation, automation, or artificial intelligence guarantees protection from human biases.

- technology can reduce bias, but even when these are in use, human biases are still at play because these systems are built, programmed, operated, or interpreted by humans

- technology can even introduce biases (via spectral library matching software, Automated Fingerprint Identification Systems (AFIS) or other technological devices)

What is the fifth fallacy of cognitive bias?

*Bias Blind Spot: Other experts are affected by bias, but not me. I am not biased; it is the other experts who are biased.

- experts are sometimes not aware of their biases and therefore hold fallacy that they are not biased

- these are implicit cognitive biases, not intentional discriminatory types of biases

- it is relatively easy to see bias in others but we are often blind to our own biases

* research found that 70% of forensic scientists now acknowledge that cognitive bias is a case for concern

- only 52% think it is a concern in their own specific forensic domain

- 25% think it is relevant to them personally, reflecting hallmarks of the bias blind spot

What is the sixth fallacy of cognitive bias?

*Illusion of Control: I am aware that bias impacts me, and therefore, I can control and counter its affect. I can overcome bias by mere willpower.

- experts think they can overcome bias by mere willpower

- willpower alone is inadequate to deal with various manifestations of bias

- trying to deal with bias by illusion of control may increase bias due to "ironic processing" or "ironic rebound"

- trying to minimize bias by willpower makes you think of it more and actually increases its effect

How many sources of cognitive bias in expert decision making are there?

eight

What are the categories of cognitive bias sources?

- Category A

- Category B

- Category C

Category A

relates to case specific

- something about this case causes bias in how DATA are perceived, analyzed, and interpreted.

Category B

have nothing to do with specific case, but they arise from factors relating to the specific person doing the work (ENVIRONMENT, CULTURE, EXPERIENCE)

- something about them (e.g., their culture, experience, working environment; their personality, their motivation, etc.) causes the bias.

Category C

arise from HUMAN NATURE, the very cognitive architecture of the human brain that we all share, regardless of the specific case or the specific person doing the analysis

First Source of Bias

The Data

- some data can contain biasing information, like handwriting, blood spatter, bitemarks, voice analysis

Second Source of Bias

Reference Materials

- can bias how data are perceived and interpreted

- applied to DNA, fingerprinting, any decisions that are based on making comparisons

- rather than actual evidence driving decision making process- where evidence is interpreted based on data it contains- suspect's profile is driving the decision making

- rather than going from evidence to suspect (from data to theory), the reference materials cause examiners to go backward (circular reasoning) from the target/suspect to the evidence, thus biasing how data are interpreted

**the human examiner is driven by a "target" they expect (or want) rather than by the actual data***

- Kerry Robinson case; wrongfully convicted on DNA evidence b/c analysts working backward from his DNA profile

-the suspect "target" was driving the analysis rather than the evidence itself

- not limited to circumstances that have a "target" suspect, can also arise from pre-existing templates and patterns like blood pattern analysis or crime scene

- can impact what color is observed

- not limited to target or reference, they can even be caused by having a theory, chart, or pattern in mind, shown to impact a variety of expert domains

- can happen in messy mass chromatogram or infrared spectrum where analyst might "pick out" peaks they are looking for and ignore others

- not intentional happens without awareness

- expectation biases cognitive resources & attention toward a certain stimulus or signal (while suppressing and ignoring others) & impacts sensory response to predictable object stimuli throughout the ventral visual pathway

- also biases perception sensitivity for those targets, changing sensory representations in the visual cortex, & hence impacts what we actually perceive and how

Third Source of Bias

Contextual Information

- irrelevant info cause expectations that can impact not only the interpretation of the results obtained from the analysis, but also the analysis itself because the expectations impact the detection of what goes into the analysis as well as testing strategies

- not derived from a target generated by the reference materials but from contextual information that can be irrelevant to the task carried out by the analyst

- irrelevant contextual information has been shown to impact data collection at the crime scene, as well as bias in lab DNA analysis

- cognitive biases arise when task-irrelevant context causes some aspect of analysis to be overweighted, underweighted, or neglected

- contextual irrelevant information biases scientists and experts at an unconscious level

Fourth Source of Bias

Base Rate

- important aspect that experts bring to their work is experience from past cases;

--but sometimes experience brings expectation to new cases, that are not derived from specific case or analysis at hand, but can still impact interpretation

-crux of the bias is that perception and decisions are not based on the case itself

- this type of bias even more potent when similarity to past cases is superficial and more in the eye of the beholder

Fifth Source of Bias

Organizational Factors

- study showed that when forensic experts are presented with identical data, they nevertheless reach conclusions biased toward the side that retained them - an adversarial allegiance and myside bias

- they are implicit biases, not explicit partiality when one side is openly favored over the other

- labs that are a part of law enforcement have organizational influences that have been recognized as biasing by National Academy of Forensic Sciences Report

- organizational factors and the administration surrounding forensic science induces biases

- impact of organizational factors applies to any and every lab- they work within a variety of contexts, structures, and frameworks that can bias their work

- factors relate to time pressure, expectations to reach certain results, stress, budget controls, pressure to obtain publications and other targets, a whole range of organizational factors that can impact work carried out in labs and other professional settings

Sixth Source of Bias

Education and Training

- play important role in how work is conducted

- whether forensic examiners see their role more as supporting the police rather than as scientists

Seventh Source of Bias

Personal Factors

- motivation, personal ideology, beliefs

- the need for closure that can result in premature decisions or opting to reach inconclusive decisions, how people respond to stress & fatigue, personality, & a whole range of personal factors that can impact expert decision making

- people vary in tolerance to ambiguity

- tests that use color can be biased because people differ in what color the perceive when looking at the same item

- technology cannot be completely objective because humans construct and operate it, calibrate, maintain and interpret results & deciding if & what action to take

Eighth Source of Bias

Human and Cognitive Factors, and the Human Brain

- brain creates architectural and capacity constraints that do not allow it to process all the incoming information

- brain therefore engages in variety of processes ("top-down") to make sense of the work and data around us

How can bias affect other individuals or aspects of work?

-bias cascades from one person to another, from one aspect of work to another, influencing different elements of an investigation;

-biases not only cascade, they gather momentum and snowball

How can biases be overcome?

1) need to acknowledge the existence of bias & move beyond believing the fallacies about its nature

2) need to take actions that will cause us to focus solely on the relevant data and not work backward.

3) e can combat various sources of bias by the following:

-- using blinding and masking techniques that prevent exposure to task irrelevant information

-- using methods, such Linear Sequential Unmasking (LSU), to control sequence, timing, linearity of exposure to information, so as to minimize "going backward" and being biased by reference materials

-- using case managers that screen and control what information is given to whom and when

-- using blind, double blind, and proper verifications when possible

-- rather than have one "reference target" or hypothesis, having a "line up" of competing and alternative conclusions and hypotheses

-- adopting a differential diagnosis approach, where all different conclusions and their probability are presented, rather than one conclusion

What is cognitive bias?

a pattern of deviation in judgment whereby inferences about other people & situations may be drawn in an illogical fashion;

-affects memory, reasoning, decision-making

How was confirmation bias described in 1998?

"seeking or interpreting evidence in ways that are partial to existing beliefs, expectations, or a hypothesis in hand"

-one type of cognitive bias with the potential to undermine the objective evaluation of forensic evidence

Verisimilitude

we do not experience the world as it is;

-human perception is not like a video camera;

-our impression of the world is the result of an interpretive process, and depends on our attention, prior beliefs, expectations, experiences and knowledge

What do forensic practitioners need to be aware of?

what they perceive and experience when viewing, comparing and interpreting samples, data or other results will be shaped by context, and their prior knowledge, biases, and expectations

Human memory is unreliable:

- despite our best intentions, memory often fails without awareness

- we cant trust our memories; they can be completely unreliable

- many factors affect memory

- forensic scientists should use documentation and empirical information rather than rely on memory or impressions

At what stages of memory can errors occur?

At any of the three stages:

1. during the event (ENCODING)

2. while the event is stored in long-term memory (STORAGE)

3. when memory is recalled at a later time (RETRIEVAL)

How can contextual information alter our decisions?

- can affect decisions we make, without our awareness

- can lead forensic practitioners to make mistakes and reverse decisions

-knowing the dangers does not enable forensic practitioners to take them into account or transcend them

How can contextual information assist us in making decisions?

factors such as mood, prior experiences, and peripheral information can all influence & in some cases, improve, decision making

How can making decisions in the presence of contextual information lead to confirmation bias?

we deliberately seek out and interpret information in a manner that is consistent with our pre-existing beliefs or expectations

What did Dror, Charlton, and Peron study?

how forensic practitioners are vulnerable to contextual information;

-latent print examiners presented with prints previously examined and reported as matches, second time around they reported they did not match when they were presented as two different prints without them knowing

Who is an expert?

- someone who has demonstrated superior performance relative to the performance of novices

- expertise does not simply transfer from one task to another

- demonstrations of claimed expertise should be directly related to the specific skill

Expert vs. Expertise

- expert: produce consistently superior performance to non-experts or laypersons

- expertise: mechanisms underlying this superior performance

An understanding of the nature of expertise, and how experts differ from novices can:

- inform the design of training procedures that turn novices into experts more efficiently

- identify people who are likely to make good experts so they can be recruited over others

- inform the design of work environments that promote optimal work performance

We have limited insight into how we actually make decisions:

- experts often make decisions automatically and without conscious effort

- experts do not always possess insight into how they came to their decision, and so may not be able to explain the real reasons for their interpretation

experts may provide reasons, but these might be retrospective rationalisations that do not correspond with the actual reasons for a decision

- asking experts to explain how they came to a decision can reduce performance

What is introspection illusion?

* the misguided assumption that our own cognitive biases are transparent to us, and as a result, that we can diagnose these biases in ourselves through introspection.

-BUT we have no direct access to cognitive processes that determine the choices we make, even if it feels like we do

What experts say might not be what lay audiences hear:

- communicating expert evidence is difficult and error prone

- even when experts believe they are communicating clearly, non-experts will often interpret their statements in ways that are inconsistent with the intended message

- expert opinions are always uncertain

The best method of avoiding both confirmation bias and misattribution of evidence is for experts to ____________ present the propositions that were considered, and explain how and why the evidence does or does not support each

explicitly

Experience does not necessarily translate into expertise

- extensive experience doing some task does not necessarily mean performance will be superior to that of a person with less or no experience

- experts should demonstrate superior accuracy relative to novices

Unless genuinely independent, review (and verification) might not be effective:

- forensic scientists make decisions in groups

- group decision-making may introduce problems and biases

- independent decisions avoid many of these threats while conferring the benefit of allowing wisdom of the crowd analyses

- forensic practitioners should strive for independent reviews and explain the nature of their review processes

When are group decisions most accurate?

group decisions are often most accurate when the INDEPENDENT decisions of individual group members are combined;

-Wisdom of Crowds

How can forensic science be improved?

designing intelligent processes for group decision-making

Confidence and confidence hardening:

- confidence is poor indicator of accuracy

- confidence in a decision tends to increase over time, especially if the person who made the decision receives some sort of confirmation- so-called confidence hardening

Do jurors think confidence is a sign of accuracy?

yes, when evaluating experts, jurors think confidence is a reliable indicator of accuracy and credibility

What is the Confidence Heuristic Model?

confidence acts as a heuristic cue that an expert is knowledgeable and believable

Is correlation between witness confidence and accuracy strong?

No, research shows it is weak;

-the absence of a confidence-accuracy relationship can be seen in many domains and tasks, including physician's confidence in their ability to make an accurate diagnosis, people's confidence in their ability to detect deception, nurses' confidence in their knowledge of basic life support tasks, and eyewitnesses' confidence in their identification

What has eyewitness testimony research shown?

- confidence-accuracy relationship is slightly stronger when confidence is assessed at the same time as the identification

What is confidence hardening?

as time passes, eyewitnesses become more certain and confident in their judgment

Feedback is essential for learning:

- provides a learner with information about accuracy of their decisions

- provision of accurate feedback aids learning in variety of situations, including learning to interpret complex visual patterns

- receiving feedback on varied and demanding examples is more likely to lead to robust learning, which generalizes to novel stimuli

What is reinforcement?

increases likelihood that a certain behavior will occur, irrespective of whether it is correct

Why is positive and reliable feedback important?

*learning in the presence of accurate feedback generally occurs more quickly & is more robust & long-lasting

-provision of inaccurate, selective or unreliable feedback that is not directly related to actual performance can hamper learning, and false feedback may increase error rates

What is perceptual learning?

involves changes to an individual's perceptual systems that increase sensitivity to stimuli

-ex. increasing our ability to identify a stimulus or to differentiate between two similar stimuli

What is cognition?

mental process of knowing, including awareness, perception, reasoning and judgement, and is distinct from emotion and volition;

-include mental shortcuts, which speed up decision making

When does cognitive bias occur?

when mental shortcuts causes inferences about other people and/or situations to be drawn in an illogical fashion

Expectation bias

also known as experimenter's bias, where expectation of what an individual will find affects what is actually found

-people only see what they expect to see

What are the categories of cognitive bias?

- EXPECTATION BIAS

- CONFIRMATION BIAS

- ANCHORING EFFECTS OR FOCALISM

- CONTEXTUAL BIAS

- ROLE EFFECTS

- MOTIVATIONAL BIAS

- RECONSTRUCTIVE EFFECTS