Forensic Science Lesson 03: Observation Skills

Observation Skills

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​ ​

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studies the effects of chemicals inside the human body

Multiple Choice

True or false: The use of Fingerprints for identifying a person is a relatively new idea

• True

• False

Drag and Drop

The​

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effect posits that sometimes a jury may be swayed away from a conviction due to a lack of "sufficient" DNA Evidence.

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CSI

Sherlock Holes

Sherlock Holmes

Encyclopedia Brown

NCIS

Law & Order

• Define observation and the process that occurs in the brain

• ​Understand factors that could affect an eyewitness account

• Compare the reliability of eyewitness accounts to actual events

Lesson Objectives

Introduction

• Any investigation requires specific skills

  • Observations

  • Interpretations

  • Reports

• Observation is the first and most important step in the process

  • Without good observations, your interpretations are bound to be faulty

What is Observation?

• Observation: what a person perceives using their senses

  • Uses all five senses

  • We are constantly observing all around us, but are not aware of it

    • Not possible to process every single stimulus, so our brains highlight the most important information to us

      • Our brain highlights changes as they happen as important

      • Most observations exclude information we deem unimportant

Perception

• Perception: interpreting information received from the senses

  • Perception is limited by an individual and does not always reflect reality

    • our brains can fill in blanks when they think something is missing

    • We use our memories to tell us information that we don't directly know

  • People will stick to what they believe they saw, regardless of whether or not it is true

• On the table we have three flavors of yogurt

• Come up and taste the three flavors and determine what the flavor of each cup is

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Check Your Perception Activity

Poll

Which Cup Contained the Mango Peach yogurt?

• A

• B

• C

Observations by Witnesses

• Witness Observations often play a major role in any investigation

  • It is important to identify factors that could alter a person's perception

    • Was the person doing a specific activity?

    • What was the person's Emotional state?

      • Extreme emotions can distract you from the world around you

  • An extremely unusual event can cause a person to notice more around them

  • Outside events can cause a person to change their memory

Eyewitness Accounts

• Eyewitness: a person who has seen someone/something and can communicate what they saw

  • Can be influenced or biased by outside factors

  • Memories change over time

  • When a person is an eyewitness, a prosecutor and defense attorney needs to identify where they may be biased and determine how much of an effect that has on their testimony

• Has to determine between the fact and opinion to form a logical pattern of events

  • Example of a Fact: The suspect ran away

  • Example of an Opinion: The suspect felt guilty and ran away

The Innocence Project

• Started in 1992

• Was formed to reexamine older cases that relied on eyewitness testimony with modern technologies

  • Found that 87 % of wrongful convictions resulted from eyewitness errors

    • Errors occurred across all ages, genders, and races

Poll

How good do you think you would be as an eyewitness?

• Very Bad

• Bad

• Good

• Very Good

Multiple Choice

Everyday life Observation: How many trees are on the grass island facing Pickle Road in front of the school?

• 2

• 4

• 6

• 8

• 10

Hotspot

Which of these pennies is a "real" penny, with the correct form?

How to be a Good Observer

• Make a conscious effort to examine your environment systematically

  • when studying an area/object, go slowly over the entire area

• Practice Turning off Filters and looking at everything closely

  • Rely less on emotional responses and more on logical ones

• Look for patterns in what you see, and adjust as needed

  • Don't focus on the first pattern you see, but recalibrate as you collect more information

• Make allowances for faulty memories

  • Write notes, draw sketches, take pictures

Multiple Choice

What is the interpretation of information received by the senses?

• Analyzing

• Perception

• Interpretation

• Observation

Multiple Choice

True or False: The fine details involved in events during strong emotional times are easy to commit to our long-term memory.

• True

• False

Multiple Choice

True or False: An eyewitness testimony should be accepted no matter what any other evidence says

• True

• False

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In the bunny effect, participants who were shown an advertisement for Disneyland with​

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told stories of meeting the character while on vacation, even though this is impossible. This shows how the human memory is ​

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accurate.