The Power of

Observation
Observation

Ms Clark
PVMHS

Whodunnit
?
http://youtu.be/ubNF9QNEQLA

Observation
Observation: the act of carefully surveying,
using our senses, something or someone,
for the purpose of gathering information.
We are constantly making observations and taking
in information without even thinking about it.
Our brain applies a filter, so that we can function
we only notice the information that isnt being
filtered.
People who suffer from sensory disorders are not
able to apply these filters and end up with a
traffic jam of information entering their brain.

How information is processed in the brain

Write down 5 observations about this

scene:

What were some of your observations?

Consider those observations, were you
making assumptions?
Could those assumptions be wrong?

Perception
The way that you see your surroundings may
not accurately reflect what is there, this is your
perception.
Our brain automatically fills in gaps in our
perception.
In order to make sense of what we perceive, our
brains often enrich with detail what we see, taste,
hear, smell, or feel
After an event, we may believe things were part
of the background even though they were not.

Perception can lead to bias in observations.

Observations by
witnesses

We know that observations are affected by:

Emotional state
Whether they were alone, part of a group, or near
others
What type of and how much activity was going on
around them
Therefore, observations of eye-witnesses are often
flawed even though s/he is convinced about what
s/he saw.

Eye-witness reports can vary due

to
stress
concentration
amount and kind of distractions present
prejudices
personal beliefs
motives
any lapse in time since the event

When interviewing an eye-witness the

investigator must determine what is
fact and what is opinion.

The Innocence Project

Barry C. Scheck and Peter J. Neufeld
Founded in 1992, the purpose of the Innocence
Project was to use DNA evidence to examine
post-conviction cases
They have evaluated over 200 cases and found
that faulty eyewitness identifications accounted
for 87% of the wrongful convictions.
Eyewitness testimony part 1: https
://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbARxiM0W_Q
Eyewitness testimony part 2: https
://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtelV9lmzQc

How to be a good
observer
Make a conscious effort to examine your
environment systematically. If you are
examining a crime scene, start in one corner
and move slowly over the entire space looking
at everything you see.
Consciously turn off your filters and behave like
a data-gathering robot. Observe everything no
matter how small or inconsequential it may
seem.
Concentrate on gathering all information
possible and leave interpretation and analysis
for later.

Observation and Forensic

Science

The ability to solve a crime depends on observing

all the evidence left at a crime scene.
Police officer and investigators need to be trained
to have good observation skills because it does
not always come naturally.
Forensic investigators find clues in details that
others may miss. They work backward from the
evidence to piece together what happened
leading up to the crime.
This is known as deductive reasoning
working from the top down.

Any questions?
http://www.cbs.com/shows/elementary/spot_the_difference/
game/1
/