Citation

Lockhart JJ, Satya-Murti S. J. Forensic Sci. 2017; 62(6): 1534-1541.

Affiliation

Health Policy Consultant, 2534 Knightbridge Drive, Santa Maria, CA, 93455.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, American Society for Testing and Materials, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/1556-4029.13453

PMID

28230894

Abstract

Cognitive effort is an essential part of both forensic and clinical decision-making. Errors occur in both fields because the cognitive process is complex and prone to bias. We performed a selective review of full-text English language literature on cognitive bias leading to diagnostic and forensic errors. Earlier work (1970-2000) concentrated on classifying and raising bias awareness. Recently (2000-2016), the emphasis has shifted toward strategies for "debiasing." While the forensic sciences have focused on the control of misleading contextual cues, clinical debiasing efforts have relied on checklists and hypothetical scenarios. No single generally applicable and effective bias reduction strategy has emerged so far. Generalized attempts at bias elimination have not been particularly successful. It is time to shift focus to the study of errors within specific domains, and how to best communicate uncertainty in order to improve decision making on the part of both the expert and the trier-of-fact.

© 2017 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

Language: en

Keywords

bias; checklists; cognition; debiasing; diagnostic errors; forensic medicine; forensic science; observer variation