Minimizing Bias in Forensic Decision Making: Solutions

Minimizing Bias in Forensic Decision Making

Presented by: Itiel Dror, PhD

10 Hours / 10 CEs

On Demand | Self-Paced Professional Training

This on-demand professional training program on Minimizing Bias in Forensic Decision Making is presented by Itiel E. Dror, PhD, in partnership with Cognitive Consultants International. This badge-earning program can be shared digitally on platforms like LinkedIn or your resume and counts towards various certificates. Enroll to earn credit and share your new digital credentials with prospective employers and colleagues. This program counts as a foundational program in the certificates:

The program covers the brain and cognitive issues relating to bias and cognitive processing and then connects the cognitive science issues to practical and specific topics in forensic decision-making. In addition to knowledge about the cognitive factors in forensic decision-making, the program also provides practical solutions to address weaknesses and best practices to enhance forensic practices.

Specific application to forensic mental health evaluation is provided through engaging discussions between Dr. Dror and Dr. Patricia Zapf, a forensic psychologist, and expert in best practices in forensic mental health evaluation. In addition, Dr. Zapf provides elaboration on how the factors discussed by Dr. Dror apply to a forensic mental health evaluation.

Conducting forensic examinations is similar to other expert domains that require perception and interpretation of information, such as in the military, medical, and financial disciplines. Even in everyday life, humans constantly process information. Information is perceived, encoded, represented, transformed, stored, retrieved, compared to other details, evaluated, and assessed, to name just a few cognitive processes. The human mind is not a camera, as we actively process and compare information. It is naive to think we passively construct and experience reality and perceive the environment as 'it is.'

We engage in various cognitive processes that organize and structure the information as it comes in from the external world. Data is then further interpreted and processed in ways that highly depend on the human mind and cognitive factors. As we dynamically process information, we affect what we see, interpret, and evaluate it, and our decision-making process. Thus, to enhance expert performance and understand that different factors may affect their work, especially in a highly specialized domain such as forensics, one needs to consider the role of the human mind and cognitive factors (Dror, 2015).

While some education is provided to forensic experts, there is a lack of training in the psychological and cognitive elements involved in forensic decision-making. Thus, there is a lack of systematic training and professional development in the influence of human cognition on forensic work. This program is a step towards addressing training in the cognitive factors involved in forensic decision-making.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this training, participants will be able to:

1 Describe background information regarding the human mind and cognitive system
2 Describe how information and knowledge is acquired, processed, represented, encoded, stored, utilized, retrieved, compared, and evaluated
3 Describe how decisions are made
4 Demonstrate the connection between information and a variety of forensic decision making processes that forensic examiners typically use
5 Describe how cognitive factors can be utilized to make forensic experts’ work more efficient
6 Describe the pitfalls and errors that can occur in forensic decision making
7 Describe the Factors / Powers that influence the mind of the forensic evaluator
8 Describe the Dror HEP Hierarchy of Expert Performance
9 Describe sources of bias and countermeasures
10 Describe the process of Chunking

Intended Audience

This training is intended for forensic mental health professionals who conduct evaluations and provide expert opinions in legal contexts, with a focus on understanding cognitive factors in decision-making. It is suitable for individuals involved in forensic evaluations across a range of disciplines.
- Psychologists
- Psychiatrists
- Social workers
- Scientists
- Counselors
- Mental Health Professional
- Other professionals involved in forensic evaluations
Experience Level

This training is applicable for all career stages: entry-level, mid-career, and experienced professionals.
- Beginner: Participants new to cognitive science or forensic mental health evaluation, seeking foundational knowledge about the human mind, information processing, and the impact of cognitive factors on forensic work.
- Intermediate: Participants with some experience in forensic evaluation, looking to deepen their understanding of cognitive mechanisms, bias, and best practices for minimizing errors in forensic decision-making.
- Advanced: Experienced forensic evaluators aiming to refine their expertise by integrating advanced cognitive science concepts, applying systematic countermeasures to bias, and adopting evidence-based strategies to enhance forensic practice.
Practice Setting

Forensic mental health professionals typically work in environments where legal and clinical issues intersect. These settings require careful evaluation, expert testimony, and the application of psychological principles to legal questions. Professionals may operate in secure facilities, courtrooms, private practices, hospitals, or government agencies, often collaborating with legal professionals, law enforcement, and other stakeholders. Their work involves conducting assessments, preparing reports, and providing expert opinions, all while navigating complex cognitive and ethical challenges inherent to forensic decision-making.
- Court clinics or forensic evaluation units within hospitals
- Correctional facilities or jails
- Private practices specializing in forensic assessment
- State or federal agencies (e.g., departments of mental health, probation, or parole)
- Academic or research institutions conducting forensic evaluations
- Community mental health centers with forensic services
- Consulting roles for attorneys, courts, or law enforcement agencies

Presented By

Itiel E. Dror, PhD Cognitive Neuroscientist

Dr. Itiel Dror is a cognitive neuroscientist who received his Ph.D. at Harvard (1994) in the area of cognitive factors in human expert performance. Since his Ph.D. over twenty years ago, Dr. Dror has been researching this area, and has published over 100 peer-reviewed articles specifically looking at cognitive factors that mediate human expert performance. His insights and understanding of the human brain and cognitive system underpin the workshop. Without such deep knowledge, it is not possible to properly deliver a workshop on the ‘cognitive factors’. Dr. Dror has been working in the forensic domain for over a decade. In fact, he is the person who introduced the human and cognitive factors to the forensic community and has made this issue central in forensic science. Over the last decade Dr. Dror has worked with a variety of forensic laboratories across the US, in which he has visited and shadowed examiners doing casework, reviewed SOPs and practices. Dr. Dror was the Chair of the OSAC Human Factor group (the new ‘SWGs’ organized under NIST/NIJ), which is responsible for the cognitive factor issues across all the OSAC forensic domains. The National Commission on Forensic Science has recognized Dr. Dror as the leader in this area and has asked him to present to the commission (as well as appointed him to their Human Factors subcommittee), as well as many other forensic bodies who have solicited Dr. Dror. The recommendations on cognitive and human factors of the NCFS and the NAS report, and other bodies is mainly based on the research of Dr. Dror. He is also a member of the AAAS (The American Association for the Advancement of Science) Advisory Committee on Forensic Science Assessment (a project in which the AAAS will conduct an analysis of the underlying scientific bases for the forensic tools and methods currently used). Dr. Itiel Dror has a proven track record in successfully delivering workshops, specifically on ‘Cognitive Factors in Making Forensic Comparisons’, to dozens of forensic laboratories. He is the only person who has the combined cognitive and forensic expertise to deliver this training. His workshops on this specific issue have been delivered with great success to the FBI, LAPD, NYPD, SFPD, Boston PD, Kansas, and many other forensic laboratories across the US. As the world leader in this area, Dr. Dror has also been commissioned to deliver this workshop in a variety of countries across the world (Australia, Finland, the Netherlands, Italy, Canada, as well as other countries –not to mention numerous police forces the UK). The success of his workshops and his training in this area has been recognized by the professional bodies: Dr. Dror has received the ABP Annual Award for 'Excellence in Training' for his workshops on cognitive factors in making forensic comparisons. The purpose of the award is to recognize excellence in demonstrating how applying an understanding of the science of human behaviour can impact and deliver practical value to organizations. The judges commented that Dr. Dror's workshops are: "Truly outstanding and inspiring", "A highly rigorous application of relevant theoretical frameworks", "Truly innovative, breaking entirely new ground in a most challenging context", "Internationally ground-breaking impact already being used around the world", "Entirely focused on application of conceptual models – underpinned by deep research", and "Impact is highly impressive".

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Training Outline

Key topics covered in this training include:

Background Knowledge
The human brain and how that translates to human performance and how we process information
How information processing underlies all aspects of perception and cognition in general and in expertise
Specific issues in information processing, such as:
Knowledge representation
Allocation of resources
Perception
Judgment
Decision making
Architectural constraints in cognition, including:
Limits in information processing load
Malfunctions
Lack of control
Domain Applications
Domain Implications
Domain Implications ties both Background Knowledge and Domain Applications to specific issues regarding how forensic decision-making is conducted

Earning a Certificate

This is a badge-earning program, which means it will help you earn a certificate that can be showcased on digital platforms like LinkedIn.

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We are proud to partner with

Cognitive Consultants International

Cognitive Consultants International (CCI-HQ) specializes in taking a cognitive neuro-scientific approach to applied real-world consultancy and research. In a nutshell, that means that we apply our knowledge and understanding of the human brain and cognitive system to resolve practical problems and human factors issues in the real world.

We are proud to partner with Cognitive Consultants International for live and on-demand event training programs.

Learn More About Our Partner

CE Sponsorship Information

Palo Alto University, Continuing & Professional Studies (CONCEPT) is approved by, recognized by, or maintains sponsorship provider status with the following boards and agencies. We maintain responsibility for all content in our CE/CPD programs. For more information, visit here.

American Psychological Association (APA): Approved sponsor of continuing education for psychologists.
Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB): Approved continuing education provider (ACE program, Provider #1480), 11/22/2023–11/22/2026.
Canadian Psychological Association (CPA): Approved to sponsor continuing education for psychologists.
National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC): Approved Continuing Education Provider (ACEP No. 7190).

Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies (CONCEPT) is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies (CONCEPT) maintains responsibility for this program and its content. Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies (CONCEPT), is approved by the Canadian Psychological Association to offer continuing education for psychologists. Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies (CONCEPT), SW CPE is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #SW-0356 and the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed mental health counselors. #MHC-0073. Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies (CONCEPT) has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 6811. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. CONCEPT Professional Training, #1480, is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved as ACE providers. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. CONCEPT Professional Training maintains responsibility for this course. ACE provider approval period: 11/22/23-11/22/26. Social workers completing this course receive (clinical or social work ethics) continuing education credits.