AAFP: Reducing Bias and Error in Forensic Judgment
Presented by: Tess M.S Neal, PhD
4 Hours / 4 CEs
On Demand | Self-Paced Professional Training
This on-demand professional training program on Reducing Bias and Error in Forensic Judgment is presented by Tess Neal, PhD in partnership with The American Academy of Forensic Psychology (AAFP).
This program covers the basic science of how and why human judgments are susceptible to various kinds of bias, specifically emphasizing expert judgments in forensic settings. The program content focuses on bias and error reduction in forensic practice, supported by contemporary scholarship grounded in established research procedures.
These learnings should be applied in practice to improve expert forensic judgment and reduce bias and error. It would benefit society, justice, and the practitioners' reputation - those with good reputations and who do good work benefit in terms of job/promotion prospects, salary, and personal fulfillment. This program is uniquely valuable because it bridges cutting-edge science and practice to improve experts' judgments.
The program introduces a theoretical model clarifying when and why experts are protected against and when they are especially prone to bias. The implications of these findings for bias mitigation are discussed, as well as promising new directions for bias mitigation. The program is interactive, including experiential exercises and activities to demonstrate the topics described.
This program covers in detail empirical studies testing elements of the model, such as those bearing on the competing hypotheses of whether experts are vulnerable to bias vs. protected against bias by virtue of their expertise, how experts perceive themselves and their abilities, and the psychological mechanisms and real-world consequences of exaggerated confidence in objectivity. These studies are primarily done in the context of forensic judgment, forensic psychology, social work, and forensic science.
This program is intended for people in forensics in any work environment, at all career stages, including forensic psychologists, clinical psychologists, practitioners in forensic mental health and forensic science, and more broadly, scientists interested in expert judgment.
Learning Objectives
Upon completion of this training, participants will be able to:
- 1 Describe 3 common biases that affect expert decision processes and explain ways in which they may compromise the validity and reliability of forensically-related judgments
- 2 Describe a theoretical model that clarifies when and why experts are protected against and when they are especially prone to bias
- 3 Describe practical bias mitigation strategies or steps to reduce bias in forensic work
- 4 Describe how strategies borrowed from open science, forensic science, and judgment and decision-making could be used to improve the rigor of and reduce bias in forensic judgments
- 5 Describe free high-quality resources for improving forensic practice
Presented By
Tess M.S Neal, PhD, Associate Professor of Psychology
Tess M.S. Neal, PhD is an associate professor of psychology and serves as a Dean’s Professor at Iowa State University. Before moving to Iowa in Fall 2023, she was tenured at Arizona State University, where she was the founding director of the Future of Forensic Science Initiative. She is a scientist; a licensed clinical psychologist trained to assess, diagnose, and treat mental and behavioral disorders; and a forensic psychologist trained to bring psychology into legal contexts. She studies the nature and limits of expertise. Her basic work focuses on understanding and improving human judgment processes – especially among trained experts, and her more applied work focuses on improving forensic and legal experts’ judgments in particular. Her work has been funded by multiple grants from the National Science Foundation, and she has published more than four dozen scientific papers. She is the incoming Editor-in-Chief of the journal Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, is a fellow of both the Association for Psychological Science and the American Psychological Association, and recently completed a Fulbright Scholarship in Australia.
Training Outline
Key topics covered in this training include:
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Overview of how human judgment is prone to bias and error
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Why bias awareness is critical in forensic decision-making
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Basic science behind cognitive bias and expert vulnerability
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Competing views: Are experts protected from or prone to bias?
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Theoretical model explaining when bias occurs in experts
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Review of key empirical studies on bias in forensic psychology and science
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Psychological mechanisms driving overconfidence in objectivity
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Evidence-based strategies for bias and error reduction
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Experiential exercises to demonstrate bias and mitigation techniques
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Professional and ethical benefits of reducing bias in forensic practice
We are proud to partner with
American Academy of Forensic Psychology (AAFP)
We are proud to partner with the American Academy of Forensic Psychology (AAFP) for this training. AAFP is a non-profit organization of board-certified forensic psychologists whose mission is to contribute to the development and maintenance of forensic psychology as a specialized field of study, research, and practice. The Academy does this by providing high-quality continuing education workshops, providing a forum for the exchange of scientific information among its members, and conferring awards upon outstanding students and practitioners in the field of forensic psychology.
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.