Naturalistic Decision Making in Forensic Science: Toward a Better Understanding of Decision Making by Forensic Team Leaders

• NCJ Number: 235784
• Journal: Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 56 Issue: 4 Dated: July 2011 Pages: 890-897
• Author(s): Ira Helsloot, Ph.D.; Jelle Groenendaal, M.Sc.
• Date Published: July 2011
• Length: 8 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study reviews the naturalistic decision-making (NDM) perspective used by forensic team leaders.

Abstract

This study uses the naturalistic decision-making (NDM) perspective to examine how Dutch forensic team leaders (i.e., the officers in charge of criminal forensic research from the crime scene until the use of laboratory assistance) make decisions in real-life settings and identifies the contextual factors that might influence those decisions. First, a focus group interview was conducted to identify four NDM mechanisms in day-to-day forensic decisionmaking. Second, a serious game was conducted to examine the influence of three of these contextual mechanisms. The results uncovered that forensic team leaders (i) were attracted to obtain further information when more information was initially made available, (ii) were likely to devote more attention to emotionally charged cases, and (iii) used not only forensic evidence in the decisionmaking but also tactical, unverified information of the police inquiry. Interestingly, the measured contextual influences did not deviate significantly from a control group of laypeople. (Published Abstract)