TY - JOUR PY - 2018// TI - Cascading bias of initial exposure to information at the crime scene to the subsequent evaluation of skeletal remains JO - Journal of forensic sciences A1 - Nakhaeizadeh, Sherry A1 - Morgan, Ruth M. A1 - Rando, Carolyn A1 - Dror, Itiel E. SP - 403 EP - 411 VL - 63 IS - 2 N2 - Thirty-eight participants took part in a study that investigated the potential cascading effects of initial exposure to extraneous context upon subsequent decision-making. Participants investigated a mock crime scene, which included the excavation of clandestine burials that had a male skeletal cast dressed either in female or gender neutral clothing. This was followed by a forensic anthropological assessment of the skeletal remains, with a control group assessing the same male skeletal cast without any clothing context. The results indicated that the sex assessment was highly dependent upon the context in which participants were exposed to prior to the analysis. This was especially noticeable in the female clothing context where only one participant determined the male skeletal cast to be male. The results demonstrate the importance of understanding the role of context in forensic anthropology at an early stage of an investigation and its potential cascading effect on subsequent assessments.

© 2017 The Authors. Journal of Forensic Sciences published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

Language: en

LA - en SN - 0022-1198 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1556-4029.13569 ID - ref1 ER -