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Introduction: Don't always trust television!.. Crime shows love to show the compelling "eyewitness" testimony. Most laypeople believe that an eyewitness is the cornerstone of a criminal case. However, police officers and courts rarely use eyewitnesses. Why? Because the human mind can only focus on one or two things at any one time. (If you missed the First Day's Video, be sure to watch it so you know what we are talking about!) NOTE: All video links were working as of Thursday, 1-26-11, at 2:00 PM.
Inattentional Blindness: http://www.theinvisiblegorilla.com/videos.html
The Monkey Business Illusion: This is the second video on the page.
Now that you KNOW about the surprise, watch the 2nd video and count the number of passes between the players in white as directed . How many times did the players in white pass the ball?
Write your answer here:When you watched the video the second time, what did you miss?
How reliable is the following question: Did you notice anything on the night of September 5th?
Given this, how likely is a witness to observe numerous details of a particular crime?
Change Blindness:
The "Door" Study: http://viscog.beckman.illinois.edu/flashmovie/12.php
Given the close proximity of the gentleman in white hair to the experimenter, what does this say about the reliability of eyewitnesses identifying criminals?
Movie Perception Test: http://www.theinvisiblegorilla.com/videos.html This is the SECOND Movie Perception Test, with the man at the desk . . .
What was the change you missed?
How could a criminal take advantage of this?
Gradual Change: http://www.dansimons.com/videos.html In the section labeled "Try it yourself," choose the Gradual Change video on the right
Watch the video, and try to determine what slowly appeared. What appeared?
Given this blindness, how reliable would the following question be: "Did you notice anything unusual while the suspect was in the shop?"
Conclusion: Given the unreliable nature of eyewitness testimony, summarize the importance of forensic evidence in criminal proceedings. (1/2 page)