Expert Decision Making: Biases in Psychiatric and Forensic Evaluations

Dr Itiel Dror, University College London Human judgments are full of biases. Even expert judgment and decision making --often regarded as objective and impartial-- are tainted by biases. Psychiatric and forensic judgments are highly impacted (and can be distorted) by irrelevant contextual information or even by the context in which information is presented or obtained. I will articulate the cognitive mechanisms by which forensic and other experts make biased and erroneous decisions and describe how this research can assist in identifying such weaknesses and in providing practical ways to mitigate them. A recent piece in Science about these issues can be accessed at: https://science.sciencemag.org/content/360/6386/243/tab-pdf Short bio: Itiel Dror (PhD Harvard) is a cognitive neuroscientist who is interested in the cognitive architecture that underpins decision making. Dror's research, published in over 120 research articles, demonstrate how irrelevant contextual information can influence judgments and decision making. He has worked in a variety of domains, from policing and aviation, to medical experts and bankers, showing that even hard working and competent experts can make unintentional biased errors in evaluating data.