Deck 1: Observation Skills

Question 1

The Innocence Project at the Benjamin N.Cardozo School of Law was created by Barry C.Scheck and Peter J.Neufeld in 1992.Its purpose was to reexamine post-conviction cases (individuals convicted and in prison) using:

A)DNA evidence to provide conclusive proof of innocence.
B)DNA evidence to provide conclusive proof of guilt.
C)eyewitness accounts to provide conclusive proof of innocence.
D)circumstantial evidence to provide conclusive proof of innocence.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

The first task of forensic scientists is to find, examine, and evaluate evidence from a crime scene.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

What we perceive about persons depends, in part, on their mannerisms and gestures.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

When evaluating eyewitness testimony, the investigator must discriminate between fact and:

A)observation.
B)perception.
C)opinion.
D)None of these choices.

Question 5

Ballistics experts work with:

A)textiles and threads.
B)bullets and firearms.
C)human bodies and drugs.
D)vehicles and tools.

Question 6

Criminal investigations depend on the observation skills of all involved.Those involved include:

A)police investigators.
B)forensic scientists.
C)witnesses.
D)All of these choices.

Question 7

Paul Ekman's early research led to a major discovery that changed how scientists view human expression.He found that our expressions are:

A)learned.
B)biologically programmed.
C)both learned and biologically programmed.
D)neither learned nor biologically programmed.

Question 8

An interesting aspect of our perception is that we:

A)believe what we see and hear, even though our ability to be accurate is flawed.
B)believe what we see, even though our ability to be accurate is flawed.
C)believe what we hear, even though our ability to be accurate is flawed.
D)None of these choices.

Question 9

Forensic derives from the Latin word, forensis, which means:

A)of the day.
B)of the month.
C)of the consensus.
D)of the forum.

Question 10

Our emotional state influences our ability to see and hear what is happening around us.

Question 11

A psychologist who has spent the last 50 years studying faces, Paul Ekman is a leading expert on:

A)forensic analysis and discovery.
B)body language.
C)facial analysis and deception.
D)forensic analysis and truth.

Question 12

A person who has seen someone or something and can communicate these facts is:

A)an eyewitness.
B)a witness.
C)a personal observer.
D)a court reporter.

Question 13

The verbal testimony of a forensic scientist alone may not be entered into evidence without:

A)the proper documentation.
B)the proper explanation.
C)the necessary proof of facts, whether oral or written.
D)None of these choices.

Question 14

To ensure all evidence is found, a crime scene is often laid out in a:

A)map.
B)grid.
C)timeline of factual evidence.
D)purposeful topographic survey.

Question 15

Perception:

A)is faulty.
B)is not always accurate.
C)does not always reflect reality.
D)All of these choices.

Question 16

Eyewitness accounts of crime-scene events vary considerably from one person to another.What you observe depends on your level of:

A)interest.
B)stress.
C)concentration and the amount and kind of distraction that may be present.
D)All of these choices.

Question 17

A fact is a statement or information that can be verified.

Question 18

One of the most important tools of the forensic investigator is the ability to:

A)observe, interpret and report observations clearly.
B)observe assumptions clearly.
C)report assumptions clearly.
D)None of these choices.

Question 19

Whether observing at a crime scene or examining collected evidence in the laboratory, the forensic examiner must be able to:

A)identify the evidence.
B)record the evidence.
C)determine the significance of the evidence.
D)All of these choices.

Question 20

Through our senses of sight, taste, hearing, smell, and touch, we gather information every single moment about what is around us.

Question 21

Interpreting information received from the senses is a ____________________________.

Question 22

Reasoning from facts is _____________________________.

Question 23

What a person perceives using his or her senses is an ____________________________.

Question 24

When a witness describes what they thought happened, they are providing a(n) ____________________________.

Question 25

Deriving a conclusion from the facts using a series of logical steps is __________________________________________.