On The Investigators' Conformation Bias And Its Prevention And Control Mechanism

Confirmation bias is the natural rule of human cognition,which is universal and inevitable.The reality of judicial practice suggests that the negative effect of the confirmation bias psychology has produced significant influence on the operation of the investigation procedures,which initiating the single proving path,bias of collecting and applying evidence,and the other investigation problems.Based on the field of investigation,starting with the investigating subjects,this thesis focused on the psychological causes leading confirmation bias,and analyzed its influence on the investigation activities and the whole litigation activities.And specific prevention and control mechanisms were presented in the end of the thesis to reduce the endangering consequences of the confirmation bias.The thesis is divided into two parts: the review of the confirmation bias and the prevention and control mechanisms of the confirmation bias.The whole thesis is divided into five chapters.The first four chapters are reviews of the theory,practice,reason and influence of the investigators' confirmation bias,and the last chapter concentrates on the design of a comprehensive prevention and control mechanisms to limit the confirmation bias.The first chapter introduces the concept and characteristics of the confirmation bias and the inevitability and the duality of investigators' confirmation bias basing on the investigating subjects,which is the theoretical basis for the latter sections.The second chapter mainly elaborates the practical performances of the investigators with confirmation bias.As evidence is the core tool for investigating cases and the only way to adhere to the principle of seeking truth from facts,the influence of confirmation bias must be reflected on the investigators' key work-collecting and applying evidence,resulting bias in proving-path selecting,causality proving,evidences collection and application.The third chapter analyzes the reasons for investigators' confirmation bias,which involve direct and external factors.The direct factors are the psychological cause for the confirmation bias in the investigating process.The factors belong to the uncontrollable constant factors,and present in the logical order of the investigation and cognition underscoring their inevitable features.External factors mainly refer to the uncertain factors that affect the degree of confirmation bias.These factors,such as case characteristics and working pressure,play a role in promoting,intensifying and strengthening the psychological effect of confirmation bias.The fourth chapter mainly introduces the influence of confirmation bias on the investigation procedure,the whole litigation process and the result.This chapter focus on the investigation result while the second chapter concentrates on the analysis process,which is the major difference between the two sections.Based on the dialectical analysis method,this chapter not only elaborates the positive influence of confirmation bias,but also discusses its negative influence,providing the theoretical foundation for the fifth chapter.The negative impacts of the confirmation bias highlighted in the investigation procedures(e.g.,missing the critical period of the investigation,inducing torture and other illegal acts,and alienation of prosecutor and the defender)and the litigation results(e.g.,wasting judicial resources and causing artificial case).The fifth chapter focuses on the prevention and control mechanism to reduce the negative psychology effects of confirmation bias.This chapter is based on the philosophical epistemology of thinking and being,which is divided into five levels: thought,technology,evidence,system and environment,and each level covers specific measures.The subjects classification in the evidence level advocates the separation of the words and physical evidence to prevent the words evidence causing interference in collecting physical evidence,which is helpful for the investigator to objectively and reasonably collect and evaluate the physical evidence,and analyze the facts of the case;protecting the defense lawyer forensic function to some extent could limit the missing,falsifying and withholding innocent evidence,ensuring the innocent evidence successfully entering into the prosecution and trial process;the people supervisor mechanism ensures the professional and neutral people participating in the investigation process,effectively supervising the investigator,and revising the confirmation bias;the improvement and implementation of synchronous recording and video recording system can effectively prevent the attribution bias;the scientific design of the assessment mechanism can reduce the investigators' working pressure and the strengthening factors of confirmation bias.In summary,the inevitability of the confirmation bias leads to the inevitable influences on the investigators in case investigation.The negative effects on the entire criminal prosecution should not be underestimated.To the investigators,besides the cognitive thinking modification,the external specific mechanism is the major option to reduce the endangering consequences of the confirmation bias.Hence,the establishment of scientific,stable and continuous prevention and control mechanism can effectively amend the investigators' confirmation bias,which based on the macro-recognition and micro-execution of every investigator.