Target-Shifting
Definition
The cognitive bias whereby an examiner's perception of the questioned writing is unconsciously shaped by prior knowledge of what the exemplar writer's features look like, resulting in an inflated agreement assessment.
- Field
- Forensic handwriting examination
- Type of bias
- Cognitive/contextual bias
- Effect
- Inflated agreement assessment
- Method context
- ACE-V comparison stage
Common questions
How does target-shifting differ from ordinary confirmation bias in ACE-V?+
Confirmation bias broadly describes seeking evidence that fits a prior conclusion. Target-shifting is a more specific mechanism within that: the examiner's mental image of what the questioned writing looks like drifts toward the known exemplar features they have already studied, so the two samples appear more similar than a blind comparison would find.
What procedural safeguard reduces target-shifting?+
Sequential unmasking or blind verification, where the verifying examiner evaluates the questioned document without first seeing the conclusion or being primed by extended exposure to the exemplar, limits the chance that expectation shapes perception of the writing features.
Related terms
- ACE-V
- Analysis, Comparison, Evaluation, Verification: the four-stage method for latent print examination used by accredited forensic fingerprint laboratories. Analysis examines the latent in...
- Analysis Phase
- The first ACE-V phase: the questioned writing is examined in isolation, individual features are catalogued, and the documentation is locked before the...
- Comparison Phase
- The second ACE-V phase: the catalogued features of the questioned writing are evaluated against the exemplar set, documenting both similarities and differences...
- Daubert Criteria
- The four criteria a US federal court applies to assess the admissibility of expert scientific testimony: has the methodology been tested, has...
- Evaluation Phase
- The third ACE-V phase: the combined weight of similarities and differences is expressed as a conclusion on the SWGDOC nine-point scale or...
- Linear ACE-V
- An implementation of ACE-V methodology that enforces strict sequential documentation: analysis of the latent mark must be completed and recorded before the...
- Sequential Unmasking
- An information-sequencing protocol in which the examiner receives the questioned material first, completes and documents the analysis before receiving the known standards,...
- SWGDOC Nine-Point Scale
- The conclusion scale developed by the Scientific Working Group for Forensic Document Examination, running from 'identification' (most positive) through 'no conclusion' (midpoint)...
- Verification Phase
- The fourth ACE-V phase: an independent second examiner repeats the ACE process without access to the first examiner's conclusion, providing an independent...