1. Are older people less observant of younger people in a commercial as opposed to an older person? 2. Will famous people (e.g., actors, actresses, singers, athletes) in a commercial encourage someone to watch the commercial and therefore be more observant of the product information?

Does racial background affect someone’s ability to recognize someone of a different race? Does the color of someone’s clothing make the person more noticeable? Are bald men more difficult to recognize than men who have hair?

If the person wears a hat, does that make him or her more difficult to recognize or more likely to be recognized? Does a person’s style of clothing make him or her more noticeable or less? (For example, are there differences with responses with a man in a suit as opposed to a man in

1. Does the presence of a beard make someone less noticeable or more noticeable? 2. Is an overweight person less likely to be observed than someone of normal weight?

Successful advertisement agencies realize that their commercials need to appeal to that segment of the population that is most likely to purchase the product. The better they target their commercial to the prospective buyers, the greater the chance that particular audience will listen and observe the information given in that commercial.

As a result of these commercial observational activities, students will be able to note how many factors influence our ability to observe. Police collect eyewitness accounts of a crime understanding that this is not the most reliable source of information used in solving a crime.

1. When did the crime occur? 2. Who called in the crime? 3. Who is the victim?

1. Can the perpetrator be identified? 2. What did you see happen? 3. Where were you when you observed the crime scene?

Often, several different labs need to share a very small amount of evidence. It is important that the chain of custody be maintained. If the chain of custody is broken, then the evidence may not be allowed in a court proceeding. Identify the error in the following case. After obtaining the evidence, the first lab

Why were gloves necessary in the collection and handling of trace evidence? What other instruments could be used to improve on your ability to identify evidence? Demonstrate the correct techniques for collecting and handling evidence.