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How Observant Are You?

This activity demonstrates our ability to remember details accurately. Testimony about personal experiences is frequently used during an investigation, and can even make or break a case. How accurately do people remember what they have seen? What factors may play a role in what we can remember and describe about something we have witnessed? Consider these questions as you do the following activity.

Directions:

1. Observe the picture for exactly 30 seconds. Look at everything you think might be important.
2. After 30 seconds, answer the questions on the next page on a sheet of paper. (Do not read the questions before you look at the picture!)
3. How observant were you? Compare your answers to the picture.

Additional Challenge:

Try this activity with another picture. This time, put the picture away overnight and try to remember what you saw in the picture.

Helpful Resources:

Detective Science, by Jim Wiese. ©1996, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. ISBN 0-471-11980-6.