What term refers to personal beliefs influencing interpretations of evidence?

• A. Opinion
• B. Bias
• C. Evidence
• D. Circumstances

Answer: (A)

Bias is the tendency for personal beliefs to colour how we interpret evidence. It can be conscious or unconscious, leading us to read ambiguous clues in a way that confirms what we already think and to downplay data that contradicts us. In criminology, bias can affect investigations, assessments of testimony, and judgments about guilt or innocence, so professionals take steps to mitigate it—using objective criteria, structured methods, and independent reviews. An opinion is simply a personal belief about something, which may be involved in forming views, but bias specifically describes the distortion in evaluating evidence itself.