PSYC 372: Exam 1

How the expertise of Psychology may be used in the legal system

-expert witnesses

-consultants to lawyers

-evaluators

Brandeis brief in Muller v. Oregon

1st legal brief that contained up-to-date social science research

Brown V. Board of Education

held that racial segregation was unconstitutional... first case to make explicit use of research by social scientists

Legal Realism Movement

(1920-1930)

Traditional view: Fixed "Stealing=1 year"

Realist View: rule is context sensitive (focus on society)

Difference in Goals; LAW

PROSCRIBES how people should behave. Punishes ba behavior, avoids uncertainty, and focuses on individuals

Difference in Goals; PSYC

DESCRIBES how people do behave, investigates why people engage in behaviors, accepts uncertainty, focus on group/patterns

Difference in Methods; LAW

high deference to authority, relies on pst rulings

Difference in Methods; PSYC

accepts data from ALL levels, theories change

Legal Precedents

Decisions made by judges in various courts that become rule of law and apply to future cases, even though they were not enacted by legislation.

Roles Played by Psychologists in the Legal System

Evaluators: evaluate programs/practices, conduct clinical evals of defendants

Advisors: trial consultants, expert witness/research

Expert Testimony: Jodi Arias & Dr. Samuels

Jodi Arias: Killed ex-lover, diagnosed with PTSD and dissasociative anxiety

Dr. Samuels: diagnosed Jodi..

Expert testimony: Daubert Stanard

1. Must be Testable

2. Undergone Peer Review

3. Known Rate of Error

4. Generally Accepted by Experts

Amicus Curiae Briefs

"friend of the court" documents filed by interested parties to provide input and influence case

Pervasiveness of Lying

deception (lying) is common in social interactions... 60% lied once during a 10 minute conversation

Machiavellian Hypothesis of Lying

suggests that the cognitive skills for manipulation and social strategizing, which are core to Machiavellianism, are linked to a higher propensity and effectiveness in deceptive behaviors.

Accuracy of Lie Detection

54%

Truth Bias

tendency to assume that interaction partners are telling the truth

Effects of interrogation training videos on lie detection accuracy

the effect of interrogation training videos on lie detection accuracy is mixed, with the outcome heavily dependent on the quality of the training.

Types of errors in lie detection

- False Positives: truthful person labeled deceptive

- False Negatives: deceptive person labeled truthful

- Fear in Truthful Suspects

- Overconfidence in ones ability to detect lies

Basic theory behind the polygraph

the act of deception causes involuntary physiological changes

Comparison Question Test (CQT)

Type of polygraph test that includes irrelevant questions that are unrelated to the crime, relevant questions concerning the crime being investigated, and comparison questions concerning the person's honesty and past history prior to the event being investigated

Guilty Knowledge Test (GKT)

(concealed info test) premise is guilty person will recognize crime info that innocent person doesn't

Legal Status of the Polygraph

-Generally NOT admissible.. not admissable in 23 U.S States

Techniques for increasing accuracy in lie detection (Zimmerman, 2016)

-Verbal/content based cues

-People Statements

-Perceptual/Sensory Details

Jurors' perceptions of confessions

Confessions are highly influential and lead to higher conviction rates.

Corruption Hypothesis

false confessions can potentially corrupt other formd of evidence and lead to wrongful convictions

fundamental attribution error

tendency to attribute other peoples behavior to dispositional causes (traits/personality)

1931 Wickersham Report

reduced overt abuse, but covert abuse (no marks) continue

- increased public scrutiny of these practices, contributing to a long term shift toward less brutal interrogation

"Third Degree"

coercive interrogation tactics

Legal Interrogation Techniques

- Reid Technique

- PEACE Model: building rapport and obtaining a detailed account of events through open-ended questions

Miranda Rights (1966)

- Right to remain silent and request attorney

- 80% of suspects waive rights and subject to interrogation

Reid Technique of Interrogation

A nonconfrontational technique of interrogation that attempts to break down the suspect's psychological defenses and gain their confession

Reid 9 Steps

1. Confrontation

2. Theme Development

3. Stopping Denials

4. Overcoming Objections

5. Attention & Support

6. Signs of Surremder

7. Alternative to Why They Did It

8. Elicting Confession

9. Documenting Confession

Video-recorded confessions

capture interrogations to enhance fairness, reduce false confessions, and provide objective evidence for courts

False Confessions

contribute to 27% wrongful convictions

Vulnerabilities to False Confessions

-Youth

-Stress/Anxiety

-Low IQ

-High Suggestability

Types of False Confessions: Instrumental-Coerced

falsely confess under extreme pressure

Types of False Confessions: Instrumental-Voluntary

falsely confess to achieve some goal

Types of False Confessions: Internalized-Coerced

suspect coerced into believing that they may have actually comitted the crimw

Types of False Confessions: Internalized-Voluntary

someone suffering from delusions confess to a crime without pressure from interrogations

Recent legislation regarding deceptive police tactics in interrogations

focuses on banning deceptive interrogation tactics