Studied by 5 people
why is forensic psychology hard to define
there are many narrow and broad definitions
problem with narrow definitions of forensic psychology
highlight certain aspects of the profession while ignoring other aspects
why are broad definition of forensic psychology good
Includes various areas of study as they relate to psychology and the law - anything that relates to forensic psychology in variety of ways - police psychology, family court
the study of forensic psychology includes
Criminal behavior, risk assessment & rehabilitation
Expert testimony
Eyewitness memory - research in this area
Credibility assessment - study credibility assessments for forensic perspective
Police psychology & investigations - how they practice, think, do their work
Judicial decision making and jury selection - psychological understanding of decision making
clinical forensic psychologist role, focus, & training
role: research & practice - risk assessments
focus: mental health & the law
training: masters or doctorate in clinical psychology & internships
experimental forensic psychologist role, focus, & training
role: research
focus: human behaviour & the law
training: Masters or Doctorate in psychology (clinical or experimental
legal scholar forensic psychologist role, focus, & training
role: research & analysis of the law
focus application of the law, mental health law, policy
training: doctorate in psychology & training in law (Phd in clinical psych + lawyer)
what does an experimental forensic psychologist do?
answer research questions, evaluate systems, can consult & advise professionals
what is a legal scholar in forensic psychology
how to apply, understand, interpret the law, research and analysis of law and how to improve based on psychology, relevant case law
what is needed for any field of forensic psychology
have to have substantial information/knowledge in psychology and the law, understanding of research design, methodology, statistics, understand legal standards to make assessments, understand the ethics around consent, assent, confidentiality etc.
Grad school is very competitive and need to have very good academic standing
psychology in the law
the USE of psychology within the legal system as it currently operates
Using psychology within an existing system
3 intersections of psychology & the law
psychology in the law
psychology by the law
psychology of the law
examples of psychology in the law
custody evaluation: evaluate parents capacity to parent child - have to understand option courts have for them - understand terminology -
USFT - unfit to stand trial evaluation
children when testifying - court assessment to make sure child is competent enough to withstand trial and provide useful truthful testimony
psychology by the law
the EFFECT of the law on the practice of psychology and research
Understanding that there are legal perimeters that monitor how we practice psychology
examples of how psychology by the law
Limits to confidentiality: threats of violence should be not kept confidential - duty to report to police or potential target to violence - give people limits before they disclose information
Informed Consent forms for participating research - active consent - ethics around research
psychology of the law
The use of psychological knowledge and methods to research how the legal system operates and functions itself
Researcher conducts research that uses psychology knowledge based on what happens in legal system with the hope of improving it through the research
examples of psychology of the law
investigative interviews; how can they interview criminals and get the best- most truthful/accurate statements information
where do psychologists get knowledge
knowledge comes from
Research - generated through
scientific methods through samples
where do lawyers get knowledge
Knowledge comes from:
Stare decisis: legal principle - by which Judges are obligated to respect president (what came before) established by prior case law - base there decision based on similar case ruling
Use logic
Depends of judges interpretation
May use psychological research in making decision
methodology in psychology
Nomothetic: use samples of behavior and try to generalize to population within reason
methodology in law
Idiographic: take it case by case
Individual working with is determined to be unique
Don’t like to generalize cases together - every case is different
Can state psychological research probabilities
epistemology
nature and scope of knowledge
theory of knowledge
epistemology of psychology
Objective an valid data from Experiments
Test different theories through research + replicate studies to continually test findings
epistemology of law
Adversarial perspective
What is the truth/reality is based on who argues it best in court - better stronger arguments with more facts is how truth is determined by court
Which argument best explains the information being provided
Argument determines the fact of truth
Rules of evidence
criteria used to make decisions in psychology
Strict: when we decide on something is like true or not its based on statistical significance and replicating those findings
Very precise in saying if something is true
criteria used to make decisions in the law
Lenient: goal of lawyer & judge Is to resolve case at hand - what is likely truth of scenario
criminal court must have confidence beyond reasonable doubt to make decisions - at least 70% confidence
Civil court: Standard of truth- balance of probability's - at least 50% confidence
nature of “law” in psychology
law in psychology is descriptive
Describing the way people are through
Explanatory rules - Laws we know to be true
Law of gravity
Use laws to describe human behavior and make prediction about future behavior
nature of “law” in the law
Prescriptive - laws others have set - established by courts and government - that determines what behavior are okay and not - allowed/not-allowed
principles on psychology
Multiple:
Theories have to be testable/falsifiable
Multiple explanatory principles to behavior
principles in law
Single:
Agreed statement of facts - truth is based on this agreement
latitude of courtroom behaviour for psychology
Limited:
More limited for psychologist, can only speak when allowed - can only communicate the information based on questions asked by judge/ other side
Doesn’t have to be just yes/no answers given - can elaborate
latitude of courtroom behaviour for the law
Less limited
Little more flexibility - allowed to directly address judge - know more courtroom procedures when they can speak -
Rules to follow but not as limited as psychologist
early example of psychological science in the court room
Coca Cola Company - charged with the U.S. Federal Food and Drug Act of 1906 with marketing and selling an adulterated beverage with a harmful substance = caffeine
Coca cola hired Harry L. Hollingworth 1911 to test the effects of caffeine
Case was dropped - his testimony was good but then not used - still a big moment for psychology in the court room
James M. Cattell 1895
The accuracy of everyday observations
One of first forensic psychologists to study the psychology of testimony - the best ways to ask and answer
results of study onfidence doesn’t = accuracy of response
Level of inaccuracy in answers was surprising - good quality lawyer could easily make a witness look bad by asking questions that make them look unreliable in there answer bc they know people will perceive them as not confident in their answer
Alfred Binet 1900
Suggestibility in children
Looked at issue of asking questions to children and reliability of asking children questions in court
Testified in court as an expert for youth delinquency
Biometric data to understand psychological issues
what did Alfred Binet conclude about sujestability in children
Concluded that children can give wrong answers - but the answers are wrong bc of memory gaps and they try to fill in the gaps to please the person asking the questions
You can suggest info to them and them the child will integrate the information a there own memory and recall it that way
Must be careful with how you interview kids bc the way you ask questions can suggest things into their memory
Children's memory can be distorted - as memory can be constructed and children are at higher risk
William Stern & Liszt 1901
The eyewitness reality experiment + Made contributions to the psychology of testimony
the reality experiment
had 2 ppl argue in law class over scientific controversy - escalated till gun draw - had students that observed it write a report on there memory (verbal & written) each student had about 4-12 errors in testimony (and they were law students)
Inaccuracy of memories peaked in the peak of the escalation
Heightened emotional states can reduce accuracy of what you can recall later
sterns conclusions from multiple studies
Subjective sincerity does not equal objective truthfulness - how confident in the belief of your memory doesn’t make memory more accurate
Leading & suggestive questions could compromise the accuracy of eyewitness reports
Major differences between adult and child witnesses - how you access the memories needs to be developmentally sound
Events between the original event and its recall can dramatically affect memory - speaking with other can distort your memory - best to write down initial account as that is what's most accurate in your memory
Police line ups are not helpful unless they are matched for age and appearance - lineup of 5 suspects all need to be very similar in appearance bc you can introduce error if one persons is made to stand out
Albert Von Schrenck-Notzing (1896)
Pre-trial press can result in retroactive memory falsification (what was observed versus what was heard)
One of first expert witnesses to give expert opinions about something- Germany - trial of person who was accused of murdering 3 woman - lots of press - his testimony was about the pretrial press and how it would affect the memories for testimony - distorted memories
Julian Varendonck 1911
Belgium psychologist Children can provide inaccurate testimony due to suggestive questioning techniques
Unreliability of children testimony
said children don’t have mental capacity to testify - no true but children’s memory can be easily distorted
8-10 year old kids - initially they said they didn’t know then they said they did after they were asked suggestive questions and went with what adults suggested/said
Kale Marbe 1922
Effects of alcohol on reaction time and behavior
German psychologist
Earliest expert testify in civil court - about the effects of alcohol
Hugo Munsterberg 1908
On the Witness Stand + Role of psychologists as experts in court - book he wrote
came to help William James set up first major psych research lab
He was highly critical of other psychologists not using there findings to change the world - he often exaggerated - excessive self promotion - favored German ideas and values - alienated himself from his collogues
believed in Lie detection, pro hypnosis, role of psych in emotions and memory, confessions sometimes untrue, how psych can help crime prevention, psych Vitale to court room
what did wigmore do in relation to munsterberg
attacked his ideas in a psych science in law review article - said people didn’t agree with his ideas at all
who is William Marston (1922)
Legal Psychology Professor & Father of modern polygraph + collaborated with his wife in the creation of wonder woman
what else did William Marston do
Trained under Hugo Munsterberg
Discovered the link between lying and blood pressure and maybe we could measure it - first polygraph/lie detector
testified in fre vs USA & set standard for expert testimony
first notable research on jury system - females weigh evidence more carefully then men
worked as consultant for CJ staff
testimony on accuracy of eyewitness causing many cases to be acquitted - written = better than verbal
Lewis Terman 1917
First psychologist to use mental tests to screen law enforcement candidates
Before this tests were only used for solider selection
Studied this bc most applicants at the time he thought were dull/average
Martin Reiser 1968
First full time police psychologist hired in the united states police force and applying psych to work with officers
LAPD
important canadian names
Paul Gendreau (was at UNB), James Bonta, Don Andrews, Bob Hoge, & Stephen Wormith (Since the 1970’s): What works” literature in Correctional Psychology - best practices in CJ
state vs Driver 1921
First court case in the U.S. where expert testimony is provided by a qualified psychologist in a criminal case (expert on juvenile delinquency – testimony rejected)
Accepted that they were an expert but testimony was rejected - psychological test data of the determined child to be too intellectually impaired to be responsible for crime but judge rejected it & said wasn’t an excuse
brown vs Board of education 1954
U.S. Supreme Court for the first time, referred to psychology research in their ruling
The case dealt with the constitutionality of school segregation and the research examined how discrimination affects personality development - even children of color were saying the white dolls were “nicer”
helped validate psychology as a science in court
Jenkins vs the state 1962
The court ruled that psychologists are sometimes qualified to give expert testimony on the issue of mental disease and criminal responsibility - past only psychiatrists could make the decision of criminal responsibility
Up to the judge to determine expertise - if they have enough expertise to provide a decision
Helped to increase the extent to which psychologist can contribute to legal proceedings
frye vs United states
General acceptance test: in order for novel scientific evidence to be admissible, it must be established that the procedures used to arrive at the testimony are generally accepted in the scientific community - accepted standards and procedures in science community
Frye standard
general acceptance test - if you meet the criteria you can do expert testimony
people vs Hawthorne 1940
the standard for expert witnesses was in the extent of knowledge of a subject, not in possession of a medical degree
Courts decided it was the knowledge that mattered to say you are an expert in the area not a just holding a medical degree
Daubert v Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals Inc (1993)
Testimony is admissible if it is: provided by an expert (special knowledge and expertise), relevant (matter at hand, not common knowledge) , valid
validity is determined by the Daubert criteria
Daubert criteria
e peer reviewed, Be testable, Have a known error rate (limitations of knowledge they are using), Adhere to professional standards -
R vs Mohan 1994
Supreme Court of Canada: In addition to requiring that testimony be reliable, the Mohan criteria in Canadian states that the testimony: Must be relevant, Must assist the trier fact (judge & jury) , Must not violate any rules of exclusion (evidence), Must be provided by a qualified expert (expert in whatever your offering relevant of this case)
things that add to psychology reputation of being a legitimate discipline within the law
Academic journals
Professional associations
Training opportunities
High quality textbooks (1931 – first by Howard Burtt)
Recognition as a specialty discipline -US has special designation for forensic psychology in a clinical setting
risk of being a forensic psychologist
can be stalked
people can get made over past decision they helped inform
what is police psychology
Psychology applied to police officers & to policing
how is police psychology used
screening & hiring
specialty unit assignment selection
fitness for duty assessments
investigations & operations
hostage negotiations
training and consultation
counselling
organizational psychology
munsterbergs contribution to police psychology
Advocated for the use of psychological science in all aspects of law, including policing
Believed that free association and hypnosis could be valuable investigative methods because they are “the magnifying glass for the most subtle mental mechanism, and by it the secrets of the criminal mind may be unveiled.” (1908, On the Witness Stand)
what did Martin Reiser contribute to police psychology
One of the first American full-time police psychologists (hired in late 1950s or 60s)
Screened candidates for LAPD (how he started) - MMPI, a group Rorschach, a tree drawing, and a brief psychiatric interview
50-60s police organizations started becoming open to having a psychologist
Before 1977 there was only 6 police forces (USA) that had a full time police psychologist
Harvey Schlossberg 1974
police officer & psychologist
“psychologist with a gun”
said he felt different with the uniform on - sense of authority & confidence
Founded “psychological service unit”
psychological evaluation, interviews, diagnosis & prognosis - research & operational consultation
police selection is
A process by which law enforcement agencies select its members:
Not to find employees that will never have issues , but instead to find pro-social, good quality, resilient officers - can’t prevent the impact but can find people who will bounce back from it faster
Screen out those with “undesirable” qualities & select in those with “desirable” qualities
what does police selection take into account
physical fitness, cognitive ability, personality, job-related abilities,
how is physical fitness determined in police selection
PARE test - obstacle course done in 4 mins or less
what does job related abilities refer to
dependability, pro social, not prone to law breaking, unlikely to be bribed
when did intelligence tests start being used for police selection
1917
when did police selection start using personality tests
1950s
when did psychological/psychiatric screening become standard
the 1960s-70s
before there use in police selection what professions used intelligence and personality tests
soldier selection
what is the standard for police selection today
Background checks, selection interviews, personality assessments, cognitive ability tests are all aspects of police selection
2 stages of selection process
job analysis
construction & validation
what is a job analysis
way to learn about the job/organization you will be evaluating people for
job analysis matrix
broken into 4 parts - measures speak to or predict job performance
what the worker does: duties tasks & responsibilities
how the worker does it: methods, tools, techniques
why the worker does it: products, services
worker qualifications: skills, knowledge, abilities, physical demands
integrity in a police officer
almost always the first quality they want when hiring
will acknowledge their mistakes, resistant to bribes or “looking away”, wont abuse authority, handle evidence in proper way
sound judgement in police officers
good at making important decisions under pressure , they make decision in right direction, good choices, good self control
why should police officers not be impulsive
police officers have to act quickly - but shouldn't act without thinking
conscientiousness i =n police officers
good reliable person - do work as expected - follow protocol + procedures - organized - have goals and discipline to meet those goals
self confidence/ good self esteem in police officers
confident that they can do what needs to be done - less likely to be stressed by there own anxiety - doubt will slow you down - calm under pressure - work harder to achieve and do good job
what does it mean for police officer to be optimistic but hold some degree of guardedness
don’t want them to be so optimistic that they are too trusting - could make bad calls do to trusting nature - need to be a but be aware of the other possible turn outs
why should police officers be higher in extraversion
should be able to be socially confident, assertive, able to take charge - express self loudly
why should police officers be emotionally stable
calm under pressure - copes healthily w stress/mental health
bounces back fast from stressful events
why must police have the capacity for respecting an authority structure
police act that guides and directs behavior - must have ability to follow chain of command - unless it’s a unlawful order - know time and place for questioning/challenging authority
why do police officers need the capacity for empathy
suicide situations, de-escalations, hostage situations
selection interviews
panel interview
clinical interview w psychologist
integrity interview
selection interview: panel interview
interview w hiring committee w/o psychologists - relevant knowledge, job experience
selection interviews: integrity interview
experienced person w investigations, asks questions to see if you are good pro social person that is a good fit for agency- sometimes use poly graph
types of psychological tests used in police psychology
cognitive ability tests
WonderlIc personal test
WAIS (Wechsler Adult intelligence Scale)
cognitive ability tests
tests intended to see if you know how to think, problem solve, sound judgement - basis for how you will perform in training - but not specifically how well you'll do in the field
Wonderlic Personnel Test
common esp in US - used w law enforcement personnel - short form of general cognitive ability test, how well will people adapt and adjust to changing situations - 50 items -word comparisons & instruction following questions - 12 mins ish to complete - if you score high on this people typically also do well on WAIS - if not well they need more help
Weak correlation/association with predicting job performance
Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS)
not time efficient -1 hour & 30 mins - need special training to administer
Looks at Verbal & non verbal ability
Moderate relationship w how well you do on test and how you will perform in there first year on duty
personality & clinical self report questionnaires used in police selection
MMPI: Minnesota Multiphasic Personality -Inventory
PAI: Personality Assessment Inventory-Law Enforcement version
NEO Personality Inventory
M-Pulse
Inwald personality Inventory
MMPI
Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory
predicts satisfactory vs non satisfactory cops - higher score is worse - have little to know insight on themselves - over value self
predicted early termination of employment as a police officer within 1 year of hiring
what sub-scales are used in the MMPI
L scale, hypomania & psychopathic
PAI
Personality Assessment Inventory-Law Enforcement version
300 items - 40 mins - mental health and personality
measures Integrity, performance
2 types of PAI tests
ANT-Egocentricity
ANT-Stimulation Seeking
ANT-Egocentricity
ANT = antisocial - capturing inflated self view, callous, self focused, lacks empathy/concern for others - more at risk for insubordination - receive excessive complaints
Note
Flashcard