forensic Psychology 2

Advance directives

 documents that allow persons to make advance decisions about life-sustaining procedures in the event of a terminal condition or persistent vegetative state or any other later health care decision

Approximation rules

in some jurisdictions, a judge looks at the amount of caretaking done by each parent before making a decision on child custody

Assisted outpatient treatment (AOT)

court-ordered mental health treatment in the community, on the condition that a person will be hospitalized or rehospitalized if not cooperative with treatment providers

Best interest of the child (BIC) standard

the legal doctrine that the parents’ legal rights should be secondary to what is best for the child

Child custody evaluations (CCEs)

also called parenting evaluations or assessments, these are assessments prepared for courts by mental health professionals to help judges make decisions in disputed custody situations

Compensatory damages

money awards given in civil suits to make up for the harm that the plaintiff has suffered

Employment compensation claims

claims involving physical injuries, psychological damage, or emotional distress sustained as a  result of one’s employment. Employers are required to insure their workers against injury while on the job

Family courts

specialized courts dealing with issues relating to families, such as divorce and child custody order or protection, delinquency proceedings, and guardianship proceedings.

Forensic neuropsychology

 the application of knowledge from the neuropsychological profession to legal matters. Neuropsychology is the study of the psychological efforts of brain and neurological damage and dysfunction or human behavior

Friendly-parent rule

in child custody determinations, the rule in some jurisdictions that preference will be given to the parent who is most likely to nature the child’s relationship with the other parent, provided the other parents is not abusive

Gender harassment

 a form of discrimination and sometimes recognized in sexual harassment law, it refers to persistent, unwanted comments  or behavior directed at an individual because of their gender. Distinguished from sexual harassment in that it implies the harasser has no intereste in sexual contact with the target of the harassemnt

Hastened death evaluations

 in states allowing individuals to hasten their death with the help of physician-prescribed medication, these assessments may be conducted if there are questions about the patient’s capacity to make such a decision

Injunction

a court order to stop or refrain from doing something, usually based on a request from a party who is allegedly harmed by the activity

Least detrimental alternative  standard

in custody decisions, the standard that choose the arrangement that would cause the child the least amount of harm

Legal Parental authority

having the authority to make legal decisions for the child, such as medical needs and choice of educational system

MacArthur Competence Assessment Tool-Treatment (MacCAT-T)

used by clinicians to evaluate ability to benefit from treatment

Medical aid in dying

enables persons who are terminally ill and approaching death to request help from a physician in hastening it

Outpatient Treatment (OT) orders

court orders that allow an individual to live in their own home or alternative group or foster home on condition that the individual receive mental health treatment and usually comply with a medication regimen. Also called assisted outpatient treatment (AOT)

Parental relocation

an increasingly frequent topic for family courts, in which they are asked to make  a decision as to whether the custodial parent should be allowed to relocate the child to a geographical area away from the noncustodial parent

Parenting evaluation

a term preferred to custody evaluation in some jurisdictions. Assessment of parenting plans is also frequently used.

Physical parental authority

in custody decision making the right to make day-to-day decisions affecting the child, such as curfew hours or whether the child can go out with friends. Compare with legal parental authority 

Plaintiff

person or party who initially brings a civil suit

Preventive outpatient treatment (or commitment)

court-ordered community treatment to prevent a person from becoming dangerous. A controversial option because it does not require the high standard of dangerousness needed for other involuntary civil commitment, either to an institution or to community treatment

Probate courts

courts that have jurisdiction over a range of civil matters, such as wills and estates, property transfers, and in some states divorce and child custody matters

Punitive damages

awards in civil cases that are assessed to punish the defendant or respondent for the harm caused to the plaintiff. Compare with compensatory damages.

Respondent

another term for defendants in a civil suit

Sexual harassment

a form of discrimination evidence by unwelcome sexual comments or behavior directed toward a person based on sex; creates a hostile working environment. See also gender harassment

Tender years doctrine

 a legal assumption, derived from the traditional belief that a mother is the parent ideally and inherently best suited to care for children of  a” tender age.”  The doctrine is no longer officially used in virtually all states, through in many the mother is presumptively given custody of the child

Termination of parental rights

 the rare judicial determination that a person or parents is/ are not fit to care for children. Legal authority for the children is removed. Abandonment, serious substance abuse, and the severe child abuse may be reason

Testamentary capacity

the mental ability to make a will 

Tort

 legal term for a civil wrong in which a plaintiff alleges some negligence on the part of the defendant or respondent

Visitation risk assessment

evolutions provided to family courts for help in deciding whether and how often children should be allowed to visit noncustodial parents or others.

Adolescent-limited offenders (ALs)

individuals who usually demonstrate delinquent or antisocial behavior only during their teen years and then stop offending during their young adult years.

Antisocial behavior

any behavior that is considered a violation of social norms in society: antisocial behaviors may or may not be defined as crimes

Antisocial personality disorder (APD or ASP)

a disorder characterized by a history of continuous behavior in which the rights of others are violated

Attention- deficit/ hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

Traditionally considered a chronic neurological condition characterized by developmentally, poor attention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity. More contemporary perspectives also see the behavioral pattern as a deficiency in interpersonal skills

Boldness/fearless dominance

(fearless dominance) Interpersonal style characterized by fearlessness, calmness, and low stress level when confronted with crises or stress-inducting situations. Believed by some scholar to be a core factor in psychopathy

Callous-unemotional (CU) traits

group of personality characteristics believed to be associated with psychopathy, such as self-centeredness and lack of empathy, see also four -factor perspective

Cognitive flexibility

refers to the ability to think about something or action in multiple ways

Conduct disorder

a diagnostic label used to identify children who demonstrate habitual misbehaviors

Development dual systems model

proposed by laurence steinberg, it refers to the difference in cognitive and emotional brain development in adolescents, making them more prone to sensation-seeking and risk-taking behaviors

Disinhibition (externalizing proneness)

refers to poor self-regulation and impulsivity. Represents one of the key dimensions of the Triarchi Psychopathy Model (TriPM)

Emotional intelligence

ability to know how one’s own self and others are feeling and the capacity to be able to use that information to guide thoughts and actions

Externalizing disorders

 maladaptive behavior characterized by going against the social environment, such as acting out, aggressive or antisocial behavior

Factor analysis

a statistical procedure by which underlying patterns and personality characteristics are identified

Four-factor perspective

a model that sees psychopathy as consisting of four core factors: interpersonal, impulsive, affective and antisocial. There is continuing debate in the literature as to whether the fourth should be considered a separate factors

Gendered pathways approach

research that indicates that girls and boys or women and men develop criminal behavior in different ways

Hostile attribution bias

the tendency of some individuals to perceive hostile intent in others even when it is lacking

Inhibitory control

the behavior process of self-regulation of self-control that keeps impulses in check. A key component of executive function

Internalizing disorder

maladaptive behaviors that are directed toward the self, such as suicide, depression, or unusal low self-essteem or confidence

Juvenile delinquency

broad term for variety of antisocial acts committed by youth; some but not all are criminal offenses

Juvenile delinquent

young person who commits an act against the criminal code and who is adjudicated delinquent by an appropriate court

Life course-persistent offenders (LCPs)

offenders who demonstrate a lifelong pattern of antisocial behavior and who are often resistant to treatment or rehabilitation

Meanness

refers to a lack of empathy, of concern about the feeling of others, and of close relationships, part of the psychopathy TriPM

National Incident -Based Reporting System (NIBRs)

FBI’s system of collecting detailed data from law enforcement agencies on known crimes and arrests.

Oppositional defiant disorder (ODD)

in children, this is a disorder whose symptoms include arguing with adults, refusing adults’ request, deliberately trying to annoy others, blaming others for mistakes, and being spiteful or vindictive

P-Scan: Research Version

measure of psychopathy intended primarily for research purposes but not used by some mental health practitioners in their clinical practices

Psychopath

an individual who demonstrates a distinct behavioral pattern that differs from the general population in its lack of sensitivity, empathy, compassion, and guilt. Often involved in antisocial including criminal activity. Distinguished from the sociopath in that psychopathy is believed to have a biological origin associated with an inordinate need for stimulation

Psychopathy Checklist: Screening Version (PCL:SV)

a relatively quick measure of psychopathy

Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version (PCL:YV)

an instrument used for the measurement of psychopathic characteristics in young people

Psychopathy Checklist-revised (PCL-R)

developed by robert hare, it is the best-known and most heavily researched instrument for the measurement of criminal psychopathy

Self-regulation

the ability to control one’s behavior in accordance with internal cognitive standards

Social cognition

refers to how people process, store and apply social and interpersonal information about other people

Sociopath

the individual with a history of serious and typically violent criminal activity. Should be distinguished from psychopath, who does not necessarily commit crimes, but who is distinguished by having an inordinate biological need for stimulation

Status offenses

 a class of illegal behavior that only persons with certain characteristics or status can commit. Used almost exclusively to refer to the behavior of juveniles. Examples include running away from home, violating curfew, buying alcohol or skipping school

Triarchic Psychopathy Model (TripM)

represents that major three traits that some scholars argue best describe psychopathic individuals: (1) boldness; (2) meanness; (3) impulsiveness

Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) 

a program operated by the FBI, is the government’s main method of collecting national data on crimes reported to police and arrests. See also NIBRS and NCVS

Working Memory

a cognitive process that keeps information in mind to be used later in creative or useful ways

Active shooter

one or more individuals engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a populated areas

Aggression

behavior that is intended to cause harm or damage to another person

Bias crime (also hate crimes)

these are criminal offenses motivated by an offender’s bias against a group to which the victim either belongs or is believed to belong

Bullying

a form of peer aggression in which one or more individuals physically, verbally, or psychologically harass a victim who is perceived to be weaker. Although primarily directed at children and adolescents, buying also may be directed at adult peers

Bystanders

those individuals who are witness to a crime or have information about a potential attack

Cognitive factors

the internal processes enable humans to imagine, to gain knowledge, to reason, and to evaluate. Each person has their own cognitive version of the world

Criminal homicide

the unlawful and intentional killing of a human being. The term encompasses both murder and nonnegligent homicide

Cyberstalking

threats or unwanted advances directed at another using the internet or other forms of online communication

Ethnocentrism

 refers to the tendency to interpret events in accordance with one’s own culture heritage

Hate Crime Statistics Act

federal law requires law enforcement officials to collect extensive data on reported crimes allegedly motivated by hatred or bias against someone belonging or believed to belong to a specific group

Hedonistic Type

serial killer who strives for pleasure and thrill-seeking. To this killer, people are simply objects to use for one’s own enjoyment. The hedonistic type is divided into lust, thrill and creature comfort killer

Instrument violence

occurs when the injury of an individual is secondary to the acquisition of some other external goal of the offender

Leakage

term used for behaviors that presumably indicate deception on the part of someone being interviewed

Manslaughter

the unjustifiable killing of a human being without premediation. May be negligent or non-negligent, and does not require intent to kill

Mass Murder

involves the killing or three or more person at a single location with no cooling-off period between the killing

Mission-oriented Type

serial killer who believes that there is a particular group of people who are considered undesirable and who must be destroyed or eliminated

Murder

 the intentional and premeditated killing of one human being by another without justification or excuse

Observational Learning

the process by which individuals learn pattern of behavior by observing another person performing the action

Power-control killer

 type of serial murder who obtains satisfaction from the absolute life-of-death control they have over the victim

Reactive violence (or expressive violence)

 refers to physical violence precipitated by a hostile and angry reaction to a perceived threat or dangerous situation

Safe shooting Initiative (SSI)

a variety of federal programs designed to increase safety in schools; included violence prevention as well as ways to deal with problems related to bullying and harassment

School shootings

 general term for school violence, including events involving guns and other weapons

Serial murder

incidents in which an individual (or individuals) kill a number of people ( usually a minimum of three)over time

Situational factors

characteristics of the psychosocial environment, such as stress or aggression in others, that encourage or engender violent behavior

Socialization factors

 those processes through which a person learns pattern of thinking, behavior, and feeling from their early life experiences 

Spree murder

 refers to the killing of three or more individuals without a cooling-off period, usually at two or three different locations

Stalking

 conduct directed at a person that involves repeated physical proximity, nonconsensual or threats that are sufficient to cause fear in a reasonable person 

Violence

use of physical force or destruction

Violence Against Women act

federal law containing multiple provisions for preventing and responding to crimes perpetrated against women and girls, particularly in areas of domestic violence and sexual assault

Visionary type

serial killer driven by delusion or hallucinations that compel the person to kill a particular group of individuals

Workplace violence

a cognitive process that keeps information in mind to be used later in creative or useful ways