psych and law exam

basic scientist

pursues knowledge for satisfaction of understanding it and contributing to scientific advancements

applied scientist

application of knowledge to solve real-life problems

expert witness

possess specialized knowledge about a subject and can testify in court

policy evaluator

provides data to answer questions

forensic evaluator

evaluate individuals involved in civil and criminal cases to report findings to a judge

forensic mental health assessment

evaluations conducted by a variety of professionals, including psychiatrists, psychologists, and social workers

consultant

professional in social sciences assisting attorneys in preparing and presenting evidence

procedural justice

if individuals view the procedures of a dispute resolution or decision-making as fair, they will view the outcome as just (regardless of whether it favors them or not)

discretion

the ability to act according to one’s own judgement and conscience

due process model

fairness under the law

equality

everyone receives the same consequences

precedents

a ruling announced in a previous case that provides framework for current case

stare decisis

importance of decision-making consistent with precedent

forensic psychologists

applying scientific findings and knowledge to questions and issues related to the legal system

crisis intervention teams

programs that provide law enforcement officers the tools and skills necessary in dealing with mentally ill persons

stereotypes

beliefs that associate a whole group of people with certain traits

discrimination

negative behavior directed against persons because of their membership in a particular group

prejudice

negative feelings about others because of their connection to a social group

implicit racism

racism that operates unconsciously and unintentionally

discretion

ambiguity leads to biased behavior

social dominance orientation

support for hierarchies that discriminate against members of lower social strata

aversive racism

those who believe in racial equality and view themselves as nonprejudiced,

cognitive interview

a procedure used to assist victims in recalling aspects of a crime or other traumatic event

confirmation bias

a tendency to search for information that confirms one’s preconceptions

double-blind testing procedures

both the participants and experimenter are unaware of the particular conditions being tested

encoding

entering a perception into memory

estimator variable

the factors that are beyond the control of the justice system and whose impact on the reliability of the eyewitness can only be estimated

experimenter bias

an experimenter’s influence on the results of a research study

field studies

scientific research done in a real-world setting, contrasted with a more artificial environment

ground truth

a clear and accurate measure of the outcome of interest in a study

other-race effect

the tendency for people to less accurately recognize faces of other races than faces of their own race

photographic lineup

a display of photographs of potential suspects that police often ask an eyewitness to examine to identify a suspect

relative judgement

eyewitness process of deciding when looking at a lineup who looks like the suspect

retention interval

the period of time in which a memory is retained

selective attention

unconsciously selecting information to which they will attend

sequential presentation

a lineup presentation in which the choices are shown at one time

simultaneous presentation

all choices are shown at the same time

system variable

can be controlled by the legal system

unconscious transference

generation of a memory

weapons focus effect

presence of a weapon impairs memory and accuracy of identifications

storage

retention of information

false confessions

admission of guilt to a crime one did not commit

false denial

a guilty suspects proclamation of innocence when they are responsible

compliant false confessions

confessions where suspect is induced to comply and make incriminating statements

fundamental attribution error

the belief that behavior is caused by factors internal to a person rather than by situational external factors

truth bias

assumption that most statements are honest and truthful