Forensic Psychology – Key Vocabulary

A vocabulary set covering key concepts, legal cases, psychological theories, assessment tools, interrogation methods, eyewitness factors, child-custody standards, risk assessment, and offender typologies discussed across the lecture notes.

Forensic Psychology (Narrow Definition)

Professional practice by clinical, counselling, neuro- and school psychologists who regularly provide expertise to the judicial system.

Forensic Psychology (Broad Definition)

Any research or professional practice that examines human behaviour in relation to the legal system.

Goldstein Definition

Application of psychological research, theory, and practice to legal questions, including both practice (e.g., assessments) and research (e.g., jury studies).

Specialty Guidelines for Forensic Psychology

APA guidelines (2011) describing ethical and professional standards for psychologists applying scientific knowledge to legal matters.

Psychology and the Law

Using psychological principles to study how the legal system operates (e.g., lineup research).

Psychology in the Law

Direct use of psychological expertise within current legal procedures (e.g., competency evaluations).

Psychology of the Law

Psychological study of the law itself—its origins, functions, and effects on behaviour.

Expert Witness

A specialist who helps the court understand evidence and may offer an opinion beyond lay knowledge.

Mohan Criteria (Canada)

Admissibility test requiring evidence be given by a qualified expert, be relevant, necessary, and not violate exclusionary rules.

Daubert Criteria (U.S.)

Standard stating expert evidence must be relevant and reliable, peer reviewed, testable, with known error rates and professional acceptance.

Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

Landmark case citing social-science research to rule that segregated schools are inherently unequal.

Jenkins v. United States (1962)

Case that recognized properly trained psychologists as qualified to testify about mental illness.

Adversarial Process

Legal approach emphasizing argument between opposing sides to resolve disputes.

Nomothetic Approach

Research focused on general laws about groups rather than individuals.

Idiographic Approach

Assessment or research centered on understanding the unique individual case.

Stare Decisis

Legal principle of following precedents set by previous court decisions.

Due-Process Model

Judicial philosophy prioritizing individual rights and fair procedures over crime control.

Crime-Control Model

Judicial philosophy emphasizing efficient detection and punishment of offenders.

Restorative Justice

Model that seeks healing for victims, offenders, and community rather than punishment.

Retributive Justice

Model that focuses on punishing wrongdoing to deter and exact vengeance.

Psychoanalytic Theory of Crime

View that early childhood dynamics and unconscious conflicts foster criminal behaviour.

Social Learning Theory (Bandura)

Concept that criminal acts are learned through observation and reinforcement.

Bio-social Theory (Eysenck)

Idea that crime is linked to personality dimensions combined with biological arousal patterns.

Learning-Disabilities Theory

Proposal that deficits such as dyslexia or aphasia can increase delinquency risk by hindering social adaptation.

Mental Illness

Medical condition affecting mood, thinking, or behaviour; distinct from the legal term insanity.

Insanity (Legal)

Court concept describing a mental state at the time of offence that absolves criminal responsibility.

Fitness to Stand Trial

Capacity of an accused to understand proceedings and assist counsel during trial.

R. v. Prichard (1836)

Early case establishing criteria for fitness to stand trial in Canada.

Bill C-30 (1992)

Canadian legislation that defined unfitness to stand trial and replaced ‘insanity’ with NCRMD.

R. v. Taylor (1992)

Case introducing the ‘limited cognitive capacity’ test for fitness in Canada.

Not Criminally Responsible on Account of Mental Disorder (NCRMD)

Canadian verdict for offenders incapable of appreciating the nature or wrongfulness of their act due to mental disorder.

M’Naghten Test

Classic insanity standard: due to disease of mind the accused did not know the nature/quality of the act or that it was wrong.

Irresistible Impulse Standard

Insanity extension stating offenders who cannot control actions despite knowing wrongness are not responsible.

Durham Test

'Product' test holding a defendant not guilty if the act was the product of mental disease or defect.

ALI Standard

Model Penal Code rule: lack of capacity to appreciate criminality or conform conduct due to mental disease.

Winko v. British Columbia (1999)

Supreme Court case stating NCRMD accused should be detained only if they pose a significant public threat.

Automatism

Unconscious, involuntary behaviour that can excuse criminal liability if non-insane.

Structured Interview of Reported Symptoms (SIRS)

Assessment tool for detecting malingering of psychiatric symptoms.

Psychopathy

Personality disorder marked by callousness, manipulativeness, shallow affect, and antisocial behaviour.

Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R)

Dr. Robert Hare’s 20-item rating scale considered the gold standard for assessing psychopathy.

Violence Risk Appraisal Guide (VRAG)

Actuarial tool using static factors to estimate risk of future violent behaviour.

Actuarial Decision Making

Risk assessment method using statistical algorithms based on empirical risk factors.

Structured Professional Judgment (SPJ)

Approach where clinicians consider a research-based checklist but apply professional discretion to final risk rating.

Static Risk Factor

Historic, unchangeable attribute (e.g., prior violence) predictive of future offending.

Dynamic Risk Factor

Changeable characteristic (e.g., substance abuse) that influences risk level over time.

Yerkes-Dodson Law

Principle that memory and performance are best at moderate arousal, poorer at very low or very high arousal.

Weapon-Focus Effect

Tendency for presence of a weapon to narrow attention and impair memory for other details.

Enhanced Cognitive Interview (ECI)

Structured witness-interview technique that reinstates context, uses varied recall, and minimizes leading questions.

Show-up

Identification procedure where a single suspect is presented to the witness, considered highly suggestive.

Simultaneous Lineup

Lineup method showing all members together, encouraging relative judgments.

Sequential Lineup

Lineup method presenting members one-at-a-time, promoting absolute judgments and reducing false IDs.

Unconscious Transference

Misidentification where a familiar but innocent face is recalled as the perpetrator.

Parental Alienation Syndrome (Invalid)

Discredited claim that one parent brainwashes a child to reject the other; lacks scientific validity.

Tender-Years Doctrine

Historic presumption that young children are best placed with their mother.

Best Interest of the Child Standard (BICS)

Legal criterion focusing on factors that maximize a child’s welfare in custody decisions.

Joint Custody

Arrangement where both parents share legal and/or physical responsibility for a child.

Sole Custody

One parent has exclusive legal and physical responsibility for a child.

Pedophile

Adult with primary sexual interest in prepubescent children who are not relatives.

Incest Offender

Person who engages in sexual activity with a close blood relative such as child or sibling.

Own-Race Bias

Phenomenon whereby people more accurately recognize faces of their own racial group.

Confirmation Bias

Tendency to seek or interpret information in ways that affirm existing beliefs.

Reid Model of Interrogation

Nine-step accusatorial technique aimed at obtaining confessions through psychological strategies.

Minimization Technique

Interrogation approach that downplays offence seriousness to create a false sense of security.

Maximization Technique

Interrogation strategy that exaggerates evidence or consequences to intimidate suspects.

Voluntary False Confession

Admission to a crime offered freely without police pressure, often for notoriety or protection of another.

Coerced-Compliant False Confession

Admission made to escape interrogation or gain a reward while privately knowing innocence.

Coerced-Internalized False Confession

False admission where the suspect comes to believe they committed the crime due to suggestive questioning.

Glib and Superficial Charm

Psychopathic trait involving smooth, insincere social poise and storytelling.

Modus Operandi (MO)

The habitual methods an offender uses to commit a crime and avoid detection.

Signature (Crime Scene)

Behaviour that fulfils an offender’s psychological needs and tends to remain stable across offences.

Organized Offender

Crime-scene typology characterized by planning, control, and evidence of offender competence.

Disorganized Offender

Typology marked by chaotic, impulsive offences with little planning and excessive violence.

Base Rate

Prevalence of a behaviour in a population, crucial for accurate prediction.

Heuristic

Mental shortcut or rule of thumb that can introduce bias into judgments.

PEACE Model

Non-accusatorial interview framework emphasizing preparation, engagement, and ethical questioning.

HCR-20

Structured professional judgment tool assessing historical, clinical, and risk-management factors for violence.

Fact Witness

Individual who testifies about personal observations or experiences relevant to a legal case.

Malingering

Intentional simulation or exaggeration of physical or psychological symptoms for external incentives.

Criminal Profiling

Investigative tool that identifies likely suspect characteristics and motivations based on crime scene evidence.

Video Recording of Interrogations

Practice of visually and audibly documenting suspect interrogations to enhance transparency and reduce false confessions.

Duty to Warn/Protect (Tarasoff Rule)

A legal duty, originating from the Tarasoff case, requiring mental health professionals to warn potential victims if a patient poses a serious threat to them.

Risk-Needs-Responsivity (RNR) Model

A widely used framework for offender assessment and rehabilitation, emphasizing matching interventions to an offender's risk level, criminogenic needs, and learning styles.

Therapeutic Jurisprudence

An interdisciplinary approach to law and legal processes that focuses on the psychological impact of legal rules, procedures, and roles on individuals.