Forensic psych exam question

Being abused as a child is an example of what type of risk factor for an adult offender

Historical risk factors

Risk assessments are conducted in both criminal and civil contexts/situations

True

Psychopaths seem to commit murder more often then non-psychopaths

false

According to PCL-R, what is the threshold score for the individual to be considered a psychopath?

30

Research indicates that psychopaths tend to have higher IQ scores than non-psychopaths?

False

In Canada, the majority of victims of sexual violence know their offender?

True

According to Groth’s rapist typology, which offender is least common

sadistic rapists

Expert testimony on whether a defendent is fit to stand trial or should be found NCRMD is often called ______________ testimony

ultimate issue

Employment status is an example of a static risk factor

false

According to Holmes and Holmes, which type of serial killer is likely to be suffering from psychosis?

Visionary

Uxoricide (killing of wife by husband) occurs more frequently than matricide (killing of husband by wife)?

True

What type of offender tend to have highest psychopath score?

mixed sexual offenders

Canada no longer has an option for lawyers to use peremptory challenge during voir dire?

True

Almost all offenders with ASPD also meet the criteria for psychopathy?

False

The Violence Risk Appraisal Guide (VRAG) is an example of what type of risk assessment?

Actuarial prediction

Capital trials are split into the guilt and sentencing phases. What type trial is this referred to?

Bifurcated trial

Antisocial personality disorder is a diagnosis in DSM-5

True

Intervention and treatment program fall under what component of risk assessment?

management

According to the revised Rapist Typology, vindictive offenders tend to be generally angry at women?

True

What is the maximum sentence for someone convicted of level 3 sexual assault in Canada?

Life sentence (25 years)

In Canada, homicide accounts for what percentage of violent crimes?

less than 1%

According to Atkinson’s typology of female sex offender ___________ are likely to have experience childhood sexual abuse?

predisposed offenders

Female serial killers who are primarily motivated by financial gain are referred to as “Angel of Death”

false

The black sheep effect states when evidence is strong jurors are more lenient to same-race defendents?

false

What disorder need to be present prior to the age of 15 to be diagnosed with ASPD?

conduct disorder

Research suggests that in USA, states with death penalty have lower homicide rates

false

Approximately what percentage of adult criminal cases involve the NCRMD defence?

less than 1%

If defence raises an issue of fit, the have the burden of proving fitness?

true

In Canada, either a psychologist or medical physician must deliver the final report concerning a defendents fitness?

false

Which of the following is not a component of the fitness Interview Test Revised?

Existence of previous mental illness

In Canada, defendents are assumed fit to stand trial?

True

What is the primary way to restore fitness if defendent is deemed unfit?

Medication

What methodology can not be used by researchers looking to study Canadian jury decision making?

Post-trial interview

What social psychological theory explains the finding that jurors are more lenient to racially similar defendents?

Social Identity theory

Which of the following is not one of the remedies for impartiality?

peremptory challenge

In Canada, majority of jurors are selected without being questioned by lawyers or judges?

true

What psychological theory argues that jurors don’t ignore inadmissible evidence because humans like autonomy and freedom

reactance theory

The STATIC 99R is a survey that offenders complete. It measures several risk factors and outputs a specific prediction about whether the offender will be violent in the future. This is an example of what type of risk assessment?

Actuarial risk assessment

According to some psychologists, jurors are unable to discount and ignore evidence that is ruled inadmissible because, when we try not to think about something, that “something“ often ends up dominating our thoughts. That is particularly true when our cognitive capacity is limited. This explanation is known as what?

ironic processes

Vincent Li murdered Timothy Mclean on a Greyhound bus in Winnipeg during the summer of 2008. During the attack, Li mutilated and ate parts of Mclean’s body. During his trial, the jury did not accept the NCRMD dense and instead found Li guilty of second-degree murder

false

Buster is a 23-year-old man who has been charged with and found guilty of murdering his husband. What is the most likely instrument/scale that a forensic psychologist will use to measure and decide whether Buster is a psychopath during the forensic assessment?

The Hare Psychopathy checklist

What best defines response modulation deficit theory in relation to psychopathy

Difficulty changing one’s behaviour in response to environmental feedback/information

Mildred is extremely quiet and shy. She does not like going out to parties/bars on weekends. Instead, she would rather read books at home. She goes out of her way to avoid any social interaction she can and has a severely introverted personality. Mildred is exhibiting symptoms of ASPD?

false

Psychopathy and offenders who score high on measures of psychopathy are more likely to commit __________ violence and homicide as compared to non-psychopaths?

Instrumental

Research suggests that psychopaths have difficulty identifying inappropriate/wrong behaviours in social setting?

False

What type of sexual offenders tend to have the highest psychopath scores?

Mixed sexual offenders

Recent research demonstrate that psychological treatment of psychopathic offenders is ineffective, observing no difference in recidivism rates between psychopaths who had and had not been treated

false

In Canada, jurors are not allowed to take notes

a) true

b) flase

false

A defendant charged with a(n) ____________ does not have the right to have their trial heard by a jury

a. Indictable offence
b. Summary offence
c. Hybrid offence
d. Felony offence

summary offence

The textbook describes several methodologies that jury researchers use to study juror decision-making. Which methodology is able to establish
cause-and-effect relationships between variables?
a. Simulations
b. Archival studies
c. Field studies
d. Post-trial interviews

Simulation

Larry was charged with growing cannabis in a state where it is illegal. The jury agrees that Larry was growing the cannabis, but decides he is doing so for medical purposes and that the state’s laws are unfair. They find Larry not guilty.
What is this an example of?
a. Jury impartiality
b. Voir dire
c. Judicial overrulement
d. Jury nullification

Jury nullification

Geraldine was charged with murdering her neighbour. Prior to the trial, positive and negative news stories about Geraldine and what type of person she is. Jurors selected for Geraldine's trial have all read these news stories.
Research suggests that both positive and negative media stories will influence the jurors' decision-making during the trial
• True
• False

true

Tori Stafford was murdered in Woodstock, Ontario. Trial moved to London, Ontario, as the lawyers did not believe they would be able to pick an impartial jury from the local community. Example of?
a. Challenge for cause
b. Voir dire
c. Change of venue
d. Challenge for adjournment

Change of venue

What are the two fundamental attributes of the jury in Canada?
a. Openness and dogmatism
b. Impartiality and representativeness
c. Punitiveness and acceptability
d. Dogmatism and authoritarianism

Impartiality and representativeness

What psychological construct has been shown to reduce racial bias in juror decision-making?
a. Race salience
b. Voir dire
c. Authoritarianism
d. Black sheep leniency

Race salience

In both Canada and the United States, a jury must reach a unanimous verdict or else the trial
will be considered hung
• True
• False

False

There are no group of attitudes that have been studied enough to make a definitive conclusion
about their relationship to juror decision-making. There is one exception: Jurors who are more supportive of _____________ tend to find the defendant guilty more often.
a. Race saliency
b. Gun control
c. Affirmative action policies
d. Capital punishment

Capital punishment

What are the three types of offences?

Summary, Indictable and Hybrid

What are summary offences?

summary offences are tried in a lower court, judge alone and cases are usually disturbing the peace, solicitation of prostitution, assault

What are indictable offences?

Three categories: 1) Less serious, theft, fraud, etc, only heard by judge. 2) Must be tried by judge and jury, treason, murder, piracy. 3) Accused chooses judge or jury, arson, sexual assault w weapon

What are hybrid offences?

Cross between indictable and summary. The crown attorney decides. Can be sexual assault, dangerous operation of motor vehicle.

What are peremptory challenges?

Lawyer dismisses jurors and no reason is given. R V. Stanley they used peremptory challenges to strike all prospective Indigenous jurors

What is challenge for cause?

Challenging a juror's impartiality. Defence must establish "realistic potential" for partiality. If the judge agrees, they will ask 1-2 yes or no questions, then the judge decides.

What is inadmissible evidence?

Lawyer raises an objection. If overruled the statement/evidence is allowed. If sustained the jury must disregard the statement/evidence.

Ironic processes

Trying not to think about something often dominates our thoughts. Particularly when mental capacity is taxed.

Reactance theory

People like freedom. Judge's instruction is threat to freedom, react by paying attention to the thing they are told to ignore.

Pretrial publicity

Courts restricting the media from reporting. Ex. The Tori Stafford trial, the court imposed publication ban to prevent media from reporting that Terri-Lynne McClintic had confessed. Reporting is often pro-prosecution and anti-defendant. Jurors misremember PTP info as being presented in trial. Negative and positive PTP affect juror memory and decision-making. Positive PTP = fewer guilty verdicts. Negative PTP = more guilty verdicts.

Remedies for impartiality?

1) adjournment (delay of trial) to reduce salience/impact of PTP info. 2) Change of Venue (moving trial) 3) Challenge for cause

Issues relating to identifying impartial jurors?

1) may occur in open court (jurors may alter answers) 2) social desirability (uncomfortable to indicate bias) 3) Unaware of bias

Mathematical models

Weight of evidence, mental calculations. Verdict determined by out come of calculation

Story model

Jurors create stories about what happened based on evidence

Director's cut model

Pre-existing attitudes/beliefs/schemas affect our stories

Liberation hypothesis.

Most trials are determined by strength of evidence. Ambiguous trials are "liberated" from the law. Allow influence of prejudice/extra-legal factors

Extra-legal factors

Variables/factors that influence jurors' decision, but shouldn't. Evidence/info that is not legally relevant. Ex: race, sex and gender, SES, attractiveness, personality characteristics, etc

Similarity-leniency

Jurors are typically more lenient towards own-race defendants.

Social identity theory

Self-esteem directly influenced by group membership, perceptions of ingroup

Black sheep effect

Race of defendant and strength of evidence influences the jurors’ deliberation in groups. When evidence was weak, the jurors were less harsh towards racial ingroup. When evidence was strong, jurors harsher towards racial ingroup

Studying the CSI effect

Investigating CSI: portrayals of DNA testing on forensic crime shows and their potential effects. In the show, they would find DNA samples 93% of the time they searched. 87% of the analyses resulted in a DNA match. The amount of DNA evidence found in the show isn't accurate to the amount of DNA that is usually found in real-life crime scenes

Race salience

Making relevant racial issues prominent/obvious during the trial.

Race salience in canada

convictions more likely for defendants who were black or indigenous. Regardless of race salience manipulation

Racial composition of the jury

diverse juries deliberated longer, covered a wider amount of info, and discussed more accurate info

Death penalty myths

1) Deterrent: no link between presence of capital punishment and homicide statistics. 2) Cheaper: Longer/more complicated legal process (significantly more expensive). 3) Humane: Can’t be administered by doctors, lethal injections (pain and suffering for hours), several “botched“ injections

Death qualification

Questions asked to prospective jurors before trial begins (must be willing to impose death penalty or impose life sentence not just automatically choose death). Anyone opposed to death penalty is removed. More likely to be white, older men

Trial of Vincent Li

Pleaded not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder. He was hearing voices from God, telling him to destroy the demon beside him. He was found NCRMD. Remanded to mental health center

Fitness to stand trial

defendants should be able to: understand what’s going on and help/communicate with their lawyers

Vincent Li

Was found fit to stand trial. His psychiatric symptoms during the crime were not present during the fitness assessment. He was able to competently participate in the trial because he was on antipsychotic medications

NCRMD

Not Criminally Responsible on Account of Mental Disorder

NCRMD

1) Mental illness at the time of the offence. 2) Mental illness renders person incapable of appreciating the nature and the quality of the act (consequences) or 3) Mental illness renders the person incapable of knowing the act was wrong

Assessing NCRMD

Interviews/tests. two main problems: time and legal language. Retrospective evaluation is how was the defendant functioning in the past (sometimes years ago). The defendant may now be on medication/involved in therapy. Effects of substances at the time of the crime are no longer present. Memory issues.

NCRMD, what next?

Three options for the court/judge: 1) absolute discharge. 2) conditional discharge. 3) order to a psychiatric facility

Myths about NCRMD

People found NCRMD “get off easy“. False: offenders often stay longer in hospitals than they would have in prison

Myth - The insanity defence is used “all the time“

False: 1% of felony cases argue insanity defence in the United States. NCRMD cases → 1% of adult criminal cases in Canada (homicide and attempted murder are less than 7% of NCRMD verdicts).

Prediction risk assessment

The probability the individual will commit future criminal/violent acts (identifying risk factors)

Management risk assessment

How to manage/reduce the likelihood of risk (interventions, treatments, conditions, etc)

Risk assessment approaches

1) unstructured clinical judgment. 2) actuarial prediction. 3) structured professional judgment

Unstructured clinical judgment

Lots of professional discretion, lack of guidelines/rules, no specific risk factors, source of info, subjective conclusion

Actuarial prediction

Form of mechanical prediction (eliminates human judgment → tool automatically assesses risk based on factors), specific, measurable variables/risk factors, static/stable factors (don’t measure change over time). Ex: Violence Risk Appraisal Guide (V-RAG)

Structured professional judgment

Clinicians guided by a predetermined set of risk factors (variables selected from research), assess the presence/severity of each factor, final risk level → evaluator’s ultimate judgment

Static risk factor

Do not fluctuate over time (no amount of treatment will change). Ex: Criminal history, history of abuse

Dynamic risk factor

Fluctuate over time (can be changed). Ex: Mental illness, substance abuse, attitude towards certain groups (attitude towards women)