Forensic Psychology- Week 8 - Part 3

Flashcards reviewing the definitions, advantages, disadvantages, and research findings related to clinical and actuarial judgment.

Clinical Judgement

Based on personal experience, intuition, and subjective interpretation; commonly used in fields like psychology, medicine, and criminal justice.

Advantages of Clinical Judgement

Flexibility and ability to consider unique cases.

Disadvantages of Clinical Judgement

Susceptible to biases and inconsistencies; limited by the experience and knowledge of the clinician.

Actuarial Judgement

Based on statistical models and empirical data; uses algorithms to predict outcomes.

Advantages of Actuarial Judgement

Consistency and reliability; empirically validated and less prone to bias.

Disadvantages of Actuarial Judgement

Perceived as dehumanizing; may not account for unique or rare cases.

Research Findings (Clinical vs Actuarial Judgement)

Actuarial methods are generally more accurate than clinical judgment.

Reasons for Resistance to Actuarial Methods

Fear of loss of professional identity, belief in superiority of clinical judgment, perceived dehumanization of clients, lack of familiarity and training, and misconceptions about applicability of group statistics to individual cases.

Case Studies and Examples (Clinical Vs Actuarial Judgement)

Violence risk assessment, prediction of recidivism among federal probation officers, and diagnosis of psychiatric conditions using the MMPI.

Recent Trends (Clinical Vs Actuarial Judgement)

Increasing accuracy of actuarial assessments, development of new actuarial tools for specific populations, and Structured Professional Judgement (SPJ) as a middle ground.

Conclusion

Actuarial methods consistently outperform clinical judgment in accuracy.