Forensic Psych Terms

What is a Brandeis Brief?

A legal document submitted to a court that relies heavily on scientific evidence, statistics, and social science data.

What is Legal Realism?

The idea that psychology influences law.

What does APLS stand for?

American Psychology Law Society. The notes associate it with the first journal published in 1970.

What is “approximate truth” in the psychology–law contrast?

Psychology’s goal: a full and accurate explanation of human behavior, emphasizing group characteristics.

What is “approximate justice” in the psychology law contrast?

Law’s primary goal: regulating behavior, emphasizing individual cases.

What does stare decisis mean?

“Let the decision stand.” Law advances through the accumulation of court

What is forensic psychology?

Using psychological research or knowledge to advise, evaluate, or reform the legal system.

What is expert testimony in psychology and law?

Testimony before courts or legislative bodies, provided in one of three roles: conduit educator, philosopher

What is a conduit educator?

An expert who prioritizes the scientific field and aims to present a faithful, objective picture.

What is a philosopher advocate?

An expert whose philosophical view takes precedence over an objective reading of the data, potentially omitting or downplaying evidence seen as harmful to a greater good or favored side.

What is a hired gun?

An expert willing to say what the hiring attorney needs to help win the case.

What is cross disciplinary education

Education that exposes psychology students to law and law students to psychology; it can also involve dual training.

What are amicus curiae briefs used for here?

To educate judges about relevant psychological research and advocate based on research.

What is broad dissemination of research findings?

Sharing research through media, continuing education for legal professionals, and public access to research data.

How can research inform the legislature and public policy?

By influencing legislators’ thinking, supporting lobbying, and informing work on legislative staffs.

What is the “liars stereotype”?

The belief that people who lie display specific, universal body language cues.

What is confirmation bias in lie detection?

Seeking behaviors that confirm an existing suspicion that someone is lying.

What did the Polygraph Protection Act of 1988 do?

It stopped most private employers from using lie detector tests for job applicants or workers.

What is the control question test (CQT)?

A polygraph comparison-question method. The notes say it assumes a guilty person reacts more to the comparison question, while an innocent person reacts more to the control question.

What is the positive comparison test (PCT)?

An alternative form of the control question test (CQT).

What were the NAS report conclusions about polygraph comparison question techniques?

The basis for the techniques was weak, existing research was low quality, and claims of high accuracy were unfounded.

What is the Guilty Knowledge Test (GKT), also called the concealed information test?

It uses polygraph equipment to test recognition of crime details rather than directly detect lies. A guilty person may recognize details an innocent person does not, producing elevated physiological arousal; the details must be available to and remembered by the guilty person, and not widely publicized.

What is the Facial Action Coding System used for?

Identifying emotional reactions.

What is the goal of questioning, according to the notes?

To elicit a confession.

What is the fundamental attribution error?

When judging others, attributing behavior to their character; when judging ourselves, attributing behavior to the environment or situation.

What is the Reid Technique?

A nine-step approach: accuse the suspect; offer excuses for the alleged crime; cut off denials; overcome explanations; hold the suspect’s attention; look for signs of “giving up”; reframe the issue as a choice; elicit a full confession; write it out for the suspect to sign.

What is an instrumental voluntary false confession?

A false confession given voluntarily as a means to an end.

What is an instrumental coerced false confession?

A suspect confesses under coercion to a crime they did not commit. The notes identify this as the most common false confession in criminal cases.

What is an internalized-coerced false confession?

After a long, intense interrogation, a suspect becomes convinced of their own guilt; vivid false memories may be created.

What is an internalized voluntary false confession

A person experiencing delusion confesses with little or no interrogation pressure.

What does HUMINT mean?

Human intelligence: information-gathering approaches used to uncover information, including about national-security threats. The notes flag cultural differences as a challenge.

What is SUE?

Strategic Use of Evidence: withholding or revealing known evidence to expose contradictions between a suspect’s claims and available facts.

What does PEACE stand for?

Preparation/Planning, Engage/Explain, Account, Closure, Evaluation.

What solutions to false confessions are listed?

Video-record interrogations; require probable cause for interrogation; set time limits; provide an appropriate adult for vulnerable suspects; instruct juries; and allow expert testimony on interrogations and confessions.

What is criminal profiling?

Drawing inferences about a criminal’s personality, behavior, motivation, and demographics from the crime scene and other evidence.

What is a killer’s “signature” in profiling?

An aspect of the crime that is unique to the killer.

What characterizes an organized murder in the notes?

Careful selection and stalking, planning, patience, self

What characterizes a disorganized murder in the notes?

Use of available weapons, clumsy behavior, and sexual activity with the dead body.

What is a visionary offender?

An offender described in the notes as psychotic and hearing voices.

What is a mission oriented offender?

An offender who kills people they believe are evil.

What is a hedonistic offender?

An offender who gets sadistic pleasure from torture and killing.

What is a power oriented offender

An offender who gets satisfaction from capturing and controlling a victim before killing them.

What is implicit bias?

A generally shared societal belief toward a group or person.

What is geographic profiling?

Criminal spatial mapping.

What is Behavioral Investigative Advice (BIA)?

Advice to investigators about media use, suspect questioning, and the possibility of serial

What is a psychological autopsy?

An attempt to examine and reconstruct a person’s psychological state before death.

What are the Manson Criteria?

Five factors for evaluating an identification: whether the witness could view the perpetrator; the witness’s level of attention; accuracy of the witness’s earlier offender description; the witness’s degree of certainty; and the time between the crime and identification.

What is voir dire, according to the notes?

A process described in the notes as “to speak the truth,” used to prompt jurors to check for bias.

What is the cross race effect?

The tendency to remember faces from one’s own race more easily.

What is the weapons focus effect

Focusing more on a weapon than on the assailant.

What is unconscious transference?

A face seen in one context is mistakenly transferred to another context.

How can preexisting expectations affect eyewitness testimony?

Prior beliefs or knowledge about a case may interact with expectations about the sequence of events and shape testimony. The source notes mark this definition as uncertain.

What is the post identification feedback effect?

Confirmation from police after a witness chooses someone from a lineup can inflate the witness’s confidence.

What are pre lineup interviews, and how should they be conducted?

Conduct them as soon as possible after the crime, record them, and use open-ended questions.

What is a double blind lineup?

Neither the lineup administrator nor the witness knows whether the suspect is in the lineup.

What are appropriate lineup fillers?

Use one suspect per lineup and at least five fillers who do not stand out.

What should lineup instructions tell a witness?

That the suspect might not be present and, as the notes state, that the administrator does not know which person is the suspect.

How can expert testimony help with eyewitness identification?

It can provide a safeguard against mistaken identification by summarizing psychological research on eyewitness testimony.

What is the NICHD Investigative Interview Protocol?

A structured guide for interviewing children or youth who may have experienced abuse. It uses unbiased, open ended questions and has introductory, ground-rules, and substantive stages; interviews are recorded.

What does CSAAS stand for, and what does the source note?

Child Sexual Abuse Accommodation Syndrome. The notes associate it with helplessness, confusion, and fear, and say it was proposed by Summit based on clinical experience.

What is hearsay testimony, according to the notes?

An out of court statement offered to prove a matter; the notes say it is allowed in child testimony.

What is competency?

Whether a person currently has sufficient ability to perform necessary personal or legal functions.

What does CST stand for?

Competency to stand trial.

What is foundational competence?

The capacity to assist counsel.

What is decisional competence?

The capacity to make informed decisions.

What does “sufficient present ability” mean for competence?

The threshold for competence; the notes describe it as low for the sake of efficiency.

What are Forensic Assessment Instruments (FAIs) used for?

Evaluating competency to stand trial.

What is the Harvard Laboratory of Community Psychiatry associated with in the notes?

The Competency Assessment Instrument and the Competency Screening Test.

What are the “Mac” tests?

Two tests used to evaluate competency to stand trial.

What is malingering in a competency evaluation?

Intentionally faking illness for an external goal, such as faking incompetence.

What is bona fide doubt?

Real doubt based on facts and evidence, rather than imagination or guesses. The notes say CST may be raised at a pretrial hearing if there is bona fide doubt.

What are statutory exclusions for certain serious crimes involving children?

A statutory rule that automatically removes a person, case, or matter from the normal rules; the source notes connect this to certain serious crimes involving children.