Forensic Psychology

what percentage of forensic psychologists /psychiatrists had generated a criminal profile?

11%

Whose job is it to find and apprehend criminals?

Law enforcement officers

What is the role of forensic psychologists?

to assist the legal system using psychology

What is our definition of forensic psychology?

the assessment and treatment of individuals within the legal context

What were the three issues we discussed regarding Dr. Samuels’ testimony in the Jodi Arias case?

-Asks Jodi Arias' Defense Witness Dr. Richard Samuels If He Liked Her & Gave Her Gift

-Defense Witness (Dr. Richard Samuels) Testifying About Jodi Arias' Memory Forgets What He Just Said

What special knowledge and skills are forensic psychologists able to offer the courts?

-training in psychological disorders and assessment

-specialized knowledge of human behavior and mental health

What are the primary differences between a forensic psychologist and a forensic psychiatrist?

-forensic psychiatrists are MDs or DOs, handle psychotropic medication rather than psychological assessment

What are the major areas of forensic psychology as it relates to Criminal Law?

violence risk assessment, insanity and criminal responsibility, competency to stand trial, treatment of sexual offenders, juvenile transfer to adult court

What are the major areas of forensic psychology as it relates to Civil Law?

child custody, civil commitment, personal injury, workers compensation, competency to make medical decisions

Who can provide court-mandated therapy?

a licensed mental health professional

What is therapeutic jurisprudence?

the use of social science to study the extent to which a legal rule or practice promotes the psychological well-being of the people it
affects

How is the legal system an adversarial process?

the defense and the prosecution are fighting against one another

How is the legal system prescriptive?

the law prescribes how humans should behave

What is the primary difference between nomothetic and idiographic?

broad theories that can be applied to many people (nomothetic) vs individual cases and specific patterns of facts (idiographic)

How is psychology probabilistic, and how is the law certain?

psychology discusses the likelihood of an event occurring vs guilty or not, admissible or not

What are the advantages of a doctoral degree if seeking to become a forensic psychologist?

the ability to conduct assessments, funding

What type of degree do most forensic psychologists receive (Master’s or Doctorate)?

doctorate

What are the disadvantages of Joint-Degree programs if seeking to become a forensic psychologist?

increased workload and time commitment

Describe the differences between therapeutic and forensic assessment with respect to the following areas:
a. Goals
b. Consequences
c. Relationships between examiner and examinee

Therapeutic assessment aims to treat patients, attempts to design treatment intervention, and has a warm and caring relationship

Forensic assessment: aims to answer psycholegal question, can result in loss of liberty or financial gain/loss, and has a investigative and truthseeking relationship

Who is the client in a forensic evaluation?

the individual who pays for services, not necessarily the examinee

What are reliability and validity?

reliability: how consistently does the instrument measure something?

validity: to what extent are we measuring what we want to measure?

What are overreporting and underreporting? What are some forensic situations in which one could encounter these?

underreporting: minimizing/denying problems

overreporting: faking/exaggerating problems

What are the three types of interviews? What are their advantages/disadvantages?

unstructured: flexible, maintain rapport, inconsistent

semi-structured: predetermined questions with some flexibility,

structured: predetermined questions, worse for rapport but more consistent

What are the differences between projective and objective/self-report personality tests?

projective tests are subjective, more open ended

objective tests are typically done paper/pencil and self reported

What are potential advantages of projective testing?

-harder to fake

-supposed to reveal the deepest most unobservable characteristics

-don’t need a set reading comprehension level

Why is projective testing controversial?

-concerns with reliability, validity, and standardization with scoring

-questioned if should be admissible in court

Why is IQ important to death penalty decisions?

Atkins vs Virginia 2002, people who suffer from mental retardation are ineligible for the death penalty

What are the two main types of archival information?

information gathered from institutional records and 3rd parties

Why do forensic evaluations rely more heavily on archival information (compared to
therapeutic evaluations)?

because there is a high likelihood of secondary gain

What is the most frequently used source of information in forensic psychology and in psychology more broadly

interviewing

What are Melton’s four guidelines for writing forensic reports?

-separate facts from inferences

-stay within the scope of the referral question

-avoid information over/underkill

-minimize clinical jargon

What are the most frequent faults in reports as identified by Grisso (2010)?

-opinions w/o sufficient explanations

-unclear forensic purpose

-organizational problems

-irrelevant data or opinions

-failure to consider alternative hypotheses

-inadequate data to form opinion

-data + interpretation mixed in report

-overreliance on single source of data

-jargon, bias, extraneous comments

-improper use of tests

What is correctional psychology?

the application of clinical psychology to prison or correctional settings absent of any direct legal implications

Why do correctional settings have such high rates of mental illness?

-criminalization of the mentally ill

-prison experience: extreme noise, heightened temperature, elevated levels of fear, filth, overcrowding

-vulnerability of offenders (lower education, SES)

How often do the mentally ill commit crimes compared to how often the mentally ill are
victims of them?

7% commit crimes while 27% are victims of crime

What types of disorders do special programs treat?

sex offenders, chemical dependency, personality disorders

What is the most widely-recognized treatment approach in forensic psychology?

risk needs responsitivity

Define risk needs responsitivity

risks: max treatment for offenders at greatest risk for reoffending

criminogenic needs: reasons an individual commits a crime (antisocial attitudes, substance abuse)

responsititivity: providing the right treatment at the right level

How are consultants different than expert witnesses?

-assist attorneys, evaluate the work of other psychologists, work shaping policies

Frye Standard

scientific evidence is admitted if generally accepted by scientific community

Federal Rules of Evidence

702: Any expert testimony must be based on sufficient data, reliable principles and methods, and the reliable application of those principles and methods to the case

703: Testimony can be admitted if principles and methods are reasonably relied upon by others in the field

Daubert Standard

Testimony can be admitted if relevant and reliable

1. has this technique been tested?

2. has it been subject to peer review?

3. What is its error rate?

4. Is it generally accepted (Frye)?

Based on the General Electric v Joiner, who functions as the gatekeeper of expert
testimony?

the trial judge

How did Kumho Tire Co. v Carmichael clarify the Daubert standard?

Prior rulings now extend to technical and specialized knowledge

Do the Frye and Daubert Standards impact admissibility of expert testimony differently
in practice?

yes, daubert provides courrts more flexibil

What is the difference between probative value and prejudicial impact?

probative value: the potential of the information to to help prove a particular point or decide on an issue before the court

predjudicial impact: the potential for info to damage or bias expert testimony

-all evidence is both, it just depends on how far on each side

Describe the theoretical factors that can increase or decrease expert witness credibility

-dressing professionally, familiarity with the courtroom, eye contact, projecting voice, composure in adversarial context

-excessive time testifying issues outside of expertise, lack of knowledge on current case, inconsistencies, improper scientific methods

Describe the empirically supported factors that can increase or decrease expert witness credibility

-hired gun (paid by 1 side, have opinion favorable to that side)

-experts who testify frequently

-only testifying for the defense

-not locally based

-do not actively practice

-experts who are paid really well

What are the 4 Cs of effective expert testimony

clarity, clinical knowledge, case specificity, certainty

What are the criticisms of expert testimony?

-taking over courtroom and removing decision ability

-ultimate issue controversy: when expert not only provides testimony to assist court, but explicitly answers legal question (which is the job of judge and jury)

-corruption of science

-lack of recognition of bias

What are the reasons for and against experts giving ultimate opinions?

-psychologists aren’t legal experts

-w/o it, introduces ambiguity, misrepresentation of findings,

-most legal actors prefer when psychs provide ultimate opinions

-not clear if it even matters

What are the most significant threats to the objectivity of experts in the legal system?

bias, financial incentives, lack of awareness of bias

What are the APA Ethical Principles?

competence, informed consent, confidentiality, avoid contingency for relationships, multiple relationships

Define syndrome evidence and identify the problems with this type of evidence.

set of symptoms that occur together in a meaningful way, normally having a triggering event

-generally lacks empirical support

-high # false positives

-has been incorrectly used to prove substantiative claim