forensic psch 1

Human Memory

Memory can be superior for highly stressful events, but is also highly fallible and subject to distortion.

Memory Distortion

The phenomenon where a person's memory of an event can be permanently changed by a single word.

Münsterberg 1909

A reference to the work that demonstrated the unreliability of eyewitness testimony.

Muller v. Oregon, 1908

A landmark case where social science was considered as evidence in court.

Positive Social Skills

Learning these skills may help teens manage future aggression and improve interactions.

Police and Public Safety Psychology

Around 1,000,000 law enforcement officers (LEOs) including civilian employees.

Serious Mental Illness (SMI)

People with SMI are more likely to be arrested; poor mental health treatment in jails.

Violent Crime and Mental Illness

Only about 3 to 5% of violent crime in the U.S. is attributable to mental illness.

Mental Health in LGBTQ+ Individuals

40% report attempting suicide at least once due to hostile environments.

Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS)

A component of the U.S. Department of Justice responsible for community policing.

Police Psychologists

Professionals who assess psychological factors that may predict excessive force in law enforcement.

Cultural competency as a psychologist

The ability to treat what you know in relation to diverse communities.

Psychological Evaluations

Assessments that measure reliability and validity in determining suitable candidates for law enforcement.

Concurrent validity

Does the candidate share the characteristics of people who are good at the job?

Predictive validity

Testing a group of people, hiring them, and observing who does well over time.

Face validity

Asking questions that appear to be relevant to the position.

Does IQ Matter?

A question regarding the importance of intelligence in police work.

IQ tests

Tests used to evaluate fitness.

MMPI-2

The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-Revised.

Inwald Personality Inventory

A personality inventory used in evaluations.

California Psychological Inventory

Includes CPI 260 and CPI 434.

Personality Assessment Inventory

A commonly used personality assessment tool.

NEO PI-R

The NEO Personality Inventory-Revised.

16-PF

The Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire-Fifth Edition.

MMPI-2 RF advantages

Scales used to predict job performance, hard to fake, can identify deviance and serious mental illness.

Police suicide rates

30%-50% higher rates of suicide among police officers.

Task-Related Stressors

Include boredom, fear, repeated traumatic exposure.

Emotional labor

Required to remain calm and unemotional during stressful encounters.

Emotional Dissonance

Display of emotion vs. felt emotion.

Critical Incidents

Preparing to run or do battle; police need to maintain control in fearful situations.

Spousal/Partner Stress

Sources include shift work, an officer's cynicism, and the fear of harm.

What are some organizational stressors faced by police officers?

Shift work, poor training, excessive paperwork.

What are task-related stressors for police officers?

Boredom, fear, repeated traumatic exposure, and the need to remain calm during stressful encounters.

What is emotional labor in the context of policing?

The regulation of emotions and displaying the emotions required in a situation.

What is emotional dissonance?

The difference between displayed emotion and felt emotion.

What is critical incident stress debriefing (CISD) and its effectiveness?

CISD is intended to decrease PTSD rates after critical incidents, but studies show higher PTSD rates in CISD groups.

What is cognitive rigidity in police officers?

The inability to switch thinking from one way to another, often leading to difficulties in seeking help.

What percentage of hostage-takers have a mental health disorder?

50% of hostage-takers.

What are the three phases of crisis negotiations?

Pre-incident duties, intra-incident duties, and post-incident duties.

What is the role of police psychologists in crisis negotiation?

To improve performance and career development, design organizational policies, develop measurement instruments, resolve conflicts, and provide training.

What percentage of active duty police officers in the U.S. are women?

11.5%

How does the public perception of excessive force differ between male and female officers?

Public tends to believe excessive force by female officers is justified, while male officers erode public trust.

What is police cynicism and how does it affect officer behavior?

A pessimistic perspective that makes officers more combative with the public.

How does behavioral analysis differ from crime scene profiling?

Behavioral analysis infers characteristics from known criminals, while crime scene profiling is based on assumptions from evidence.

What misconceptions exist about crime scene profiling?

It is often incorrectly associated with predicting offender behavior and is thought to be a scientifically established practice.

What demographic changes have occurred in police departments?

An increase in black and Hispanic officers, though white males still remain the predominant demographic.

What is the significance of the NIJ report on police use of force?

It indicates that police use of force occurs infrequently and typically at the lower end of the force spectrum.

What was the outcome for Richard Jewell in the Olympic Bomber case?

He was incorrectly accused but later won lawsuits.

Who was ultimately convicted for the Olympic Bomber attacks?

Eric Rudolph

What is the Daubert Standard?

A rule used by trial judges to assess the scientific validity of expert testimony.

What types of crimes can profiling be particularly valuable for?

Arson, terrorist acts, serial burglary, robbery, and white-collar crimes.

What is the Manson criteria?

A set of standards used to evaluate the reliability of eyewitness identifications.

What effect does stress have on eyewitness memory?

It can lead to the weapons focus effect, where witnesses focus on the weapon rather than the assailant.

What is a cognitive interview?

A method used to enhance eyewitness recall by reinstating the context of the crime.

What is the post-identification feedback effect?

When a witness's confidence in their identification increases due to external feedback.

What is the relationship between witness confidence and accuracy?

Witness confidence is weakly correlated with accuracy but highly correlated with persuasiveness.

What is the most compelling evidence in court?

Eyewitness testimony is considered the most compelling evidence.

What is a major cause of wrongful convictions?

Eyewitness testimony leads to more wrongful convictions than any other evidence.

How can suggestive questioning affect eyewitness testimony?

It can inflate a witness's certainty and lead to overestimations of their view of the perpetrator.

What is unconscious transference in eyewitness memory?

It is when a face seen in one context is mistakenly identified in another context.

What percentage of suspects make full confessions during police interrogations?

39-48% of suspects make full confessions.

What is the fundamental attribution error?

The tendency to attribute others' behavior to their personality rather than situational factors.

What are the Reid Technique's first two steps?

1. Confrontation: Present evidence to the suspect. 2. Theme Development: Create a narrative about the crime.

What is the cognitive interview technique?

A method used to enhance the recall of eyewitnesses by using specific questioning techniques.

What is the effect of stress on eyewitness memory?

Stress can negatively impact the accuracy of eyewitness memory and recall.

What is retrieval inhibition in eyewitness memory?

The phenomenon where certain details are inhibited or forgotten due to the way questions are framed.

What is the significance of the Colorado v. Connelly case?

It highlights the potential issues with false confessions and their impact on the legal process.

What are the psychological coercion techniques used in modern interrogations?

Techniques include deprivation, isolation, and intimidation, which do not leave physical marks.

What is the impact of jurors' faith in eyewitness reliability?

Jurors often place undue faith in the reliability of eyewitnesses, which can affect trial outcomes.

What are some techniques used in interrogation methods?

Direct confrontation, psychological manipulation, open-ended and closed-ended questions.

What percentage of known wrongful convictions are attributed to false confessions?

29%.

What types of suspects are most vulnerable to false confessions?

Vulnerable, suggestible, compliant suspects, especially youth.

What is the PACE Act and its relevance to interrogations?

It makes it illegal for interrogators to lie, requires a witness, and mandates audio recording.

What are the four types of false confessions?

Instrumental-coerced, instrumental-voluntary, internalized-coerced, and internalized-voluntary.

What is the main purpose of forensic identification?

To match physical evidence from a crime scene to a suspect.

What is the significance of trace evidence in forensic investigations?

It can provide critical information left behind at a crime scene.

What are some common biometric identifiers and their weaknesses?

Fingerprint (high distinctiveness), face (low distinctiveness), iris (high permanence), voice (low permanence).

What is inter-rater reliability?

The degree to which two or more observers or analysts independently arrive at the same measurement.

What is the dual-court system in the United States?

It consists of state and federal courts, each with distinct functions and jurisdictions.

What is subject matter jurisdiction?

It refers to the authority of a court to hear cases of a specific type.

What does granting or denial of Certiorari mean?

It is a request for the Supreme Court to order a lower court to send up the record of a case for review.

What is the significance of the case Jenkins v. United States?

It marked a shift in preference from psychiatrists to psychologists in providing evidence in court.

What are some challenges faced in civil cases?

Civil cases can be super challenging due to lots of scientific detail and emotional issues, including family disputes and end-of-life decisions.

What are the four broad stages of the judicial process?

The four stages are pretrial, trial, disposition, and appeals.

What is an indictment?

An indictment is a formal statement indicating that there is reasonable expectation that a person may be guilty, decided by a grand jury.

What happens during an arraignment?

During an arraignment, the formal charging of criminal defendants occurs, and they enter their plea of guilty, not guilty, or nolo contendere.

What is voir dire?

Voir dire is the process of questioning potential jurors to determine their fitness to serve on a jury.

What is a peremptory challenge?

A peremptory challenge allows lawyers to remove a juror without stating a reason, but cannot be based on bias such as race or gender.

What is double jeopardy?

Double jeopardy is a legal principle that prohibits a person from being tried again on the same charges after a not-guilty verdict.

What is the focus of civil case appeals?

Civil case appeals typically focus on the size of the judgment, which can include both actual harm and punitive damages.

What is Scientific Jury Selection (SJS)?

Scientific Jury Selection (SJS) involves using demographics and research to find jurors sympathetic to a particular side in a trial.

What are the implications of the judicial process on defendants?

Defendants may face significant delays, potential incarceration due to inability to afford bail, and deterioration of evidence over time.

How does practice influence a witness's confidence?

Practice positively influences the confidence of the witness.

What is the significance of the case of Pena-Rodriguez?

It highlights issues of racial and ethnic bias during jury deliberations and the need for judges to address such bias.

What is the Daubert standard?

It assesses whether a theory or technique can be tested, has been tested, and is widely accepted within a relevant scientific community.

What is the confidentiality issue in expert testimony?

If not a patient, there is no assumption of confidentiality; informed consent is required for research or review.

What distinguishes a lay witness from an expert witness?

A lay witness testifies to events observed directly, while an expert witness provides opinions based on research and expertise.

What is the ultimate issue in testimony?

The final question to be decided by the court, which may involve legal decisions rather than psychological ones.

What is the significance of the U.S. Supreme Court's recognition of behavioral predictions?

It acknowledged the fallibility of such predictions but ruled they have a place in the law.

What are the concerns regarding expert testimony?

Potential undue influence on the fact finder and biases in favor of the expert's opinions.