PSY344 TT1 (copy)

What did James Cattell reveal about eyewitness testimony (accuracy)?

Asked university students to recall things they had witnessed in their everyday lives and found that students answers were inaccurate

What did Alfred Binet reveal about eyewitness testimony (children)?

Children are highly susceptible to suggestive questioning techniques; free recall resulted in the most accurate answers

What did William Stern reveal about eyewitness testimony (arousal)?

Recall is worst for events that are particularly exciting meaning emotional arousal can have a negative impact on accuracy

What is retroactive memory falsification?

Process whereby people confused actual memories with the events described by the media

What is a clinical forensic psychologist?

Psychologists who are broadly concerned with the assessment and treatment of mental health issues as they pertain to the law or legal system

What is forensic psychiatry?

A field of medicine that deals with all aspects of human behaviour as it relates to the law or legal system

What is an experimental forensic psychologist?

Psychologists who are broadly concerned with the study of human behaviour as it relates to the law or legal system

What is psychology and the law?

The use of psychology to examine the operation of the legal system

What is psychology in the law?

The use of psychology in the legal system as that system operates

What is psychology of the law?

The use of psychology to examine the law itself

What is an expert witness?

A witness who provides the court with information (often an opinion on a particular matter) that assists the court in understanding an issue of relevance to a case

What is epistemology?

Psychologists assume that it is possible to uncover objective truths if the appropriate experiments are conducted while the truth in law is defined subjectively and based on who can provide the most convincing story of what really happened that is consistent with the law

What is nature of law?

The goal in psychology is to describe how and why people behave the way they do (descriptive) while law is prescriptive and tells people how they should behave, providing a means to punish people for not behaving in the prescribed way

What is knowledge?

Knowledge in psychology is based on methodologies, nomothetic (group-based) data collected using various research methods. In the law, knowledge comes from the idiographic analysis of court cases and the rational application of logic to establish the facts of a case and connections to other cases that have set legal precedent.

What are methodologies?

Methodological approaches in psychology are predominantly nomothetic and experimental with an emphasis on controlling for confounding variables and replicating results. In contrast, the law operates on a case-by-case basis, with a focus on constructing compelling narratives that adequately cover the details of a specific case while being consistent with the law.

What is criterion?

Psychologists are relatively cautious in terms of their willingness to accept something as true. To accept a hypothesis, for example, various statistical criteria are used (e.g., the use of p<.05 in significance testing). A more expedient approach is adopted in the law, whereby guilt is determined using case-specific criteria established for a particular case (e.g., finding a reasonable doubt)

What are principles?

Psychologists take an exploratory approach that encourages the consideration of multiple explanations for research findings. Ideally, the correct explanation is identified through experimentation. Lawyers adopt a much more conservative approach. An explanation surrounding a case predominates based on its coherence with the facts and with precedent-setting cases.

What is latitude of courtroom behaviour?

The behaviour of the psychologist when acting as an expert witness is severely limited. For example, testimony provided by a psychologist is restricted by rules of evidence. The law imposes fewer restrictions on the behaviour of lawyers (though they are also restricted in numerous ways). For example, so long as they act within the rules, lawyers can present a wide range of evidence, call on various types of witnesses, and present their case in the way they see fit.

What is the general acceptance test?

A standard for accepting expert testimony, which states that expert testimony will be admissible in court, if the basis of the testimony is generally accepted within the relevant scientific community

What is a criticism of the general acceptance test?

The vagueness of the term general acceptance, and whether trial judges are able to make this determination

What is the criteria for scientific evidence to be admitted in the U.S Supreme Court?

1) be provided by a qualified expert

2) be relevant

3) be reliable

What is the Daubert criteria?

An American standard for accepting expert testimony, which states that scientific evidence is valid if the research on which it is based:

1) has been peer reviewed

2) is testable

3) has a recognized rate of error

4) adheres to professional standards

What is the Mohan criteria?

A Canadian standard for accepting expert testimony will be admissible in court if the testimony is relevant, is necessary for assisting the trier of fact, does not violate any exclusionary rules, and is provided by a qualified expert.

Why must expert testimony be relevant in Canadian courts?

It must directly relate to an issue in the case so that it can meaningfully inform the judge or jury, rather than being tangential or distracting.

Why must expert testimony be necessary for assisting the trier of fact?

It should provide insight or specialized knowledge that the judge or jury would not reasonably have, helping them understand complex evidence or reach an informed decision.

Why must expert testimony not violate exclusionary rules?

Even if the testimony is relevant and helpful, it cannot be admitted if it is based on evidence that is legally inadmissible, such as illegally obtained information or hearsay prohibited by law.

Why must expert testimony be provided by a qualified expert?

The person giving the testimony must have the appropriate education, training, or experience in the relevant field to ensure that their opinions are credible and reliable.

What is the threshold to determine if an expert is independent and impartial?

Whether the expert’s opinion would not change regardless of which party retained him or her

What is psychopathy?

A personality disorder defined by a collection of interpersonal, affective, and behavioral characteristics including manipulation, lack of remorse or empathy, impulsivity, and antisocial behaviours

What is the Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised?

The most popular method of assessing psychopathy in adults

• 20-item rating scale that uses a semi structured interview and a review of file information to assess interpersonal, affective, and behavioural features of empathy

• Each item is scored on a 3-point scale

  • 2 indicates the item definitely applies to the individual

  • 1 indicates that it applies to some extent

  • 0 indicates that the symptom definitely does not apply

  • Items are summed to obtain a score ranging from 0 to 40

What are the two correlated factors in PCL-R?

1) combination of interpersonal and affective trains

• More strongly related to instrumental violence, emotional-processing deficits, dropping out of treatment, and poor treatment response

2) combination of unstable and socially deviant traits

• Strongly related to reoffending, substance abuse, lack of education, and poor family background

What are the three factors in the 3 factor model of psychopathy?

1) arrogant and deceitful interpersonal style

2) deficient affective experience

3) impulsive and irresponsible behvaioural style

What are the advantages of using self-report questionnaires in psychopathy?

1) able to observe attitudes and emotions that are not easily observed by others

2) easy to administer, quick to score, and relatively inexpensive

3) not necessary to worry about inter-rater reliability since only the individual is completing the score

There are some concerns about psychopaths lying on self-report measures but some questionnaires include measures of response styles to detect faking

What are the challenges of using self-report measures to assess for psychopathy?

1) Psychopaths often lie

2) Psychopaths may not have sufficient insight to accurately assess their traits

3)It will likely be difficult for psychopaths to report on specific emotions if they have not experienced these emotions

What are the 2 self-report measures of psychopathic traits?

1) Psychopathic Personality Inventory-Revised

2) Self-Report Psychopathy Scale

What is the Psychopathic Personality Inventory-Revised?

154 item inventory designed to measure psychopathic traits in offender and community samples

• 8 content scales and 2 validity scales (to check for carelessness and positive or negative response styles)

• Measures 2 factors (fearless dominance and self-centered impulsivity)

What is the self-report psychopathy scale?

64-item self-report measure designed to assess psychopathic traits in community samples

• consists of 4 factors: erratic lifestyle, callous affect, interpersonal manipulation, and criminal tendencies

• There is also a short form that consists of 28 items that is often used when conducting online surveys

What is the triarchic model of psychopathy?

Includes 3 main components: boldness, meanness, and disinhibition

What is anitsocial personality disorder?

A personality disorder characterized by a history of behvaiour in which the rights of others are violated; there are 7 adult symptoms

• Engaging in criminal behaviours

• Being a risk taker

• Failing to be truthful

• Having a little guilt for one’s actions

What is sociopathy?

A label used to describe a person whose psychopathic traits are assumed to be due to environmental factors; describes people who had problems with or refused to adapt to society

• has no assessment instruments to identify this construct

What is adversarial allegiance?

The tendency for forensic experts to be biased toward the side (defense or prosecution) that hired them

What is the nature of psychopathic violence?

More likely to be predatory in nature, motivated by readily identifiable goals, and carried out in a callous, calculated manner without the emotional context that usually characterizes the violence of other offenders

What is a sexual homicide?

Homicides that have a sexual component

What is sexual sadism?

People who are sexually aroused by fantasies, urges, or acts of inflicting pain, suffering, or humiliation on another person

What is the antisocial process screening device?

Observer rating scale to assess psychopathic traits in children; has 3-dimensional structure:

1. callous-unemotional

2. impulsivity

3. narcissism

What is the Hare Psychopathy Checklist Youth Version?

Scale designed to measure psychopathic traits in adolescents

• measures psychopathic traits and behaviors in male and female adolescents between the ages of 12 and 18

What types of behaviors are psychopathic suspects likely to engage in?

• Try to outwit the interrogator

• Enjoy being the focus of attention

• Attempt to control the interrogation

• Will not be fooled by bluffs

• Attempt to shock

What are some suggestions for interviewing psychopathic suspects?

• Ensure case familiarity

• Convey experience and confidence

• Show liking and admiration

• Avoid criticism

• Avoid conveying emotions

What is the response modulation deficit theory?

A theory that suggests that psychopaths fail to use contextual cues that are peripheral to a dominant response set to modulate their behavior.

How are psychopaths treated?

Psychopaths are difficult to treat because they are not motivated to change their behaviour and providing the wrong type of treatment can result in high rates of violent reoffending

What are the concerns associated with labelling youth as psychopaths?

1) the issue of labelling a youth as a psychopath

2) the stability of psychopathic traits from late childhood to early adulthood

3) the possibility that characteristics of psychopathy are common features of normally developing youth

What is the amygdala dysfunction theory of psychopathy?

Psychopaths have a deficit in the experience of certain critical emotions that guide prosocial behaviour and inhibit deviance

What is investigative information

Information that is often obtained from suspects through police interrogations

What is a police interrogation

A process whereby the police interview a suspect for the purpose of gathering evidence and obtaining a confession

What is the Reid model

a 9 step model of interrogation used frequently in North America to extract confessions from suspects

1. Gather evidence

2. Conduct a non-accusatorial interview

3. Conduct an accusatorial interrogation of the suspect

What are the 9 steps in the Reid model?

1. Confront with Evidence
   The suspect is immediately shown all available evidence to establish pressure and credibility.

2. Imply Evidence Exists
   If no evidence is available, the interrogator may pretend that it exists to maintain psychological leverage.

3. Develop Psychological Themes
   The interrogator creates narratives that help the suspect rationalize or justify the crime, making confession more likely.

4. Interrupt Suspect’s Statements
   To maintain control, the interrogator cuts off the suspect’s attempts to explain or deny.

5. Overcome Objections
   Any resistance or denial from the suspect is countered and dismantled by the interrogator.

6. Offer Alternative Explanations
   The suspect is given less severe or more understandable motives for the crime, reducing psychological resistance to confessing.

7. Encourage Resignation
   Once the suspect seems emotionally defeated, the interrogator pushes them to “come clean.”

8. Oral Description of Events
   The suspect is asked to verbally recount the crime, setting the stage for a written confession.

9. Written Confession
   The suspect writes and signs a full confession, including a detailed reconstruction of the crime.

What are suggestions for how to effectively interrogate suspects?

1. Using a plainly decorated interrogation room to avoid distractions

2. Having the evidence folder in your hand when beginning the interrogation

3. Making sure that the suspect is alone in the interrogation suite prior to the interrogator entering the room

What idea is the Reid model based on?

People make choices they think will maximize their well-being, given the constraints they face

What is a minimization technique

Soft sell tactics used by police interrogators that are designed to lull the suspect into a false sense of security

What is a maximization technique

Scare tactics used by police interrogators that are designed to intimidate a suspect believed to be guilty

What are the 3 potential problems with the Reid model of interrogation?

1. The inability of police officers to accurately detect deception

2. Biases that result from presuming a suspect is guilty

3. Increased likelihood that suspects will make false confessions

What is detecting deception?

Detecting when someone is being deceptive

What are the rights of suspects in Canada

The rights to silence and legal counsel, included in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms

What is investigator bias?

Bias that can result when police officers enter an interrogation setting already believing that the suspect is guilty

What factors does a judge need to consider when deciding to admit confession evidence into courts?

1. Whether the confession was made voluntarily

2. Whether the defendant was competent when he or she provided the confession

what is PEACE?

Planning and preparation, engage and explain, account, closure, and evaluation

• Inquisitorial framework within which to conduct police interrogations (compared with the accusatorial framework used in the Reid model)

• Based on conversation management which encourages information gathering

What is a false confession?

A confession that is either intentionally fabricated or is not based on actual knowledge of the facts that form its content

What is retracted confession?

A confession that the confessor later declares to be false

What is a disputed confession?

A confession that is later disputed at trial

What is a voluntary false confession?

A false confession that is provided without any elicitation from the police

1. Morbid desire for notoriety

2. Inability to distinguish fact from fantasy

3. Need to make up for pathological feelings of guilt by receiving punishment

4. Desire to protect somebody else from harm

What is coerced-compliant false confession?

A confession that results from a desire to escape a coercive interrogation environment or gain a benefit promised by the police

What is coerced-internalized false confession?

A confession that results from suggestive interrogation techniques, whereby the confessor actually comes to believe he or she committed the crime

1. History of substance abuse or some other interference with brain function

2. Inability of people too detect discrepancies between what they observed and what has been erroneously suggested to them

3. Factors associated with mental state such as severe anxiety, confusion, or feelings of guilt

What is compliance?

A tendency to go along with demands made by people perceived to be in authority, even though the person may not agree with them

What is internalization

The acceptance of guilt for an act, even if the person did not actually commit the act

What is confabulation

The reporting of events that never actually occurred

Why are false confessions likely to be viewed as evidence of guilt by potential jurors?

1. Unlikely to believe a person would be willing to make statements that counter self-interest, even in the context of a police interrogation

2. People are unable to accurately distinguish between true and false confessions

3. False confessions are often very similar to true confessions with respect to their form and content (specific auditory and visual details concerning the crime and victim, and references to the confessor’s thoughts, feelings, and motives during and after committing the crime)

What is criminal profiling

An investigative technique for identifying the major personality and behavioral characteristics of an individual based upon an analysis of the crimes he or she has committed

What are some purposes of criminal profiling?

1. To help set traps to flush out an offender

2. To determine whether a threatening note should be taken seriously

3. To give advice on how best to interrogate a suspect

4. To tell prosecutors how to break down defendants in cross-examination

What is ViCLAS?

The Violent Crime Linkage Analysis System which was developed by the RCMP to collect and analyze information on serious crimes across Canada

What is linkage blindness?

An inability on the part of the police to link geographically dispersed serial crimes committed by the same offender because of a lack of information sharing among police agencies

What is deductive criminal profiling?

Profiling the background characteristics of an unknown offender based on evidence left at the crime scenes by that particular offender

What is inductive criminal profiling?

Profiling the background characteristics of an unknown offender based on what we know about other solved cases

What is the organized-disorganized model

A profiling model used by the FBI that assumes the crime scenes and backgrounds of serial offenders can be categorized as organized or disorganized

• Organized crime scene behaviours reflect a well-planned and controlled crime, while disorganized behaviours reflect an impulsive crime, which is chaotic in nature

What are the criticisms of criminal profiling?

1. Many forms of profiling appear to be based on a theoretical model of personality that lacks strong empirical support

2. The core psychological assumptions underlying profiling lack strong empirical support

3. Many profiles contain information that is so vague and ambiguous they can potentially fit many suspects

4. Professional profilers may be no better than untrained individuals at constructing accurate profiles

What is classic trait model?

A model of personality that assumes the primary determinants of behaviour are stable, internal traits

What are the assumptions for profiling and is there empirical support for them?

1. Offenders behave in a stable fashion across the crimes they commit (partial support)

2. Reliable relationships exist between the way in which offenders commit their crimes and their background characteristics (no support)

What is geographic profiling?

An investigative technique that uses crime scene locations to predict the most likely area where an offender resides

• Assumes offenders do not travel far from home to commit their crimes and it should therefore be possible to make a reasonably accurate prediction about where an offender lives

What are geographic profiling systems?

Computer systems that use mathematical models of offender spatial behaviour to make predictions about where unknown serial offenders are likely to reside

What are police selection procedures?

A set of procedures used by the police to either screen out undesirable candidates or select in desirable candidates

What is involved in a police selection process in Canada?

1. Background checks

2. Medical exams

3. Cognitive ability tests

4. Personality tests

What are the 2 stages involved with the development of police selection instruments?

1. Job analysis stage - knowledge, skills, and abilities of a good police officer must be identified and carefully defined

2. Construction and validation stage - instrument must be developed for measuring the extent to whcih applicants possess a relevant KSA

What is a job analysis?

A procedure for identifying the knowledge, skills, and abilities that make a good police officer

What are some problems associated with conducting a job analysis?

1. KSAs of a good police officer may not be stable over time which makes it difficult to determine what the selection procedures should actually be testing for

2. Different types of police officers, or different policing jobs, will likely be characterized by different KSAs

3. Individuals may disagree over which KSAs are important can be a challenge when trying to decide which KSAs should be assessed

What are the goals in stage 2 of the police selection process?

1. to develop a selection instrument for measuring the extent to which police applicants possess relevant KSAs

2. To ensure that this instrument relates to measures of police performance

What is predictive validity?

The extent to which scores on a test predict scores on some other measure

• ranges from +1 to -1

What is a selection interview?

In recruiting police officers, an interview used by the police to determine the extent to which an applicant possesses the knowledge, skills, and abilities deemed important for the job

What is a semi-structured interview?

The interviewer has a preset list of questions that are asked of each applicant, thus ensuring a more objective basis for comparing applicants

• The more structured an interview is, the more likely that it will predict future job performance with some degree of success

What are cognitive ability tests?

Procedure for measuring verbal, mathematical, memory, and reasoning abilities

What is the RCMP Police Aptitude test?

Consists of multiple-choice questions designed to evaluate an applicant’s potential aptitude for police work

• Measures 7 core skills considered essential in performing the duties of an RCMP officer

  1. Composition

  2. Comprehension

  3. Memory

  4. Judgement

  5. Observation

  6. Logic

  7. Computation

What is the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory?

An assessment instrument for identifying people with psychopathological problems

• 567 true-false questions that attempt to identify psychopathological problems, including depression, paranoia, schizophrenia