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Forensic Psychology
Midterm Exam
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Forensic Psychology | deals with the psychological aspects of legal processes, including |
| Forensic psychologists assist in | • the mental state of criminal defendants • jury selection • child custody/family law • social science research • etc |
| What do risk factors predict? | They predict the likelihood of future offending behaviours and they are typically studied through longitudinal research |
| Risk factors | Prenatal factors Prenatal exposure to alcohol - Fetal alcohol syndrome Perinatal factors Postnatal factors |
| Prenatal factors | Tobacco by-products may affect the brain systems Fetal alcohol syndrome |
| Perinatal factors | Complications during birth -Premature birth - Low birth weight -Use of forceps during childbirth |
| Postnatal factors | -Poor nutrition- it is not clear at this time how poor nutrition affects the individual’s behaviour -Traumatic brain injury |
| Phineas Gage | - 1848, Worker on the railroad, involved in a work related accident -Damage to the frontal lobe Changed from a calm character to irritable and dishonest |
| Individual factors that may lead to offending | -Individual factors that may lead to offending -Low family income - Reduced ability of parents in raising their children - Hyperactivity and impulsivity - Low IQ |
| Family factors that may lead to offending | -Low levels of monitoring children - strong factor - Harsh punishments -Cold parents – parenting style - Abuse in childhood - Tension in the family and divorced parents ( "broken homes") - Parents’ criminal behaviours |
| Social factors | - Low socioeconomic status - Friends / peers -Characteristics of school - pupils, relationship between students and teachers, crime levels - Community - city (vs. village), poor area |
| Structural Problems in Offenders | ASPD – Reduced development of temporal lobe - Smaller posterior hippocampus (region associated with fear) -Psychopathy – Smaller hippocampus (region associated with learning and memory) -Conduct disorder – Smaller right temporal lobe |
| Protective Factors | -Low levels of extraversion - Low levels of neuroticism -Harmony at home -Acceptable discipline at home |
| Changing Environmental Risk Factors | -Reduction of prenatal exposure to alcohol -Reduction of maternal smoking - Healthy diet |
| Societal or macro-level theories: | theories suggest that crime is a result of the structure of our society rather than genetics of psychiatric problems. |
| Community or locality theories: | discuss why crime is not randomly distributed geographically and why some geographical areas tend to be home to more criminals than others. |
| Group and socialisation influence theories: | these discuss the direct social influences on criminal behaviour. Specifically, they are interested in the influence of the group (including the family) on criminality and assume that associates (friends, peers, family). |
| Individual approaches | the focus here is on the importance of biological and psychological differences as a root cause of criminality. |
| Adolescence-limited/ life-course persistent theory | This theory concentrates on the development of offenders and does not explain why these crimes are committed |
| Attachment theory | Bowlby (1969) – attachment theory developed from the argument that we are born with the need to create emotional bonds, and that these bonds have a lasting psychological impact on one's life |
| Avoidant attachment | rarely cries when the mother leaves but shows signs of discomfort and anxiety.When the mother returns, the infant shuns or approaches her and again ignores her |
| Ambivalent attachment | the infant is anxious even when the mother is there, refuses to move away from her, intense anxiety when she leaves and inconsolable when she returns, on the one hand the infant approaches her and on the other he/she resists her efforts of comfort |
| Disorganised attachment | greatest degree of insecurity, emotional disorientation, completely contradictory behavior towards the mother |
| Psychopathy and ASPD | Lack of guilt, lack of anxiety, inability to learn from punishment, poor emotions, inability to create long-lasting emotional bonds, self-centeredness and superficial 18+ |
| Social Learning Theory-Bandura | -Bobo dolls study - Vicarious learning – imitation - Role models and modeling |
| Social control theory - Hirschi | It is based on the idea that the individual by nature seeks pleasure and is non-conforming - if not prevented he/she will act for pleasure and violate rules that stand in the way of his purpose |
| The social bond | 1. Emotional bond/ attachment 2. Commitment to conventionality 3. Involvement in conventional behaviours 4. Faith in the fairness of rules |
| Labelling theory | Based on the self-fulfilling prophecy - When a person believes in the realisation of a possibility, that possibility becomes more likely because of this belief |
| Genetic factors – family studies | Twin studies - Reasoning is that you are measuring two individuals with the same genetic component and experiencing the same environment so easier in theory to determine where any differences may come from |
| Twin data have demonstrated: | - most genetic effects on antisocial behaviour increase with age - early‐onset persistent antisocial behaviour is more heritable - family environment is relevant for the initiation and early maintenance of aggression (particularly in men) |
| Neuropsychology of offending | -Concerns brain’s structure and activity in regards to psychological processes -Earlier studies looked at areas of damage to the brain that were linked to cognitive/ behavioural difficulties - Subsequent studies revolutionised by CT, MRI and PET scans |
| Memory Issues | -Selective Attention Memory is «constructive» -Influence of emotions -Question wording and format: changing even one single word to a question we ask might alter / change the answer we will receive |
| THE THREE PHASES OF HUMAN MEMORY | ENCODING STORAGE RETRIEVAL |
| Encoding | at this first stage, we recognize the information we see/hear and we make sense of it |
| Storage | at this second stage, information is stored in our memory |
| Retrieval | at this final stage, we bring stored memories into conscious awareness... we simply remember things |
| Stage 1:Witnessing the incident | - When witnessing an incident, information about the event is entered into memory. - The accuracy of this information acquisition can be influenced by a number of factors. |
| Stage 2:Waiting period before giving evidence | -The time period that passes between seeing an incident and the subsequent recollection of that incident. -The longer the time gap the less accurate the recollection of that incident |
| Stage 3: Giving evidence during police Interview | -The ability of a witness to access and retrieve information from memory i.e. to remember -This information is usually elicited through a process of questioning. - So... leading questions a big problem as they can influence subsequent testimony. |
| FACTORS INFLUENCING HOW MUCH AN EYEWITNESS REMEMBERS AND HOW ACCURATE THIS MEMORY IS | -Intense emotions (fear, surprise) - Imagination - Psychological trauma - Suggestibility (accept & act on the suggestions of others/be influenced by others) -High levels of stress |
| POLICE ADVISABLE PROCEDURES FOR EYEWITNESSES | -The police must be careful NOT to lead or influence an eyewitness. -Very important to try and build a rapport with the eyewitness. -Important for the police to pay attention to any physical / intellectual disabilities an eyewitness may show. |
| P.E.A.C.E. MODEL OF INTERVIEWING | - Planning and Preparation - Engage and Explain - Account - Closure - Evaluation |
| Planning and Preparation | - Investigate, then interview - Use a written plan -How might the interview contribute to the investigation |
| Engage and Explain | - Treat interviewee as an individual –what needs does he have -Explain reason for interview -Explain procedure for interview –ground rules |
| Account and Challenge | - Obtain an uninterrupted account - Encourage attempts to recall - Expand and clarify the account |
| Closure | -Have you covered all that you set out to? - Review and summarise the account –do we all understand it? - May be necessary to return to “account” phase |
| Evaluation | -Did you achieve your aims and objectives for the interview? -Re-evaluate the investigation in the light of the interview -How well did you do the interview: what was good? What could have been better? |
| The Cognitive Interviewer | -Aims to increase the quantity and quality of information elicited from witnesses/victims. -Attempt to improve witness memory performance by using techniques from cognitive psychology to gain as much correct information |
| 4 instructions given by the interviewer to the witness: | Mentally reinstate the context Report everything Remember the events in different orders Change perspective |
| Characteristics of a good Interviewer | -Listen and concentrate on what is being said - Polite - Open minded -Controls emotions (don’t get angry) - Flexible and persistent |
| "TATICS DURING INTEROGATION" | - Intimidation - Situational Futility -Interruptions - Disclosure of Evidence |
| Why do false allegations occur within the context of child sexual abuse? | -No physical evidence particularly with oral sex - Most information comes from the young child itself -There may be overreactions by parents and adults to things the child says due to their desire to protect them |
| False Memory | - A memory that is changed / distorted through influences such as the incorporation of new information. It is a fabricated recollection of an event that did not actually happen (Loftus, 1997) - Some memory is fantasy - Human memory is prone to errors |
| HOW ARE FALSE MEMORIES FORMED? | - Manipulation of wording in questioning can elicit false memories - Leading questions can also elicit false memories - Suggestibility -Children are especially sensitive to leading question |
| WHAT IS A FALSE CONFESSION? | -An admission (“I did it”) plus a post admission narrativ of a crime that the confessor did not commit -Although researchers have documented and analysed numerous false confessions in recent years, we do not know how frequently they occur |
| INNOCENCE PROJECT USA | - Founded in 1992 by Peter Neufeld and Barry Scheck at Cardozo School of Law -It exonerates the wrongly convicted through DNA testing -362 people have been exonerated -158 perpetrators identified |
| Types of False Confessions | -Stress-compliant false confessions -Coerced-compliant false confessions -Persuaded false confession -Voluntary false confessions -Coerced-internalized false confessions |
| Stress-compliant false confessions | Suspect may confess to end the difficult and stressful situation of being asked seemingly endless questions by the police |
| Coerced-compliant false confessions | Threats of harm or promises of leniency may coerce the suspect into confessing |
| Persuaded false confession | The suspect actually becomes convinced that they may have committed the crime even though they don’t remember doing so – maybe drugs or alcohol were involved |
| Voluntary false confessions | -Desire for public recognition - Unable to distinguish between facts and fantasy -Assist or protect the real culprit |
| Coerced-compliant false confessions | -Pressures during the interview process -Confess in order to end the stress and ordeal of interrogation, or in order to be released from police custody |
| Coerced-internalized false confessions | -People come to believe, during police interviewing, that they have committed the crime they are accused of even though they have no actual memory of the event -The suspect distrusts his/her own memory |
| REASONS FOR FALSELY CONFESSING | -Vulnerability of some suspects -Εrrors during police interrogations |
| Errors during police interrogations | The misclassification error The coercion error The contamination error |
| Why do people lie? | - In order to make a good impression on others or to protect ourselves from embarrassment/ disapproval. - In order to obtain advantages. - To make others appear better or to protect others. -For the sake of social relationships/social interactions. |
| TYPES OF LIES | • Self-Oriented lies • Other-Oriented lies • Exaggerations • Subtle lies |
| CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD LIAR | - Being well-prepared. -Being original. - Thinking quickly. -Being fluent / eloquent |
| INDICATORS OF DECEPTION | -Increased delays before answering a question - Involuntary emotional expressions of the face - Little context of the event and reproduced conversation where the incident involves more than one person - More frequent and longer pauses in speech |
| THE POLYGRAPH PROCESS | Used to assess physiological arousal patterns shown by a person who is anxious about being identified as a liar |
| Pre-phase: | Gathering info, writing questionnaire |
| Phase 1: | Pre-test interview. Examiner introduces themselves, describes procedure, discusses the suspect’s version of events |
| Phase 2: | The polygraph test. Suspect answers yes/no questions. Physiological response to threatening questions is likely. Both test and control questions are used. |
| Phase 3: | The post test.A suspect assessed as lying is given the opportunity to “tell the truth”. In most cases, the search for more evidence is abandoned if the suspect confesses. |
| STATEMENT VALIDITY ASSESSMENT (SVA) | -Alternative to the polygraph - Technique used for measuring the veracity of verbal statements -Originally developed in Germany by forensic psychologist Udo Undeutch |
| SVA consists of the following four elements: | -Case File Analysis - A Structured Interview - Criterion-Based-Content-Analysis (CBCA) -Evaluation of the CBCA outcome via a list of questions (Validity Check-list) |
| OCEAN | openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism |
| Juror | A group of, usually twelve, people sworn to deliver a true verdict according to the evidence upon a case presented in a court of law |
| HOW CAPABLE ARE JURORS? | -Jurors have difficulty in perceiving and comprehending subtle semantic differences between legal concepts - They tend to have low recall of important information concerning the trial, -The more information about the case, the more difficulty jurors |
| IMPROVEMENTS TO AID JURORS | -Asking questions -Allowing questions doesn’t seem to make a different to the jurors’, judge’s and lawyers’ satisfaction with the trial and verdict -Jurors generally ask appropriate questions |
| JURY SIZE | 6-person juries work just as well as 12-person juries |
| Absolutists | They believe in one absolute truth;They tend to say that only one account of the events can be correct and that the other must be wrong. |
| Multiplists | They tend to think that both points of view are accurate from the point of view of the individual involved.They recognise that interpretations are subjective, as are judgements, and this is what they give priority to in their thinking. |
| Evaluativists | They also recognize that both individuals are likely to be highly accurate from their own point of view. However, they recognize that by combining a variety of viewpoints, and, once you evaluate both sides, you can prefer one viewpoint. |
| ARGUMENTS AGAINST THE USE OF A JURY IN A TRIAL | -Jurors do not represent the wider society - They do not have to justify their decision (s)nor be held liable for their verdict -They decide in secret/behind closed doors- Their decision does not “constitute” the law |
| ARGUMENTS IN FAVOUR OF THE USE OF JURIES IN A TRIAL | -The jury service is an important and unique experience -They fulfill their duty with a strong sense of responsibility -12 minds= better than 1 |
Created by:
theofficialjurnee
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