Exam Questions and CORRECT Answers
forensic - CORRECT ANSWER - Refers to scientific activities pertaining or potentially
pertaining to law, civil, and criminal.
forensic psychology - CORRECT ANSWER - Production of psychological knowledge and
its applications to civil and criminal justice systems. Gather information and use it in court cases
and legal proceedings.
forensic linguistics - CORRECT ANSWER - Concerned with in-depth evaluation of
language-related characteristics of text.
Ex: Stalking cases, ransom notes.
Grammar, syntax, spelling, vocabulary, and phraseology (soda vs. pop).
forensic anthropology - CORRECT ANSWER - Identification of skeletal, badly
decomposed, or otherwise unidentified human remains.
Ex: Using river current knowledge to determine where a body was dumped to end up at point A.
forensic pathology - CORRECT ANSWER - Branch of medicine concerned with diseases
and disorders of the body that relate to questions that might come before court.
Someone who specializes in this examines the bodies of crime victims for clues about the
victim's demise.
forensic nurses - CORRECT ANSWER - Often work in hospital emergency departments;
special training in collection of evidence pertinent to a crime, such as sexual assault.
forensic pharmacists - CORRECT ANSWER - Knowledgable about drugs and their
interactions.
Teach courses, offer workshops, and consult with lawyers preparing cases.
Also, often testify in both criminal and civil courts.
,forensic entomology - CORRECT ANSWER - Study of insects and anthropods relatives as
it relates to legal issues.
Determines time since death (postmortem interval), location of death, etc.
forensic document examination
The process is often called Questioned document examination or analysis. It can be applied to
many types of investigations, including fraud, homicide, suicide, sexual offense, blackmail,
bombings, and arson. - CORRECT ANSWER - Definition: Analyzes handwriting, print
fonts, signatures, alterations in documents, damaged paper, inks and papers, etc., to establish
authorship and authenticity.
What is this process often called and what can it be applied to (give example)?
digital investigative analysis (DIA) - CORRECT ANSWER - Training to seize, search, and
analyze electronic media in execution of a search warrant or subpoena.
The major goal of the investigator/specialist is to recover the data or images without modifying
them.
These skills are used in a wide variety of investigations, such as fraud, embezzlement, political
corruption, child pornography, identity theft, document forgery, software piracy, narcotics
trafficking, money laundering, and terroristic activity. - CORRECT ANSWER - What is
the major goal of the digital investigator/specialist?
What are some investigations that these skills are used in?
Forensic laboratories are usually maintained or sponsored by governmental agencies specifically
to examine physical evidence in criminal and civil matters.
Scientists prepare reports and provide courtroom testimony on physical evidence if needed. -
CORRECT ANSWER - Who is responsible for forensic laboratories? What are they
specifically for?
What do scientists do?
,Private labs (some in universities) provide services to governmental agencies on a contracted
basis or employ scientists who conduct independent research. - CORRECT ANSWER -
What relationship do private labs have with the government?
"Most psychologists define the area more narrowly to refer to clinical psychologists who are
engaged in clinical practice within the legal system" (p. 279).
Problem: Focuses on clinical psychology- excludes topics such as eyewitness identification,
polygraphs, jury behavior, testimony of children.
Would focus on assessment/treatment of people within a legal context.
Psychopathy, insanity, risk assessment, personal injury, civil commitment. - CORRECT
ANSWER - What is the problem with Roesch's definition of psychology? What is his
definition?
The history of psychology can be traced back at least to the end of the 19th century, when J.
McKeen Cattell conducted a very simple psychological experiment on eyewitness testimony in a
psychology class at Columbia University. He explored the psychology of testimony by asking 56
college students a series of four questions. He also asked students to rate their confidence in how
correct they were.
Some were confident regardless of whether they were correct; others were always insecure, even
when they were right.
Level of accuracy were also surprisingly low.
Prior to this little was known of unreliability of eyewitness testimony.
Paved way for researchers to look at circumstances that affect memory and how to identify them.
Everytime you remember something, you remember it a little differently. Your brain doesn't
focus on the unimportant details. - CORRECT ANSWER - Explain the experiment and
findings of J. McKeen Cattell at the end of the 19th century.
See notes for more on the history of psychology
Psychiatrists - Medical doctors; specialize in prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of mental,
addictive, and emotional disorders.
, Psychologists - Do not hold a medical degree, tho some may have earned related degrees, such as
a master of public health (MPH).
Another major distinction between the two has been license to prescribe drugs. Traditionally,
psychologists have not been permitted by law to prescribe any medication. Now, that is
beginning to change. - CORRECT ANSWER - Describe the differences between
psychiatrists and psychologists.
forensic psychiatrists - CORRECT ANSWER - In some areas, such as issues relating to
insanity determination, psychiatrists are more visible than psychologists.
Many psychiatrists, like psychologists, work in a variety of forensic settings, including the court,
correctional facilities, and law enforcement, but especially the first. Psychiatrists who are closely
associated with the law are often referred to as...
Some judges prefer medical model approach to mental disorders. - CORRECT ANSWER -
What do some judges prefer to mental disorders approach?
Research indicates that report quality is comparable between forensic psychologists and forensic
psychiatrists across settings and types of evaluations. - CORRECT ANSWER - Research
indicates that report quality is what between forensic psychologists and forensic psychiatrists
across settings and types of evaluations?
forensic neuropsychologists - CORRECT ANSWER - Expertise in brain research,
assessments, and law. Frequently consulted in both criminal and civil matters.
pretrial evaluations
Psychologists and psychiatrists seem to be equally involved in pretrial assessments of juveniles,
while psychologists are more likely to conduct custody evaluations, consult with law
enforcement, and work within the correctional system. - CORRECT ANSWER - In the US
and other countries, psychologists routinely carry out what?