PSYC 395 Forensic Psychiatry combined
Graded quiz 1,2,3,4,5 and 6 respectively|
actual quiz samples fall 2026 Athabasca
University
QUIZ 1
Question 1: Differentiate “psychology in the law” from “psychology of the law”
Answer: Psychology in the law is once a body of psychological knowledge exists
in any of the area of study the knowledge can be used in the legal system by
psychologists, lawyers, judges and others (for example a psychologist providing
expert testimony in court based on his/her understanding of the psychological
research)> Psychology of the law is the use of psychology to examine the
operation of the legal system.
Psychology in the law applies principles in which police officers may use his/her
knowledge of psychology in an investigation for example questioning strategy
during interrogation while psychology of the law is to study the law itself and ask
questions like “Does the law reduce the amount of crime in our society?”
Question 2: The disciplines of law and psychology have significant differences.
Briefly describe 5 of the differences, as outlined by Hess (1999)
Knowledge gain in psychology is accomplished through cumulative research while
knowledge gain in the law come through legal precedent and logical thinking and
case law.
Methodology is psychology is to discover broad patterns and general trends
through the use of controlled experiments and statistical methods while
Methodology in the law operates in a case by case basis.
Epistemology is where Psychologists assume the possibility to uncover hidden
truths if the correct experiments are conducted while in the law it is defined by
,subjectivity and on who can provide the most convincing story of what really
happened.
Criteria in psychology is the willingness to accept something as true based on
hypothesis and conservative statistical data while the law decides what is true
based on a single case and are much more lenient on their determination.
Nature of the law in psychology they describe how people behave while in the law
they tell people how to behave.
Question 3. What is the assessment centre used for, and what are the potential
benefits? What are situational tests, and how are they used? How valid are they?
The assessment centre within which the behavior of police applicants can be
observed in a number of different ways by multiple observers. The situational test
is a primary selection instrument used within the assessment centre which
involves real-world policing situational tasks. These situational tests identify
candidates who will be successful police officers, there are four simulation
exercises in which the scores are used to compare with academy performance and
future on the job performance. There are the Selection Interview, Psychological
tests, Cognitive Ability Tests and personality tests. There appears to be little
published research demonstrating that assessment centres are useful for predicting
on the job performance although
, many police trainers state it is effective and it has been found that there is a
moderate level of predictive validity based on theses assessment tools.
Question 4. What is compliance? What are internalization and confabulation in the
context of compliance? How can these constructs be measured?
Compliance is the tendency to go along with the demands made by people who are
perceived to be in a position of authority, even when the person may not agree
with them. Internalization in the context of compliance is the acceptance of guilt
for an act/acts even if the person did not commit the act. Confabulation is the
reporting or telling of events that has never actually occurred. These constructs
can be measured through various laboratory conditions and interrogations. Ie. The
Kassin and Kiechels study.
Graded quiz 1,2,3,4,5 and 6 respectively|
actual quiz samples fall 2026 Athabasca
University
QUIZ 1
Question 1: Differentiate “psychology in the law” from “psychology of the law”
Answer: Psychology in the law is once a body of psychological knowledge exists
in any of the area of study the knowledge can be used in the legal system by
psychologists, lawyers, judges and others (for example a psychologist providing
expert testimony in court based on his/her understanding of the psychological
research)> Psychology of the law is the use of psychology to examine the
operation of the legal system.
Psychology in the law applies principles in which police officers may use his/her
knowledge of psychology in an investigation for example questioning strategy
during interrogation while psychology of the law is to study the law itself and ask
questions like “Does the law reduce the amount of crime in our society?”
Question 2: The disciplines of law and psychology have significant differences.
Briefly describe 5 of the differences, as outlined by Hess (1999)
Knowledge gain in psychology is accomplished through cumulative research while
knowledge gain in the law come through legal precedent and logical thinking and
case law.
Methodology is psychology is to discover broad patterns and general trends
through the use of controlled experiments and statistical methods while
Methodology in the law operates in a case by case basis.
Epistemology is where Psychologists assume the possibility to uncover hidden
truths if the correct experiments are conducted while in the law it is defined by
,subjectivity and on who can provide the most convincing story of what really
happened.
Criteria in psychology is the willingness to accept something as true based on
hypothesis and conservative statistical data while the law decides what is true
based on a single case and are much more lenient on their determination.
Nature of the law in psychology they describe how people behave while in the law
they tell people how to behave.
Question 3. What is the assessment centre used for, and what are the potential
benefits? What are situational tests, and how are they used? How valid are they?
The assessment centre within which the behavior of police applicants can be
observed in a number of different ways by multiple observers. The situational test
is a primary selection instrument used within the assessment centre which
involves real-world policing situational tasks. These situational tests identify
candidates who will be successful police officers, there are four simulation
exercises in which the scores are used to compare with academy performance and
future on the job performance. There are the Selection Interview, Psychological
tests, Cognitive Ability Tests and personality tests. There appears to be little
published research demonstrating that assessment centres are useful for predicting
on the job performance although
, many police trainers state it is effective and it has been found that there is a
moderate level of predictive validity based on theses assessment tools.
Question 4. What is compliance? What are internalization and confabulation in the
context of compliance? How can these constructs be measured?
Compliance is the tendency to go along with the demands made by people who are
perceived to be in a position of authority, even when the person may not agree
with them. Internalization in the context of compliance is the acceptance of guilt
for an act/acts even if the person did not commit the act. Confabulation is the
reporting or telling of events that has never actually occurred. These constructs
can be measured through various laboratory conditions and interrogations. Ie. The
Kassin and Kiechels study.
