SUMMARY FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGY
PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Goals of the course
- Up-to-date knowledge on criminal behavior, its causes and consequences
- Better understanding of various forensic psychological topics
- Current frameworks concerning legal proceedings, diagnostics, assessment, and treatment
- How? Theoretical knowledge, real life case studies, discussion
Course material
- What is discussed in class and on the slides is exam material
- Additional background articles may be posted on Canvas: this is not mandatory material unless stated otherwise
Evaluation
- Exam will be about material discussed in the lectures
- Written exam, closed book
- 20 multiple choice questions (70% of final result)
o Guess correction: 4 alternatives will be presented, one of which is the correct one. In case of a wrong
answer, 0.33 points (1/N-1, N= number of alternatives per question) will be deducted.
- At least one open question, max. 3 open questions (30% of final result)
- All questions will be in English; answer to open question(s) can be in English or Dutch
- More info and example questions will be provided in the last lecture
1
,INTRODUCTION
Some inspirational cases:
- Edmund Kemper: “The Co-Ed Killer”, extremely intelligent and physically imposing American serial killer. Known
for killing 10 people, including his grandparents, his mother, and several female college students, before turning
himself in. He also engaged in post-mortem mutilation, motivated by deep resentment toward his mother.
o Netflix: Mindhunter
- Charles Manson: American criminal, cult leader and musician. Used mind control, framing and social isolation to
manipulate followers. He never killed anyone himself but brainwashed young women and became notorious for
directing them to murder actress Sharon Tate, who was seven months pregnant at the time.
- Dennis Rader: “BTK Killer”: “The guy next door” American serial killer (family man, church leader, city employee)
→ notable for his ability to maintain two completely separate lives: a socially integrated public persona and a
hidden criminal one
- Aileen Wuornos: American female serial offender who killed at least seven men. She worked as a sex worker
along highways and claimed she acted in self-defense. She was executed by lethal injection in 2002. Her
background included severe trauma, abuse, sexual exploitation, homelessness, and long-term instability
o Film “Monster” (2003)
- Anders Behring Breivik: Norwegian far-right extremist responsible for a large-scale terrorist attack. He travelled to
an island hosting a youth camp and carried out a mass shooting there. He received maximum prison sentence of
21 years (extendable). This was a single, large, planned event rather than multiple separate attacks.
- Staf Van Eyken: Belgian serial offender known as “The Vampire of Muizen” -> he assaulted and killed three women
in the Muizen region near Mechelen. Sentenced to life imprisonment.
- Other series:
o Criminal minds
o Mindhunter
o CSI: crime scene investigation
Forensic psychology = a field of science dedicated to the methodical gathering and analysis of evidence to establish
facts that can be presented in a legal proceeding
TOWARDS AN UNDERSTANDING: WHAT IS ‘FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGY’?
- Forensic psychology ≠ forensic science / law enforcement
- (Forensic) psychologist studies human behavior
- → Expert in (criminal) human behavior
- Tries to apply psychological principles to assist legal system
- Towards an understanding
o “forensic”
▪ “Forensis” (Latin)
▪ Of the forum
o Related to the law
o Related to the law: intersection between psychology, law, …
▪
A BRIEF HISTORY OF FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGY
- Middle Ages and earlier: good and wrong related to religion: possessed by demons, witches, sinners …
- After Middle Ages (1500-1800): shift towards ‘choice’, ‘free will’ and ‘rational calculation’ instead of ‘divine
influence’
- England, early 18th century: Wild Beast Test
o “Insane person = a wild animal”
2
,- 19th century: Cesare Lombroso
o Wrote an important book: L’uomo delinquente (1876)
- Basic ideas:
- ‘The born criminal’
- Atavism: evolutionary regression to a more primitive human stage
- Physical characteristics as predictors of criminal behavior (physiognomy): meaning that you can see it on
someone’s face
o Criminals → physical anomalies → you can see at their face that something’s not right
- Deterministic perspective: prevent a crime
- “In general, thieves are notable for their expressive faces and manual dexterity, small wandering eyes that are
often oblique in form, thick and close eyebrows, distorted or squashed noses, thin beards and hair, and sloping
foreheads. Like rapists, they often have jug ears. Rapists, however, nearly always have sparkling eyes, delicate
features, and swollen lips and eyelids. Most of them are frail; some are hunchbacked.” (Lombroso, 1876)
- 1879: First laboratory for experimental psychology (Willem Wundt) in Leipzig
- End of 19th century: development of theories about insanity and criminal behavior
o Inclusion of environmental influences (poverty, social conditions …)
- 1908: ‘On the witness stand’ (Münsterberg)
o Series of essays to describe research on eyewitness testimony, false confessions and uses of psychology
in legal problems
- 20th century: psychologists were more and more called upon to apply their (rudimentary) knowledge to the legal
system as expert (e.g., testifying as expert witness)
o Psychology = a tool in arriving at fair and just legal outcomes
- Some high-profile cases revealed the lack of fit between classical clinical psychological approach and the legal
context
o E.g.: a child psychologist (without specific forensic expertise) being called upon as expert witness in a
child sexual abuse case
o E.g.: the use of assessment techniques that are not adapted to the forensic context
o E.g.: the classical type of psychological reporting was not useful to court
- 1970 – 1980 (US): more and more application of psychology in legal issues
o Risk assessment tool: you try to analyze the risk that someone will commit a crime
o Development of:
▪ Specific training
▪ Guidelines
▪ Specialized journals
▪ First generation assessment tools
o → A unique discipline that differs from classical clinical psychology
- Current situation
o Forensic psychology has only been recognized as a specialization in 2001 by the American Psychological
Association
o
3
, PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE OF THE FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGIST
Three main activities for forensic psychologists
Assessment
- Therapeutic vs. forensic assessment
o Differences in:
▪ Goal (reduce psychological suffering and addressing legal question)
▪ Relationship (care and support vs. investigative and truth seeking)
▪ Client (examinee vs. whoever pays (court, attorney …))
▪ Consequences (design intervention vs. possible loss of liberty) -> linked with the willingness of
the person
▪ Accuracy of info (examinee generally more reliable vs. questionable)
o What differences? The willingness to share answers because something depends on it, different goals,
therapeutic can be more preventic and forensic can be more because something already happened
- Methods
o (Clinical) interview
o Psychological testing
▪ Stay critical in choosing the right instrument, do your research, read the manual, educate
yourself …
▪ Projective tests (Rorschach, TAT, RASB …)
•
▪ Objective tests (NEO-PI-3, DAPP-BQ, UCL-R …)
•
▪ Intelligence (WAIS-IV …)
▪ Neuropsychological (Trail Making Test …)
•
4
PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Goals of the course
- Up-to-date knowledge on criminal behavior, its causes and consequences
- Better understanding of various forensic psychological topics
- Current frameworks concerning legal proceedings, diagnostics, assessment, and treatment
- How? Theoretical knowledge, real life case studies, discussion
Course material
- What is discussed in class and on the slides is exam material
- Additional background articles may be posted on Canvas: this is not mandatory material unless stated otherwise
Evaluation
- Exam will be about material discussed in the lectures
- Written exam, closed book
- 20 multiple choice questions (70% of final result)
o Guess correction: 4 alternatives will be presented, one of which is the correct one. In case of a wrong
answer, 0.33 points (1/N-1, N= number of alternatives per question) will be deducted.
- At least one open question, max. 3 open questions (30% of final result)
- All questions will be in English; answer to open question(s) can be in English or Dutch
- More info and example questions will be provided in the last lecture
1
,INTRODUCTION
Some inspirational cases:
- Edmund Kemper: “The Co-Ed Killer”, extremely intelligent and physically imposing American serial killer. Known
for killing 10 people, including his grandparents, his mother, and several female college students, before turning
himself in. He also engaged in post-mortem mutilation, motivated by deep resentment toward his mother.
o Netflix: Mindhunter
- Charles Manson: American criminal, cult leader and musician. Used mind control, framing and social isolation to
manipulate followers. He never killed anyone himself but brainwashed young women and became notorious for
directing them to murder actress Sharon Tate, who was seven months pregnant at the time.
- Dennis Rader: “BTK Killer”: “The guy next door” American serial killer (family man, church leader, city employee)
→ notable for his ability to maintain two completely separate lives: a socially integrated public persona and a
hidden criminal one
- Aileen Wuornos: American female serial offender who killed at least seven men. She worked as a sex worker
along highways and claimed she acted in self-defense. She was executed by lethal injection in 2002. Her
background included severe trauma, abuse, sexual exploitation, homelessness, and long-term instability
o Film “Monster” (2003)
- Anders Behring Breivik: Norwegian far-right extremist responsible for a large-scale terrorist attack. He travelled to
an island hosting a youth camp and carried out a mass shooting there. He received maximum prison sentence of
21 years (extendable). This was a single, large, planned event rather than multiple separate attacks.
- Staf Van Eyken: Belgian serial offender known as “The Vampire of Muizen” -> he assaulted and killed three women
in the Muizen region near Mechelen. Sentenced to life imprisonment.
- Other series:
o Criminal minds
o Mindhunter
o CSI: crime scene investigation
Forensic psychology = a field of science dedicated to the methodical gathering and analysis of evidence to establish
facts that can be presented in a legal proceeding
TOWARDS AN UNDERSTANDING: WHAT IS ‘FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGY’?
- Forensic psychology ≠ forensic science / law enforcement
- (Forensic) psychologist studies human behavior
- → Expert in (criminal) human behavior
- Tries to apply psychological principles to assist legal system
- Towards an understanding
o “forensic”
▪ “Forensis” (Latin)
▪ Of the forum
o Related to the law
o Related to the law: intersection between psychology, law, …
▪
A BRIEF HISTORY OF FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGY
- Middle Ages and earlier: good and wrong related to religion: possessed by demons, witches, sinners …
- After Middle Ages (1500-1800): shift towards ‘choice’, ‘free will’ and ‘rational calculation’ instead of ‘divine
influence’
- England, early 18th century: Wild Beast Test
o “Insane person = a wild animal”
2
,- 19th century: Cesare Lombroso
o Wrote an important book: L’uomo delinquente (1876)
- Basic ideas:
- ‘The born criminal’
- Atavism: evolutionary regression to a more primitive human stage
- Physical characteristics as predictors of criminal behavior (physiognomy): meaning that you can see it on
someone’s face
o Criminals → physical anomalies → you can see at their face that something’s not right
- Deterministic perspective: prevent a crime
- “In general, thieves are notable for their expressive faces and manual dexterity, small wandering eyes that are
often oblique in form, thick and close eyebrows, distorted or squashed noses, thin beards and hair, and sloping
foreheads. Like rapists, they often have jug ears. Rapists, however, nearly always have sparkling eyes, delicate
features, and swollen lips and eyelids. Most of them are frail; some are hunchbacked.” (Lombroso, 1876)
- 1879: First laboratory for experimental psychology (Willem Wundt) in Leipzig
- End of 19th century: development of theories about insanity and criminal behavior
o Inclusion of environmental influences (poverty, social conditions …)
- 1908: ‘On the witness stand’ (Münsterberg)
o Series of essays to describe research on eyewitness testimony, false confessions and uses of psychology
in legal problems
- 20th century: psychologists were more and more called upon to apply their (rudimentary) knowledge to the legal
system as expert (e.g., testifying as expert witness)
o Psychology = a tool in arriving at fair and just legal outcomes
- Some high-profile cases revealed the lack of fit between classical clinical psychological approach and the legal
context
o E.g.: a child psychologist (without specific forensic expertise) being called upon as expert witness in a
child sexual abuse case
o E.g.: the use of assessment techniques that are not adapted to the forensic context
o E.g.: the classical type of psychological reporting was not useful to court
- 1970 – 1980 (US): more and more application of psychology in legal issues
o Risk assessment tool: you try to analyze the risk that someone will commit a crime
o Development of:
▪ Specific training
▪ Guidelines
▪ Specialized journals
▪ First generation assessment tools
o → A unique discipline that differs from classical clinical psychology
- Current situation
o Forensic psychology has only been recognized as a specialization in 2001 by the American Psychological
Association
o
3
, PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE OF THE FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGIST
Three main activities for forensic psychologists
Assessment
- Therapeutic vs. forensic assessment
o Differences in:
▪ Goal (reduce psychological suffering and addressing legal question)
▪ Relationship (care and support vs. investigative and truth seeking)
▪ Client (examinee vs. whoever pays (court, attorney …))
▪ Consequences (design intervention vs. possible loss of liberty) -> linked with the willingness of
the person
▪ Accuracy of info (examinee generally more reliable vs. questionable)
o What differences? The willingness to share answers because something depends on it, different goals,
therapeutic can be more preventic and forensic can be more because something already happened
- Methods
o (Clinical) interview
o Psychological testing
▪ Stay critical in choosing the right instrument, do your research, read the manual, educate
yourself …
▪ Projective tests (Rorschach, TAT, RASB …)
•
▪ Objective tests (NEO-PI-3, DAPP-BQ, UCL-R …)
•
▪ Intelligence (WAIS-IV …)
▪ Neuropsychological (Trail Making Test …)
•
4
