Forensic Psychology Exam 1Prep Questions And Correct Answers With Detailed Rationales.

forensic psychologist jobs - correct answer police psychology psychology of crime and delinquency victimology and victim services legal psychology correctional psychology victimology - correct answer study of persons who have experienced either actual or threatened physical, psychological, social, or financial harm as the result of the commission or attempted commission of crime against them legal psychology - correct answer scientific study of a wide assortment of topics reflecting the close relationship between psychology and the courts correctional psychology - correct answer major goal is to help in inmate rehabilitation, treatment, and reintegration into the community expert testimony - correct answer may occur in a variety of pretrial hearings, during both civil and criminal trials or delinquency proceedings, or during sentencing or disposition hearings daubert standard - correct answer makes the judge a gatekeeper who must evaluate evidence- including the testimony of a mental health practitioner- and decide whether it should be admitted. 1. whether theories and techniques used by the witness have been tested 2. whether they have been subjected to peer review and publication 3. whether there is a known error rate 4. whether the techniques are subject to standards governing their application 5. whether the theories and techniques used are widely accepted by others in the profession tarasoff - correct answer rule that a therapist who knew, or who should have known, that a client was dangerous is obligated to break the pledge of confidentiality and warn the endangered person ultimate issue - correct answer the final question that must be decided by the court forensic mental health assessments - correct answer Conducted by psychologists and psychiatrists consulting with criminal courts. Competency to stand trial assessments and criminal responsibility evaluations are prominent examples. adjudicative competence - correct answer the legal capacities necessary for a defendant to stand trial or otherwise resolve criminal charges Dusky - correct answer defendants are competent to stand trial if they have sufficient present ability to consult with their lawyer with reasonable degrees of rational understanding and a rational as well as a factual understanding of the proceedings BOP beyond a reasonable doubt - correct answer standard of proof required in all criminal proceedings as well as delinquency proceedings when a juvenile is charged with a crime BOP clear and convincing proof - correct answer standard required in some civil proceedings, such as when the state wishes to commit an individual to a mental hospital against his or her will. intermediate standard, resulting in reasonable certainty of the truth of the ultimate fact in controversy BOP preponderance of the evidence - correct answer proof that one side has more evidence in its favor than the other. it is evidence which is of greater weight or more convincing than the evidence which is offered in opposition to it; that is evidence which as a whole shows that the fact sought to be proved is more probable than not. standard required in most civil suits and may be relevant to criminal proceedings as well. competency screening test - correct answer Sentence-completion examination intended to provide a quick assessment of a defendant's competency to stand trial. The test taps the defendant's knowledge about the role of the lawyer and the rudiments of the court process. Georgia Court Competency Test - correct answer- 21-item test that taps both specific and general legal knowledge -Less effective at tapping cognitive issues like ability to cooperate with counsel. internal consistency - correct answer A measure of reliability; the degree to which a test yields similar scores across its different parts, such as on odd versus even items. interrater reliability - correct answer the amount of agreement in the observations of different raters who witness the same behavior MacArthur Competence Assessment Tool-Criminal Adjudication (Mac CAT-CA) - correct answer22 item assessment defendants are provided with a vignette describing a situation in which a person is charged with a crime and are asked questions about it malingering - correct answer Deliberate faking of a physical or psychological disorder motivated by gain. tested with rogers criminal responsibility assessment scales (R-CRAS) involuntary civil commitment - correct answer To place someone in a psychiatric facility for treatment against his or her will. restoration to competency - correct answer-Process by which an incompetent defendant becomes competent -Hospitalizations are typically short -Over 75% of all individuals are restored to competency -Restored individuals were more likely to have a previous criminal history, current violence charge, minor diagnosis, previous mental health contact, previous hospitalization, and prior use of psychotropic medication insanity - correct answer a legal term describing one's inability to be responsible for one's action due to the condition of the mind why insanity defense has become more difficult - correct answer-the federal government and some states now no longer allow defendants to claim they could not control their behavior; if they knew the difference between right and wrong, they can still be held responsible -the federal government and most states now require defendants to prove their insanity by a preponderance of the evidence - in federal courts and in some states, forensic examiners are not allowed to express an ultimate opinion on whether the defendant was insane insanity plea: how often? - correct answer1-3% guilty but mentally ill - correct answer a verdict stating that defendants are guilty of committing a crime but are also suffering from a mental illness that should be treated during their imprisonment dual-purpose evaluations - correct answer Assessment of both a defendant's competency to stand trial and criminal responsibility during the same evaluation psychopath - correct answer used to describe a person who demonstrates a discernible cluster of psychological, interpersonal, and neuropsychological features that distinguish them from the general population sociopath - correct answer someone who commits repeated crime antisocial personality disorder - correct answer a personality disorder in which a person exhibits a lack of conscience for wrongdoing, even toward friends and family members; may be aggressive and ruthless or a clever con artist definition of forensic psychology - correct answer application of psychological knowledge of methods to a task faced by the legal system forensic - correct answer dealing with the law psychology - correct answer study of the human mind and behavior Major roles of forensic psychologists - correct answer expert witness- assess offenders mental health, IQ, etc. to determine mental state, competence, future, risk, and criminal responsibility and testify on these issues in court consultant- advise law enforcement on traits of an offender: profiling, jury selection, deception detection, and more researcher- investigate all psychological issues in the law including jury decision making, eyewitness testimony, false confessions, psychopathy, offender profiling, and more History of FP - correct answer 1843- UK's first insanity defense (M'Naughten found guilty by reason of insanity) 1885- Dr. James Cattell first FP study 1908- Hugo Munsterberg publishes 'on the witness stand' 1913- first psychologist used to determine compentency History of FP - correct answer 1917- Louis Terman first use of psych assess. on police officers 1917- Dr. William Marston first FP professor (blood pressure and deception polygraph) 1921- State v Driver first psychologist testifying in American court 1954- brown v board of education APA submits brief on detrimental effects of segregation to supreme court History of FP 1960's- present - correct answer1960's- present 1962- Jenkins v US psychologist allowed to serve as mental illness expert witness 1968- Dr. Martin Reiser first police psychologist (LAPD) 1991- Dr. Robert Hare developed first test to evaluate psychopathy (PCL now PCL-R) 2001- APA recognizes forensic psychology and becomes and real discipline Lay witness - correct answer An eyewitness, character witness, or other person called on to testify who is not considered an expert. Lay witnesses must testify to facts only and may not draw conclusions or express opinions facts must be taken into account by judge/jury Expert witness - correct answer qualified to testify based on expertise may express opinions testimony may be dismissed by judge/jury Frye vs US 1923 - correct answer expert witness only if opinion/methods have gained general acceptance in the field' Federal Rules of evidence 702 1975 - correct answer all scientific knowledge admissible if it assisted to understand or determine a fact in issue qualifies by knowledge, skill, experience, education Daubert v Dow 1993 - correct answer four criteria 1. theory/technique must be testable 2. studied/findings must be peer reviewed 3. science must have a known error rate 4. method must be generally accepted in scientific community judge may deny if any daubert criteria is missing Expertise rule for selecting expert witness - correct answer area of expertise rule- is the knowledge/expertise recognized as credible by others in the field basis rule- how much opinion is based on matters not directly in experts own observations common knowledge rule- is the testimony something the court really needs help understanding? ultimate issue rule- will experts testimony apply directly to issue before the court? Hired gun issue - correct answer highly paid experts seen by jury as hired guns. Hired guns are not well liked or believed especially if testimony is complex expert witness gender - correct answer male experts are more influential unless trial subject is a 'feminine issue' Code of Hammurabi (Egypt) - correct answer first written penal code 1772 BC and said everyone is equally responsible for their actions ability to be held responsible for an offense - correct answer defendant know what they were doing when they committed the crime? defendant understand that his actions were wrong? to be found guilty - correct answer actus rea: criminal act (or omission of action) acts are determined using criminal laws