PSYC 355 FINAL EXAM STUDY GUIDE
Weapon-focus effect - Answer -the tendency for the presence of a weapon to draw
attention and impair a witness's ability to identify the culprit
Cross-race identification bias - Answer -the tendency for people to be more accurate at
recognizing members of their own racial group than of other groups
Misinformation effect - Answer -the tendency for false postevent misinformation to
become integrated into people's memory of an event
Polygraph - Answer -a mechanical instrument that records psychological arousal from
multiple channels; it is often used as a lie-detector test
Voir dire - Answer -the pretrial examination of prospective jurors by the judge or
opposing lawyers to uncover signs of bias
Peremptory challenge - Answer -a means by which lawyers can exclude a limited
number of prospective jurors without the judge's approval
Scientific jury selection - Answer -a method of selecting juries through surveys that
yield correlations between demographics and trial-relevant attitudes
Death qualification - Answer -a jury-selection procedure used in capital cases that
permits judges to exclude prospective jurors who say they would not vote for the death
penalty
Jury nullification - Answer -the jury's power to disregard, or "nullify," the law when it
conflicts with personal conceptions of justice
Leniency bias - Answer -the tendency for jury deliberation to produce a tilt toward
acquittal
Sentencing disparity - Answer -inconsistency of sentences for the same offense from
one judge to another
Adversarial model - Answer -a dispute-resolution system in which the prosecution and
defense present opposing sides of the story
Inquisitorial model - Answer -a dispute-resolution system in which a neutral investigator
gathers evidence from both sides and presents findings in court
Industrial/Organizational (I/O) psychology - Answer -the study of human behavior in
business and other organizational settings
Weapon-focus effect - Answer -the tendency for the presence of a weapon to draw
attention and impair a witness's ability to identify the culprit
Cross-race identification bias - Answer -the tendency for people to be more accurate at
recognizing members of their own racial group than of other groups
Misinformation effect - Answer -the tendency for false postevent misinformation to
become integrated into people's memory of an event
Polygraph - Answer -a mechanical instrument that records psychological arousal from
multiple channels; it is often used as a lie-detector test
Voir dire - Answer -the pretrial examination of prospective jurors by the judge or
opposing lawyers to uncover signs of bias
Peremptory challenge - Answer -a means by which lawyers can exclude a limited
number of prospective jurors without the judge's approval
Scientific jury selection - Answer -a method of selecting juries through surveys that
yield correlations between demographics and trial-relevant attitudes
Death qualification - Answer -a jury-selection procedure used in capital cases that
permits judges to exclude prospective jurors who say they would not vote for the death
penalty
Jury nullification - Answer -the jury's power to disregard, or "nullify," the law when it
conflicts with personal conceptions of justice
Leniency bias - Answer -the tendency for jury deliberation to produce a tilt toward
acquittal
Sentencing disparity - Answer -inconsistency of sentences for the same offense from
one judge to another
Adversarial model - Answer -a dispute-resolution system in which the prosecution and
defense present opposing sides of the story
Inquisitorial model - Answer -a dispute-resolution system in which a neutral investigator
gathers evidence from both sides and presents findings in court
Industrial/Organizational (I/O) psychology - Answer -the study of human behavior in
business and other organizational settings
