Deck 2: Roles and Responsibilities of Forensic Psychologists

Question 1

Which of the following of Saks's roles for expert witnesses would be most likely to agree with the statement,"My primary responsibility is to present only information that agrees with my employer's values,not my own"?

A) the conduit-educator
B) the philosopher-ruler/educator
C) the hired gun
D) the devil's advocate

Answer 1

the hired gun

Question 2

Who always has the final say in determining an expert witness's admissibility?

A) the scientific community
B) the Crown attorney
C) the defence attorney
D) the judge

Answer 2

the judge

Question 3

Which of the following is NOT a temptation of forensic psychology and a risk in its use?

A) promising too much
B) doing a cursory job
C) maintaining a dual relationship and competing roles
D) presenting ambiguous and irrelevant information

Answer 3

presenting ambiguous and irrelevant information

Question 4

Which of the following was NOT one of the themes found by those who reviewed Margaret Hagen's book,Whores of the Court?

A) Forensic clinical psychologists are not scientifically competent.
B) Forensic clinical psychologists are economically motivated.
C) Forensic clinical psychologists are driven by missionary liberal motives.
D) Forensic psychologists are uninformed about legal procedure.

Question 5

Who usually hires a psychologist as an expert witness in Canada?

A) a judge who wishes to learn more about a specific topic
B) the defence lawyer to help prove his or her client innocent
C) either side in an adversarial procedure
D) either side in a joint venture to obtain information to clarify some topic

Question 6

While perhaps 1 percent of the general population may be classified as psychopaths,what percentage of the prison population do they comprise?

A) 5 percent to 10 percent
B) 15 percent to 25 percent
C) 30 percent to 40 percent
D) 45 percent to 50 percent

Question 7

In Canada,how can offenders who are likely to reoffend violently or inflict severe psychological violence on another individual be classified?

A) violent offenders
B) psychopaths
C) serial offenders
D) dangerous offenders

Question 8

The case of R.v.Samra described in your textbook is an example of a psychologist acting as a hired gun.Which kind of temptation in forensic psychology does this case represent?

A) promising too much
B) letting values overcome empirically based findings
C) maintaining dual relationships and competing roles
D) substituting advocacy for objectivity

Question 9

Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of psychopathy?

A) impulsivity
B) pathological lying and manipulation
C) overwhelming guilt and remorse
D) a callous lack of empathy

Question 10

Which of the following best represents the danger of the advocate role in expert testimony?

A) It confuses the jury.
B) It must present more than one explanation for the individual's behaviour.
C) It sacrifices intuition for empiricism.
D) It compromises the objectivity of the expert.

Question 11

Which of the following of Saks's classifications of expert witnesses would be the most likely to agree with the statement,"My central role is to share the most faithful picture of my field's knowledge with those who have been assigned the responsibility to make decisions."

A) the conduit-educator
B) the philosopher-ruler/advocate
C) the hired gun
D) the devil's advocate

Question 12

Diagnosing a defendant with a disorder when there is no proof for the validity of the diagnostic construct is an example of which of the following?

A) substituting advocacy for scientific objectivity
B) using unreliable forensic assessments
C) having a dual relationship with the defendant
D) letting values overcome empirically based findings

Question 13

What does the term "junk science" refer to?

A) fields such as astrology and phrenology
B) a "battle of the experts" between two conflicting scientific expert witnesses
C) expert witnesses using questionable methodologies to support preconceived opinions
D) claims made by corporations based on unscientific research

Question 14

Which of the following questions best corresponds to a defendant's competence to stand trial?

A) Does the defendant have an adequate understanding of the legal system?
B) What was the defendant's mental condition at the time of the alleged offence?
C) What are the prospects for the defendant's rehabilitation?
D) Was the defendant of legal age at the time of the alleged offence?

Question 15

Which of the following is NOT a misuse of the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised?

A) confusing psychopathy with antisocial personality disorder
B) unauthorized use
C) underreliance on "clinical opinion
D) assessments by unqualified raters

Question 16

Which of the following of Saks's types of expert witnesses would be most likely to agree with the statement,"I am comfortable presenting only certain evidence because I believe the other side is responsible for presenting evidence that conflicts with my own"?

A) the conduit-educator
B) the philosopher-ruler/educator
C) the hired gun
D) the devil's advocate

Question 17

Which of the following is NOT something a trial consultant would do?

A) assist the lawyer in identifying major issues in a case
B) prepare witness for the trial
C) advise in jury selection
D) generate evidence to be presented at trial

Question 18

Why is testimony by a psychologist regarding the accuracy of witnesses often denied?

A) Insufficient research has been done to allow the expert to develop informed opinions.
B) Judges fear "battles of the experts."
C) Judges fear that an expert witness's testimony may usurp the jury's role as fact finders.
D) Psychology supposedly offers nothing beyond the common knowledge of laypersons.

Question 19

What is the Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised?

A) a multiple-choice test
B) a self-report scale of personality characteristics
C) a forced choice measure of personality
D) a rating scale,completed by a clinician after an interview with the subject

Question 20

Who is permitted to present opinions as part of testimony?

A) witnesses
B) expert witnesses
C) fact witnesses
D) law enforcement personnel

Question 21

Which of the following focuses on the importance of the general acceptance of an expert's testimony,emphasizing its relevance?

A) the Warren Standard
B) the Federal Rules of Evidence
C) the Frye Test
D) the Daubert Rule

Question 22

According to Hafemeister and Melton (1987),when secondary social-science sources were cited in cases,where were they most often originally published?

A) law reviews or government reports
B) textbooks
C) social psychology journals
D) Psychology Today

Question 23

Describe the four misuses of the PCL-R as described by Hare.

Question 24

In Canada,solicitor-client confidentiality can be breached when several criteria have been met.Which of the following is NOT one of the criteria?

A) There is a clear risk to an identifiable class of victims.
B) The lawyer no longer believes that his client is innocent.
C) There is a risk of serious bodily harm or death.
D) The lawyer chooses to stop representing the client because they do not see eye to eye.

Question 25

At present,no provinces license or certify trial consultants.

Question 26

In the Brown v.Board of Education decision in 1954,the values of the social scientists who submitted an amicus brief conflicted with the eventual decision by the Court.

Question 27

Ring (1971)observed that most social psychologists are socially liberal.

Question 28

A Ph.D.is required for someone to become a trial consultant.

Question 29

In Canada,trial consultants tend to work alone (e.g. ,not as part of a large firm)and use very little advertising.

Question 30

It is almost impossible to prosecute an expert witness for perjury.

Question 31

In cases where social scientists sympathize with the defendant,what is often the LEAST likely reason?

A) The social scientists believe that the defendant is innocent.
B) The social scientists do not believe that the witnesses' testimony is accurate.
C) The social scientists do not believe the confession was voluntary.
D) The social scientists have a bias against the police.

Question 32

What did Clark and Clark (1952)conclude from their study of black children in segregated and nonsegregated environments?

A) Black children in segregated areas were more adjusted to feeling inferior and did not engage in as much denial.
B) Black children in rural communities experienced less racism than children from urban communities.
C) Black children in nonsegregated areas were more psychologically prepared to deal with racism.
D) Black children in segregated areas demonstrated less of an effect on their self-esteem than children from nonsegregated areas.

Question 33

What is best described by "well-recognized standards regarding the principles or evidence for a particular field should determine the admissibility of expert testimony"?

A) the Warren Standard
B) the Federal Rules of Evidence
C) the Frye Test
D) the Daubert Rule

Question 34

Who has developed a specific set of guidelines for forensic psychologists?

A) the American Psychological Association
B) the Canadian Psychological Association
C) the American Psychology-Law Society
D) the American Board of Professional Psychology

Question 35

Amicus curiae briefs seek to inform judges on matters relevant to the dispute.

Question 36

One risk in expert testimony is that a psychologist's recommendations may be affected by his or her values,and go beyond empirically based findings.

Question 37

Describe five temptations of forensic psychologists to go beyond what is acceptable when they interact with the legal system.

Question 38

In the mid-1990s,the Canadian Psychological Association submitted a report to the federal justice minister on recovered memory evidence.What did the report recommend?

A) Recovered memory evidence should not be allowed in the courtroom.
B) Recovered memory evidence should be permitted only when other evidence supports the individual's story.
C) A judicial inquiry should be conducted on all Canadian convictions that involved recovered memory evidence.
D) All individuals convicted based on recovered memory evidence should be released if no other evidence had been presented to support the claim at trial.

Question 39

Which of the following is used to describe a brief that is submitted by the APA when it possesses knowledge the Court otherwise might not have?

A) a guild-interest brief
B) a science-translation brief
C) an advocacy brief
D) a moral-position brief

Question 40

According to Konecni and Ebbesen (1986),in California,how often is a person wrongfully convicted because of mistaken testimony?

A) every month
B) every year
C) every three years*
D) every five years

Question 41

How consistent should results be,or how sure should a psychologist be,of the reliability of his or her findings,before the psychologist offers a conclusion to the legal system based on the findings? What standards of proof might be applied?

Question 42

Contrast the American standards for admissibility of expert testimony to the Canadian standards.

Question 43

What role or roles did psychologists and other social scientists play in the Brown v.Board of Education decision? Were they effective?

Question 44

Describe some of the ethical issues facing the psychologist as an expert witness.

Question 45

In Canada,amicus curiae are not often used.How do psychologists inform the court with information that is relevant to the case? Give an example.

Question 46

What do attorneys do when they "Ziskinize" a psychologist/expert witness?

Question 47

Saks described three different perspectives for expert witnesses faced with the task of relating their field's state of knowledge and the matter at trial.What are they?

Question 48

Evaluate Margaret Hagen's book Whores of the Court.

Question 49

Describe and evaluate the findings and conclusions of the doll study by Kenneth Clark and Mamie Clark.

Question 50

Contrast an advocacy brief and a science-translation brief.Give an example of each.

Question 51

What has been the reaction of judges to permitting psychologists to testify about the accuracy of eyewitness identification?

Question 52

What are some topics for which psychologists have served as expert witnesses?

Question 53

Describe some of the ethical issues facing a trial consultant.

Question 54

What are the activities of a trial consultant?

Question 55

What are the two important contributions to forensic psychology that scientific briefs make,according to Grisso and Saks?

Question 56

Describe some potential conflicts between psychologists as expert witnesses and lawyers or judges.

Question 57

What is an amicus curiae brief? What is its purpose? Give an example.

Question 58

Describe some potential conflicts between trial consultants and the attorneys they work with.

Question 59

Distinguish between expert witnesses and fact witnesses.

Question 60

Under what circumstances would it be ethical for a psychologist to breach confidentiality?

Question 61

Outline the major legal case in Canada informing psychologists about when they should violate confidentiality and when they have a duty to warn.

Question 62

On what basis was Dr.Daniel Yarmey not permitted to provide expert witness testimony regarding eyewitness memory?

Question 63

What are the various perspectives of expert witnesses as described by Saks (1992)?