Deck 1: An Analysis of the Field of Forensic Psychology

Question 1

What was the response of the Canadian Psychological Association to repressed memories an example of?

A) psychology's interference in the legal system
B) the expression of psychology's values
C) an attempt to illustrate the correct interpretation of repressed memory evidence
D) a method that could be used to determine the accuracy of the repressed memory

Answer 1

the expression of psychology's values

Question 2

During what period did research on memory and eyewitness accuracy begin?

A) the 1880s into the early 1900s
B) the 1940s
C) the 1950s
D) the latter half of the 1970s

Answer 2

the 1880s into the early 1900s

Question 3

In which country was the inaugural research on memory and errors in witnesses' memory NOT done?

A) Germany
B) France
C) the United States
D) Canada

Answer 3

Canada

Question 4

Using a narrow definition of forensic psychology,which of the following would NOT be considered a part of forensic psychology?

A) assessment of competency
B) expert testimony on rape trauma syndrome
C) expert testimony on eyewitness accuracy
D) evaluation for child custody determination

Question 5

Which of the following was NOT an activity Hugo Munsterberg tried to bring into the legal system?

A) the establishment of minimum sentences for the criminally insane
B) the introduction of experimental psychology to laypersons
C) the demonstration of the fallibility of memory
D) his availability as an expert witness in highly publicized trials

Question 6

Which human creations evolve from the need to resolve disagreements?

A) values
B) morals
C) laws
D) opinions

Question 7

Of which field is Hugo Munsterberg often considered the founder?

A) American psychology
B) child psychology
C) forensic psychology
D) cognitive psychology

Question 8

According to John Carroll (1980),what deals in knowledge and truth,and derives abstract principles from specific instances?

A) religion
B) law
C) education
D) social science

Question 9

Which of the following is a formal specialization area being given consideration by the American Psychological Association (APA)?

A) forensic psychology
B) school psychology
C) clinical psychology
D) counselling psychology

Question 10

What is the best method to determine if someone is telling the truth?

A) relying on a variety of valid cues
B) relying on "gut instinct"
C) relying on the individual's gaze aversion
D) relying on speech disturbances

Question 11

Why is the case of Price Waterhouse v.Hopkins (1989)important?

A) Psychological research and theory on sex stereotyping was presented in court by an expert witness.
B) The Supreme Court admitted testimony on the battered woman syndrome.
C) For the first time,a Supreme Court opinion acknowledged that psychological research was the determining factor in its opinion.
D) This was the first case in which a hired gun expert witness was used.

Question 12

In the case of R.v.Mohan (1994),the late Justice Sopinka established four criteria for the admission of expert evidence.Which of the following is NOT one of his criteria?

A) relevance
B) necessity
C) absence of any exclusionary rule
D) able to be given by any psychologist

Question 13

Which of the following is NOT a psychological research topic relevant to the real world of the legal system?

A) jurors' understanding of the definition of insanity
B) children's competence as eyewitnesses
C) bullet trajectories and victims' wounds
D) validity of the battered-woman syndrome

Question 14

According to Heilbrun's conceptualization of training in forensic psychology,under which law and psychology interest area do assessment tools fall?

A) experimental research/scholarship
B) clinical applied
C) clinical research/scholarship
D) legal research/scholarship

Question 15

Who spearheaded the attack on Munsterberg's claims for the power of forensic psychology?

A) Sigmund Freud
B) Louis Terman
C) Alfred Binet
D) John Henry Wigmore

Question 16

When was the first separate juvenile court established in the United States?

A) 1785
B) 1820
C) 1899
D) 1955

Question 17

In Price Waterhouse v.Hopkins (1989),Ann Hopkins sued her employer for sex discrimination.Based upon a majority opinion in the case,which statement represents the significance of the social psychologist's testimony about sex stereotyping on the court's decision?

A) It hurt Ann Hopkins' case.
B) In the court's opinion,it made little,if any impact,on the court's decision.
C) It played a significant role but other evidence was needed.
D) It was all the evidence necessary for the court's decision.

Question 18

According to John Carroll (1980),what deals in morality,social values,social control,and the application of abstract principles?

A) religion
B) law
C) education
D) social science

Question 19

Although your textbook uses a broad definition of forensic psychology applicable to many topics,some psychologists define forensic psychology more narrowly.The narrow definition typically views forensic psychology as being a specialized area of what type of psychology?

A) experimental
B) social
C) developmental
D) clinical

Question 20

According to Yarmey,what is a good predictor of accuracy when the court attempts to determine the accuracy of a witness?

A) accuracy of the witness's prior description of the offence
B) confidence level at trial
C) confidence level at the time of the incident
D) the number of details the witness is able to provide

Question 21

What are standards for decision making?

A) values
B) morals
C) laws
D) opinions

Question 22

Do Canadian courts sometimes resist allowing expert testimony because they believe that the expert's testimony is "common sense"?

Question 23

Psychologists have supported the use of psychics by police in criminal investigations.

Question 24

For which occupation would empirical evidence be the most important element in determining truth?

A) psychologist
B) trial judge
C) police officer
D) defence attorney

Question 25

During the period from World War I until the latter half of the 1970s,there was little scientific activity in forensic psychology.

Question 26

Which of the following best corresponds to stare decisis?

A) "An eye for an eye."
B) "Let the decision stand."
C) "Search for the truth."
D) "The state shall decide."

Question 27

While psychologists rely on empirical proof to determine the truth,judges rely on their previous experience and the evidence of each individual case to determine the truth.

Question 28

Regardless of their topic of specialization,all forensic psychologists are clinical psychologists.

Question 29

Which of the following is NOT one of the tensions between the law and psychology as described in your textbook?

A) psychology's empirical versus law's authoritarian epistemology
B) psychology's use of deontology versus law's use of consequentalism
C) psychology's descriptive versus law's prescriptive discourse
D) psychology's nomothetic versus law's ideographic focus

Question 30

Which of the following is NOT a criticism levelled against psychology when applied to the legal system?

A) the lack of ecological validity in much psychological research
B) going beyond research data to make moral judgments
C) the use of irrelevant past cases in making decisions about current issues
D) its intrusion upon,and possible subversion of,legitimate activities of the legal system

Question 31

For which of the following would stare decisis serve as a guiding principle?

A) social scientist
B) police officer
C) appellant
D) appeal court judge

Question 32

According to your textbook,which profession would be most likely to describe facts in terms of their probabilities?

A) law enforcement officer
B) psychologist
C) lawyer
D) judge

Question 33

What are some examples of activities encompassed by the term "forensic psychology"?

Question 34

At the time,Hugo Munsterberg's contributions to the legal system were widely accepted and endorsed by many within the legal field.

Question 35

What is one of the fundamental problems that psychologists acting as experts might face?

A) The type of assessment they are asked to make may exceed the capacity of the discipline.
B) The type of assessment they are asked to make is outside their field of expertise
C) The defence attorney or prosecutor makes it extremely difficult to become qualified in the view of the courts.
D) They must explain the scientific evidence in laymen's terms that the jury will understand.

Question 36

Which of the following is NOT one of the reasons that Tanford (1980)offered to describe the reluctance of the courts to rely upon empirical research?

A) Judges are conservative and perceive social scientists to be liberal.
B) Judges are human and it is human nature to be unscientific.
C) Judges perceive science as a threat to their power and prestige.
D) Judges already have extensive experience with social science and do not need further assistance.

Question 37

As indicated in your textbook,what does the nature of the adversary system lead to some trial attorneys valuing over the quest for truth?

A) punitive sentencing
B) personal intuition
C) conflict resolution
D) professional ambition

Question 38

Psychological research has become so important to the legal system that it has been the sole determinant of many legal rulings and court decisions.

Question 39

Which of the following describes Sherlock Holmes' procedure of developing a number of possible solutions,then eliminating them one by one?

A) transductive reasoning
B) deductive reasoning
C) inductive reasoning
D) conductive reasoning

Question 40

Define forensic psychology.What are some of the issues with defining "forensic psychology"?

Question 41

How do the goals of psychologists (researchers)differ from the goals of judges? How might this impact the admissibility of expert testimony?

Question 42

What are some conflicts between the fields of law and psychology?

Question 43

Describe the legal profession's reaction to Munsterberg's claims.

Question 44

Outline Heilbrun's conceptualization of training in forensic psychology with an example from each of the six typologies.

Question 45

Describe any of the five major tensions between law and psychology as outlined by Hainey (1980).

Question 46

Describe the role of empiricism in science,especially psychology.

Question 47

Describe and evaluate some of the legal system's criticisms of psychology's methods and findings.

Question 48

Discuss whether psychological expert testimony is able to meet the criteria established in R.v.Mohan.

Question 49

Describe the early work of experimental psychologists (from 1885 to 1915)that was relevant to forensic psychology.

Question 50

What is meant by the statement that "the focus of psychology is probabilistic"?

Question 51

Examine Box 1-2,Tensions between Law and Psychology,and provide examples that help to illustrate each of these points.

Question 52

What is it about judges that causes them to reject the findings of psychological research?

Question 53

Distinguish between induction and deduction as reasoning procedures.

Question 54

From the time of Munsterburg to the present,the legal system has criticized psychology in which two major ways?

Question 55

In what way does a narrow definition of forensic psychology limit the field?

Question 56

In the legal system,what role does the adversary system play in determining the truth?

Question 57

Describe the case of Price Waterhouse v.Hopkins (1989).What roles did psychologists play in this case? Did their participation have the desired effect?

Question 58

Who was Hugo Munsterberg? What contributions did he make to forensic psychology? What were his goals? Was he successful?