Deck 1: Psychology and Law: a Cautious Alliance

Question 1

Which one of the following famous thinkers did NOT play a prominent role in the history of forensic psychology?

A) Sigmund Freud
B) Alfred Adler
C) Hugo Munsterberg
D) Karl Llewellyn

Answer 1

Alfred Adler

Question 2

The style of inquiry in the U.S. legal system is _____, whereas in psychology it is _____.

A) advocacy; objectivity
B) objectivity; empiricism
C) empiricism; advocacy
D) objectivity; authority

Answer 2

advocacy; objectivity

Question 3

Berta is a developmental psychologist. Her knowledge and skills might be most relevant for the legal system in which one of these cases?

A) When evaluating the state of mind of a teenager who brought guns to school.
B) When deciding whether jurors understand jury instructions correctly.
C) When assessing a mentally ill defendant's competency to stand trial.
D) When studying how the type of interrogation is related to the likelihood of false confession.

Answer 3

When evaluating the state of mind of a teenager who brought guns to school.

Question 4

The knowledge and skills of social psychologists might be most relevant for the legal system in which one of these cases?

A) When studying the dynamics of jury deliberation.
B) When assessing a mentally ill defendant for potential risk of violence.
C) When deciding whether the eyewitness is able to remember the scene of crime.
D) When evaluating which custody arrangement will most benefit the child.

Question 5

The knowledge and skills of cognitive psychologists might be most relevant for the legal system in which one of these cases?

A) When selecting jurors potentially sympathetic to the defendant.
B) When assessing a mentally ill defendant for potential risk of violence.
C) When deciding whether the eyewitness is able to remember the scene of crime.
D) When evaluating which custody arrangement will most benefit the child.

Question 6

Research presented in Chapter 1 suggests that most state court judges _____ their gatekeeping role established in Daubert _____ adequately define the four guidelines for admissibility.

A) relinquish; because they cannot
B) support; and they can
C) do not support; though they can
D) support; whereas they cannot

Question 7

The Daubert standard of admissibility _____, so two different judges _____ about whether the proposed expert testimony meets the Daubert standard.

A) is exceptionally clear and straightforward; would easily agree
B) leaves plenty of room for interpretation; may disagree
C) can be misinterpreted easily; may have to ask for an appellate review
D) is reasonably understandable; can often arrive at the same conclusion

Question 8

Amicus curiae briefs have some advantages over expert testimony. Which of the following is NOT such an advantage?

A) Research studies cited in the brief are listed in a reference section and can be checked out.
B) An amicus curiae brief is typically written by a team of researchers.
C) Amicus curiae briefs are often reviewed by the relevant professional organization.
D) Amicus curiae briefs are typically more expensive to produce than the expert testimony.

Question 9

Muller v. Oregon (1908) and Brown v. Board of Education (1954) are considered landmark cases in the history of forensic psychology because they:

A) clarified the role of psychologists testifying as experts.
B) allowed psychologists to testify on insanity defense.
C) allowed women to get mandatory high school education.
D) signified the use of social science research in court rulings.

Question 10

The legal realism movement, which re-energized the dormant field of law and social science in the late 1920s and 1930s, has embodied all of the following as its key principles, EXCEPT:

A) laws reflect immutable principles found in nature.
B) laws must be continually re-examined and adjusted.
C) law is one of the tools to make society better.
D) law is only as good as its effects.

Question 11

The knowledge and skills of clinical psychologists might be most relevant for the legal system in which one of these cases?

A) When selecting jurors potentially sympathetic to the defendant.
B) When assessing a mentally ill defendant for potential risk of violence.
C) When deciding whether the eyewitness is able to remember the scene of crime.
D) When evaluating which custody arrangement will most benefit the child.

Question 12

In which of the following cases did the Supreme Court use the research provided by social scientists, for the first time?

A) Brown v. Board of Education (1954).
B) Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (1993).
C) General Electric Co. v. Joiner (1997).
D) Roper v. Simmons (2005).

Question 13

_____ tells us how people actually behave, whereas _____ tells us how people are supposed to behave.

A) Law; psychology
B) Psychology; law
C) Science; inquiry
D) Inquiry; science

Question 14

After Daubert, judges are more likely to:

A) permit expert testimony in federal cases.
B) exclude expert testimony even if it's based on valid science.
C) allow expert testimony, but only with regard to the defendant's competency to stand trial.
D) be required to obtain education in social scientific research methods.

Question 15

Scientific studies of get-tough treatment programs like Scared Straight and boot camps for troubled teens found that these programs:

A) work well and generally help delinquent teenagers become productive citizens.
B) are only effective in reducing the drug use but not other types of delinquency.
C) not only fail to reduce delinquency but may also lead to a higher recidivism.
D) reduce delinquency but increase the drug use among teenagers.

Question 16

All of these aspects of the adversarial legal system are uncomfortable for scientists EXCEPT:

A) the desire for learning the truth.
B) the focus on individual cases rather than general patterns.
C) the avoidance of uncertainty.
D) the promotion of a one-sided view of the facts.

Question 17

Which of the following is NOT one of the four guidelines for admitting expert testimony, as established by Daubert?

A) The falsifiability of the technique.
B) A known error rate.
C) General acceptance in the scientific community.
D) A mandatory review by appellate courts.

Question 18

Judges _____ the use of brain scans in the courtroom claiming that the scientific value of this evidence _____.

A) gladly accept; is exceptional
B) routinely deny; is not established
C) almost never accept; only applies in brain injury cases
D) often allow; can be correctly interpreted through expert testimony

Question 19

The knowledge and skills of developmental psychologists might be most relevant for the legal system in which one of these cases?

A) When studying the dynamics of jury deliberation.
B) When assessing a mentally ill defendant for potential risk of violence.
C) When deciding whether the eyewitness is able to remember the scene of crime.
D) When evaluating which custody arrangement will most benefit the child.

Question 20

Which organization was founded in 1969 by psychologists who were interested in the legal system?

A) American Association of Forensic Psychology (AAFP).
B) Association of Legal and Clinical Psychology (ALCP).
C) International Association of Legal Psychology (IALP).
D) American Psychology-Law Society (APLS).

Question 21

Jasmine is a social psychologist. Her knowledge and skills might be most relevant for the legal system in which one of these cases?

A) When advising on the assessment of violence risk for the defendant.
B) When deciding whether jurors understand jury instructions correctly.
C) When assessing a mentally ill defendant's competency to stand trial.
D) When studying how the type of interrogation is related to the likelihood of false confession.

Question 22

During the trial, each side is trying to win the case. However, the goal of the legal system overall is to:

A) achieve justice.
B) achieve peace.
C) obtain compensation for all parties.
D) not be hampered by fairness.

Question 23

According to the text, psychology ____, whereas the legal system _____.

A) emphasizes the characteristics of groups; emphasizes individual cases
B) emphasizes individual cases; emphasizes the characteristics of groups
C) applies abstract principles; understands the general nature of humans
D) develops legal protocol; generalizes the details of a case

Question 24

Brandeis's brief in Muller v. Oregon (1908) was a milestone in the development of the psychology and law union because it:

A) relied on expert testimony from professional psychologists.
B) expanded graduate training for psychologists.
C) mandated the use of research training for judges.
D) opened the door for U.S. courts to use social scientific evidence.

Question 25

According to the text, legal culture tries to avoid ____, whereas for psychology, _____ is an integral part of the scientific process.

A) opinions
B) decisions
C) uncertainty
D) injustice

Question 26

Courts have been more receptive to clinical psychologists than to other types of psychologists. The most probable reason is that, like lawyers, clinicians:

A) can lie easily to achieve their ends.
B) are oriented toward the individual case.
C) care more about justice than the truth.
D) have a background in scientific methods.

Question 27

The primary goal of psychological science is to:

A) study the effects of laws on humans under various conditions.
B) regulate human behavior.
C) demonstrate how punishment works.
D) provide accurate explanations of human behavior.

Question 28

Legal realism, as expressed by Karl Llewellyn in the 1920s-1930s, embodied all of the following views, EXCEPT:

A) law should promote the common good.
B) law should be judged independent of its effects.
C) social science research should be embraced.
D) judges should be active interpreters of the law.

Question 29

Sam is a cognitive psychologist. What aspect of the legal process might he provide assistance with to the court?

A) Determining the general fairness of the legal system.
B) Advising at what age children are fully cognizant of their actions within the law.
C) Evaluating the defendant's competence to stand trial.
D) Clarifying whether jurors understand the instructions for deliberating a verdict.

Question 30

Legal realists:

A) thought judicial decisions reflected principles found in nature.
B) felt judges used careful logic to arrive at a single correct decision in a particular case.
C) believed judges constructed the law through their interpretations of evidence and precedent.
D) showed little interest in applying social science research to the legal system.

Question 31

The famous Brown v. Board of Education (1954) case, besides being one of the most important Supreme Court rulings of the 20th century, was a milestone in the psychology and law alliance for the following reason:

A) the ruling cited research conducted by social scientists.
B) the judge admonished social scientists for their testimony.
C) the jury overruled the social science expert's opinion.
D) jurors' opinions were influenced by the expert's testimony.

Question 32

_____ can be described as an effort to figure out how the world works, whereas _____ provides a system for meting out just desserts.

A) Law; science
B) Science; culture
C) Culture; law
D) Science; law

Question 33

Nia is a cognitive psychologist. Her knowledge and skills might be most relevant for the legal system in which one of these cases?

A) When advising on the assessment of violence risk for the defendant.
B) When deciding whether jurors understand jury instructions correctly.
C) When assessing a mentally ill defendant's competency to stand trial.
D) When studying the impact of domestic violence exposure on children.

Question 34

In the 1960s-1970s, all of the following tendencies were developing, EXCEPT:

A) there was growing pessimism about the alliance of psychology and law.
B) the legal system was becoming more receptive towards social scientific research.
C) psychologists were becoming more eager to apply research to law-related matters.
D) there was enthusiasm about using therapeutic methods to rehabilitate criminals.

Question 35

Precedents can best be described as:

A) legal cases that have established a rule later applied to other cases with similar issues.
B) past decisions dictating all future cases, regardless of how well the rule fits new cases.
C) reviews of facts in a case that occurred in a similar jurisdiction.
D) rulings on the matters that were applied to the same plaintiff or defendant in an earlier case.

Question 36

When psychology and law are discussed as embodying different cultures, the following underlying cultural differences are viewed as most important:

A) language, cuisine, and music.
B) style, demeanor, and gestures.
C) traits, opinions, and achievements.
D) behaviors, values, and beliefs.

Question 37

When psychology and law are discussed as embodying different cultures, the following underlying differences between the two fields are considered most important:

A) peer-review practices and precedents.
B) goals, methods, and styles of inquiry.
C) burdens of proof and levels of adequacy.
D) levels of education required for practice.

Question 38

At the end of the 19th century, Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes famously said: "Law is the government of the living by the dead." His saying reflects the currently relevant principle that:

A) criminal murder cases have to be solved even if the suspect is already dead.
B) past decisions are often discarded to make way for the new understanding.
C) applying laws is a living, breathing, constantly changing process.
D) legal rulings in cases decided a long time ago may still apply to current cases.

Question 39

The _____ approach treats laws as being actively constructed by judges as serving social policy goals, whereas _____ treats laws as evolved to reflect the principles found in nature.

A) legal objectivism; environmental law
B) environmental law; legal objectivism
C) legal realism; "natural law"
D) "natural law"; legal realism

Question 40

Santiago is a clinical psychologist. His knowledge and skills might be most relevant for the legal system in which one of these cases?

A) When evaluating the state of mind of a teenager who brought guns to school.
B) When deciding whether jurors understand jury instructions correctly.
C) When assessing a mentally ill defendant's competency to stand trial.
D) When studying how the type of interrogation is related to the likelihood of false confession.

Question 41

In consideration of scientific testimony, gatekeeping in the legal sense includes:

A) determining the court session protocol and procedures.
B) assessing the scientific validity of potential testimony.
C) counseling juries on the value of scientific evidence.
D) providing instructions to the jurors before they start deliberation.

Question 42

According to the article Neuroscience in the Courtroom, recent advances in neuroscience have:

A) improved the reliability of expert witnesses.
B) increased cohesiveness of jury decision making.
C) made brain scans a universally accepted piece of evidence at trials.
D) raised important questions about free will and personal responsibility.

Question 43

Sylvester is hired by the defense to help select jurors who would be less likely to convict. This is an example of the following role played by psychologists in the legal system:

A) advisor
B) evaluator
C) reformer
D) clinician

Question 44

Roles that psychologists may play in the legal system include the following:

A) auxiliary judges.
B) gatekeepers.
C) reformers.
D) parapsychologists.

Question 45

The text mentions several impactful ways for scientists to influence the legal system. Which of the following is NOT one of them?

A) Disseminating the knowledge gained from research studies by describing them in popular press like Time magazine.
B) Participating in continuing education programs that judges and lawyers are required to attend.
C) Lobbying legislators to pass laws requiring the testimony of psychologists at every trial.
D) Making scientific findings easy to understand and accessible to the public.

Question 46

According to the text, the term gatekeeper refers to:

A) securing the courtroom.
B) the sorting of various briefs for the purpose of finding relevant precedents.
C) establishing the tiers of fact.
D) the assessment of scientific validity of testimony before allowing it in trial.

Question 47

A psychologist testifying in court feels it is his responsibility to correctly and clearly present scientific findings, even if this may lead to an unfair verdict by the jury. According to Saks (1990), such an expert fulfills the role of:

A) conduit-educator.
B) philosopher-advocate.
C) hired gun.
D) inadvertent influencer.

Question 48

The ways the Daubert trilogy affected the legal system include all of the following, EXCEPT:

A) judges are now more likely to exclude expert testimony, even if it's scientifically sound.
B) lawyers often "shop around" for an expert who would support their side.
C) superior courts are more likely to question trial judges' decisions about allowing expert testimony.
D) experts are virtually never prosecuted for perjury, even if they provided biased and scientifically incompetent testimony.

Question 49

The Daubert trilogy of cases impacts trial courts by:

A) putting the burden of decisions about allowing expert testimony on trial judges.
B) demonstrating that judges understand social science research and methods.
C) making judges take statistics courses and regular refresher training.
D) proving scientific research is well understood by key actors in the legal system.

Question 50

The basis of the adversarial legal system is the belief that:

A) the prosecution depends on the adverse nature of the case.
B) truth will emerge as a result of contest between opposing sides.
C) the defense depends on eyewitness testimony only.
D) the truth always prevails.

Question 51

Amicus curiae briefs:

A) help experts testifying in court get their point across.
B) provide a way to influence the court when expert testimony is not allowed.
C) summarize the questions raised by the jury during the deliberation of a verdict.
D) reflect scientists' lack of interest in the legal system.

Question 52

Get-tough interventions like Scared Straight and boot camps have been found:

A) extremely effective in reducing recidivism.
B) not to work and even backfire.
C) promising but in need of further evaluations.
D) not to be amenable to evaluation.

Question 53

Psychologists as evaluators are most likely to be doing research to answer the following question:

A) Who committed the crime?
B) Can laws be improved?
C) Does the policy or program work?
D) Is the lawyer using an effective trial strategy?

Question 54

For a reasonable evaluation of the scientific validity of a potential expert testimony, one needs to have sufficient understanding of:

A) court proceedings.
B) jury instructions.
C) research methods.
D) legal terminology.

Question 55

Ricardo is conducting research to determine the effectiveness of the D.A.R.E. program. This is an example of the following role played by a psychologist in the legal system:

A) advisor
B) evaluator
C) reformer
D) clinician

Question 56

According to the textbook, when writing amicus curiae briefs, it may be hard for psychologists to balance the goals of:

A) science translation and advocacy.
B) authoritativeness and leniency.
C) speculation and deliberation.
D) reflectivity and action orientation.

Question 57

Isabella is advocating for a change in the way domestic violence victims are treated by the police and the courts. This is an example of the following role played by psychologists in the legal system:

A) advisor
B) evaluator
C) reformer
D) clinician

Question 58

Differences in goals, methods, and styles of inquiry made the relationship between psychology and law:

A) natural and harmonious.
B) difficult but important.
C) impossible to forge.
D) successful in every way.

Question 59

During the trial, attorneys make opening statements and closing arguments for the purpose of:

A) swaying the expert's opinion.
B) convincing the opposing side's attorneys.
C) advancing their version of the evidence.
D) finding out the truth of what happened.

Question 60

Trial consultants are usually hired to perform the following duties:

A) preparing witnesses and shaping trial strategy.
B) citing law and writing abbreviated briefs.
C) performing psychological evaluations and risk assessment
D) conducting research and advocating for reform

Question 61

Compare and contrast the approaches of psychology and law. Which system is more open to change?

Question 62

Discuss why it might be difficult for a psychologist to maintain her impartiality as a scientist while trying to successfully fulfill her role as an expert testifying in court.

Question 63

How did trial judges become the gatekeepers for expert testimony? Are there any problems with their gatekeeping role? How can the system be improved?

Question 64

The roles of psychologists and their influence in the legal system created which positive changes?

A) Judges now tend to be well-informed about the recent advances in psychological research.
B) Judges are now more likely to accept expert testimony from psychologists as truth.
C) Judges have to articulate more clearly what their decisions are based on.
D) Judges often defer to the jury regarding whether an expert should be allowed to testify.