Deck 18: Application Module D: Applying Social Psychology to Law

Question 1

When a suspect in a lineup is innocent, fillers that are dissimilar to the suspect ____.

A)increase mistaken identifications
B)increase incorrect rejections
C)decrease mistaken identifications
D)increase correct identifications

Answer 1

increase mistaken identifications

Question 2

Suppose that, during jury selection for a criminal trial, defense lawyer Wickens decides that she does not want a potential juror named Bob Strange on the jury. He seems unpredictable to her, but potentially likely to favor the prosecution. She therefore tells the judge that she would like to have Bob removed from the jury panel (without stating her reasoning). It would appear that Bob is being removed via the process of ____. ​

A)venire
B)voir dire ​
C)challenge for cause ​
D)peremptory challenge ​

Answer 2

peremptory challenge ​

Question 3

The choice of appropriate fillers for a lineup is very important because it can influence both the accuracy of witnesses' identifications and ____.

A)their attitudes toward the crime
B)the effects of post-identification feedback
C)their confidence that the identification is accurate
D)the system variables used to conduct the lineup

Answer 3

their confidence that the identification is accurate

Question 4

In general, which of the following BEST summarizes how convincing eyewitness testimony is to jurors?

A)Not very convincing-even when jurors have reason to believe that the eyewitness had a good opportunity to study the criminal's appearance
B)Not very convincing-unless the eyewitness reported having seen a good friend, relative, or other highly familiar person commit a crime
C)Very convincing-unless jurors have reason to believe that the eyewitness had impaired vision at the time of the crime
D)Very convincing-even when jurors have reason to believe that the eyewitness had impaired vision at the time of the crime

Question 5

Suppose that Danielle was an eyewitness to a store robbery. She gives the police a description of the criminal: "30-35-year-old male, brown hair, light eyes, about 6 feet, with a missing finger on his left hand." A few weeks later, the police track down a suspect. He fits Danielle's description and additionally has a lazy eye and a huge tattoo on his neck. If the police use the match-to-culprit approach in constructing a lineup for eyewitness identification, then the fillers in the lineup ____.

A)may or may not have brown hair
B)will definitely have brown hair but may or may not be missing fingers
C)will definitely have brown hair and missing fingers but may or may not have a tattoo
D)will definitely have brown hair, missing fingers, and a tattoo

Question 6

Mikael was involved in a bank robbery. He is presented in a lineup along with others who are innocent. However, all the witnesses to the robbery fail to identify Mikael as the culprit. This is an example of a(n)____.

A)correct identification
B)false identification
C)correct rejection
D)incorrect rejection

Question 7

The jury pool in the United States is known as a(n)____. ​

A)venire
B)voir dire ​
C)implicit panel ​
D)challenger board ​

Question 8

Research on estimator variables has found that _____. ​

A)men and women have similar rates of both correct and mistaken identifications
B)men and women have similar rates of correct identifications but men have higher rates of mistaken identifications
C)men and women have similar rates of mistaken identifications but men have higher rates of correct identifications
D)women have higher rates of both correct and mistaken identifications

Question 9

In ____, researchers manipulate characteristics of the witnessing conditions or the identification task that are known to affect eyewitness accuracy and then look to see whether these manipulations influence jurors' trial decisions.

A)double-blind testing
B)jury simulations
C)peremptory challenges
D)death qualifications

Question 10

____ are features of an experiment that communicate to the participant the experimenter's hypothesis.

A)Interactions
B)Confounds
C)Demand characteristics
D)Confirmation biases

Question 11

Lineup members other than the suspect who are known to be innocent of the crime are called ____. ​

A)foils
B)false flags
C)fillers
D)validators

Question 12

Own-race bias refers to the observation that ____.

A)witnesses tend to trust individuals of their own race during a lineup more than people of other races
B)witnesses are more likely to correctly identify members of their own race than members of other races
C)people tend to believe that members of other races are more likely to commit crimes than are members of their own race
D)people preferentially associate with members of their own race, increasing the likelihood that they will be victimized by members of their own race

Question 13

Suppose that Danielle was an eyewitness to a store robbery. She gives the police a description of the criminal: "30-35-year-old male, brown hair, light eyes, about 6 feet, with a missing finger on his left hand." A few weeks later, the police track down a suspect. He fits Danielle's description and additionally has a lazy eye and a huge tattoo on his neck. If the police use the match-to-suspect approach in constructing a lineup for eyewitness identification, then the fillers in the lineup ____.

A)may or may not have brown hair
B)will definitely have brown hair but may or may not be missing fingers
C)will definitely have brown hair and missing fingers but may or may not have a tattoo
D)will definitely have brown hair, missing fingers, and a tattoo

Question 14

When criminal psychologists distinguish between system variables and estimator variables as two sources of inaccuracy in eyewitness reports and identifications, they are distinguishing between variables ____.

A)that are under the control of the criminal justice system versus those that are not
B)that are static versus those that are present only at the scene of the crime
C)that are relatively objective versus those that are subjective
D)that are based on memory versus those that are based on inference

Question 15

Tim was mugged by a man on his way to work. Since the mugger did not wear a mask, Tim remembers his face, his hair color, his eye color, and several other facial features. The police round up a suspect as part of a lineup, along with others who are innocent. However, the suspect lined up is not the man who mugged Tim. Tim tells the police that he is not able to identify anyone as the mugger since he does not recognize any of the men lined up. This is an example of ____.

A)incorrect rejection
B)correct rejection
C)correct identification
D)false identification

Question 16

When police use lineup procedures to obtain identifications of criminals from eyewitnesses, which is better, the match-to-suspect approach or the match-to-culprit approach?

A)The match-to-suspect approach-because it less likely to result in mistaken identifications.
B)The match-to-suspect approach-because it is less likely to promote own-race bias.
C)The match-to-culprit approach-because it is more likely to promote own-race bias.
D)The match-to-culprit approach-because it is less likely to result in mistaken identifications.

Question 17

In a properly constructed lineup, wherein eyewitnesses are asked to identify a criminal whom they saw commit a crime, the fillers in the lineup are people who ____.

A)are all suspects of the crime
B)are all known to be innocent of the crime
C)do not match the physical description of the suspect
D)do not match the psychological profile of the suspect

Question 18

In a target-absent lineup, it is impossible for an eyewitness to make an identification decision that qualifies as a(n)____.

A)correct identification
B)correct rejection
C)false identification
D)incorrect identification

Question 19

Which of the following is an example of a system variable that might lead to inaccuracies in eyewitness identifications in lineups?

A)The number of people chosen to appear in the lineup alongside the suspect
B)Whether the eyewitness is confident about his or her identification of the criminal during the lineup procedure
C)Whether the eyewitness and the criminal are of the same race/ethnicity
D)Whether the eyewitness is confident about the original statement that he or she gave to the police

Question 20

When instructions given to individuals viewing a lineup include a warning that the perpetrator may not be in the lineup, there is a(n)____.

A)decrease in the number of correct identifications made by witnesses
B)increase in the number of correct identifications made by witnesses
C)decrease in the number of mistaken identifications made by witnesses
D)increase in the number of mistaken identifications made by witnesses

Question 21

Women, the poor, and blacks are less likely than others to be represented on trials for capital cases. The main reason for this is because ____.

A)judges tend to be in favor of the death penalty and therefore remove from jury panels members of these groups because they are believed to be relatively averse to the death penalty
B)trials for these cases tend to be held in counties where these groups are underrepresented
C)these groups tend to be more opposed to the death penalty than others and thus often opt out of sitting on juries for these cases
D)these groups tend to be more opposed to the death penalty than others and are thus often disqualified from sitting on juries for these cases

Question 22

The best way to eliminate biases in jury judgments resulting from pretrial publicity is by making use of ____.

A)continuance
B)an extended voir dire
C)a change of venue
D)an extended venire

Question 23

Which of the following best summarizes current thinking on recovered memories?

A)This is a complicated topic, involving numerous tradeoffs, about which there are few clear answers.
B)Recovered memories are real, though the criminal justice system has been slow to acknowledge their legitimacy.
C)There does not appear to be any legitimacy to the notion of recovered memories-despite the commonality with which they allegedly occurred in the 1980's and 1990's.
D)Recovered memories are now widely recognized by both psychologists and the criminal justice system as being real and legitimate.

Question 24

A request made by an attorney that a potential juror be removed from the jury panel because he or she is clearly biased and will be unable to hear the case fairly is called a(n)____. ​

A)challenge for cause
B)implicit challenge ​
C)peremptory challenge ​
D)challenge for bias ​

Question 25

Of the following, which personality trait is most predictive of whether people are lenient or punitive in jury trial voting?

A)Introversion/extroversion
B)Authoritarianism
C)Self-monitoring
D)Need for closure

Question 26

Suppose that, during jury selection for a burglary trial, the lawyer for the prosecution determines that she does not want a potential juror named Ingrid Malone on the jury. Ingrid has stated that she has been in and out of mental institutions her whole life and that she sees nothing wrong with a little burglary now and then. Ingrid even offers up the idea that "all burglars should be free to burgle." The prosecution lawyer suggests to the judge that Ingrid is highly biased and should be removed from the jury panel. The judge agrees and has her quickly removed. This process is known as ____.

A)venire
B)voir dire
C)challenge for cause
D)peremptory challenge

Question 27

When jurors have been exposed to negative pretrial publicity, they ____.

A)are somewhat more likely to deem the defendant guilty
B)are somewhat more likely to deem the defendant innocent
C)tend to think that they are biased by this exposure, even when they are not
D)are able to disregard any information to which they have been exposed once the trial begins

Question 28

Moving a trial to a new location where there has been less pretrial publicity is called a change of ____.

A)voir dire
B)venue
C)target
D)qualification

Question 29

Juries for robbery trials, assault trials, and other trials all go through a process of voir dire; juries for capital cases also go through a screening called ____. ​

A)venire
B)death qualification ​
C)continuance ​
D)peremptory challenge ​

Question 30

People with a(n)____ personality are more likely to hold conventional values, respect authority figures, and punish others who defy authority. ​

A)authoritative
B)permissive ​
C)rigid ​
D)authoritarian ​

Question 31

Delaying a trial is known as a ____.

A)change of venue
B)continuance
C)foil
D)blank lineup

Question 32

During the jury selection process, attorneys often rely on ____ in an effort to figure out what demographic characteristics, personality traits, lifestyle characteristics, and behaviors correlate with jury opinions and jury verdicts.

A)countertransference
B)implicit personality theories
C)attribution theory
D)groupthink

Question 33

Compared to other juries, juries that are "death qualified" tend to ____.

A)overrepresent the poor
B)overrepresent women
C)remember more of the evidence that is presented in a trial
D)be more likely to judge defendants as guilty rather than innocent

Question 34

In terms of practical, real-world effects, ____.

A)there is no evidence that jurors can be influenced by false memories, since they are so easy to see through
B)the issue of recovered memories reflects the fundamental tension between convicting the guilty and acquitting the innocent
C)because there has been so much publicity about implanting false memories, jurors rarely believe them
D)nearly all trials in which false memories play a role end in a mistrial and are never retried