Deck 3: Psychology of Investigations

Question 1

Which of the following is NOT one of the profiling types discussed in the chapter?

A) Crime scene profiling
B) Geographical profiling
C) Juvenile analysis
D) Psychological autopsy

Answer 1

Juvenile analysis

Question 2

While crime scene profiling is based on a(n) __________ individual; psychological autopsy is based on a(n) __________ individual.

A) unknown; known
B) organized; disorganized
C) first-time; repeat
D) violent; nonviolent

Answer 2

unknown; known

Question 3

Homicide, accident, and natural are all accepted manners of

A) autopsy.
B) profiling.
C) crime.
D) death.

Answer 3

death.

Question 4

Which statement most accurately summarizes crime scene profiling?

A) It involves entering the evil mind of a serial killer.
B) It involves predictions about the offender's personality.
C) It involves discovering how victims are selected.
D) It involves identifying a perpetrator beyond a reasonable doubt.

Question 5

Which answer choice illustrates a flaw in profiling?

A) The assumption that human behavior is consistent across time and place
B) The belief that context influences behavior
C) The focus on victim rather than offender characteristics
D) The tendency to overestimate the intelligence of the offender

Question 6

Which type of profiling is often performed for insurance purposes?

A) Geographical profiling
B) Suspect-based profiling
C) Juvenile analysis
D) Psychological autopsy

Question 7

Why is Jihad Jane significant to profiling?

A) She was a blonde, Caucasian woman who didn't fit the profile of a terrorist.
B) She was the first person to falsely confess to a crime.
C) She was able to fool the most-renowned polygraph examiner.
D) She was the first female serial killer.

Question 8

According to Kim Rossmo, which offender hunting pattern is characterized by crimes which are geographically stable and near an offender's residence?

A) Poacher
B) Trapper
C) Hunter
D) Troller

Question 9

Why do many professionals prefer the term behavioral analysis to profiling?

A) Behavioral analysis has five distinct categories, while profiling is one category
B) Behavioral analysis is considered a more scientific activity than profiling
C) Behavioral analysis refers to broad range of crimes, while profiling refers to violent crimes only.
D) Behavioral analysis requires a doctorate degree and extensive training.

Question 10

A method of identifying crimes that are likely to have been committed by the same offender because of similarities across the crimes is referred to as

A) psychological autopsy.
B) modus operandi.
C) criminal investigation.
D) linkage analysis.

Question 11

Which type of information, critical to a psychological autopsy, is most difficult to obtain?

A) Educational records
B) Family relationships
C) Firearm history
D) Toxicological profile

Question 12

The United Kingdom's Center for Investigative Psychology focuses on a(n)__________ approach to criminal scene profiling, while the Federal Bureau of Investigation focuses on a(n)__________ approach.

A) behavioral; geographical
B) geographical; behavioral
C) clinical; actuarial
D) actuarial; clinical

Question 13

Jacob was a 23-year-old male with a history of depression who died after jumping from the third floor of the Pine Hills indoor mall. The death occurred on a Saturday morning and many shoppers witnessed the entire incident. Which type of psychological autopsy will most likely be performed on Jacob?

A) Equivocal death autopsy
B) Critical incident autopsy
C) Physical reconstructive autopsy
D) Suicide psychological autopsy

Question 14

The actions and procedures an offender uses to commit a crime successfully is called

A) signature.
B) modus operandi.
C) perpetrator staging.
D) typology.

Question 15

Kim Rossmo developed a program which attempts to pinpoint the location of an offender's residence and/or base of operations. This program is called

A) CompStat.
B) Criminal Geographic Targeting.
C) Risk-Needs-Responsivity.
D) Global Positioning System.

Question 16

According to the text, criminal profiling is often depicted in the media as more __________than it is in reality.

A) complex
B) lucrative
C) scientific
D) interesting

Question 17

Racial profiling is an example of

A) suspect-based profiling.
B) geographical profiling.
C) juvenile analysis.
D) psychological autopsy.

Question 18

Risk assessment is a type of __________ profiling.

A) geographical
B) suspect-based
C) juvenile
D) psychological

Question 19

Which statement summarizes the best use of forensic hypnosis?

A) Hypnosis should not be used in criminal investigations.
B) Hypnosis is a helpful investigative technique when used in trauma situations
C) Hypnosis is a reliable method of enhancing accurate memories and extinguishing inaccurate memories in eyewitnesses.
D) Hypnosis can be used most effectively to unlock the video-tape like human memory.

Question 20

One of the major consumers of psychological autopsies is the

A) Central Intelligence Agency.
B) Centers for Disease Control.
C) U.S. military.
D) Federal Bureau of Investigations.

Question 21

Before viewing a lineup, it is important that a witness be told that

A) the suspect is in the lineup.
B) identification of the suspect is crucial to the case.
C) the suspect may not be in the lineup.
D) the suspect is over age eighteen.

Question 22

Dr. Stevenson is preparing to hypnotize Lucy in order to help alleviate her severe fear of dental appointments. Which of the following would be the most important factor in ensuring a successful hypnosis?

A) Lucy is motivated to cooperate.
B) Lucy has not been to the dentist within the past 12 months.
C) Lucy is estranged from her family.
D) Lucy has at least a high school education.

Question 23

Which two adjectives most accurately describe the process of eyewitness identification?

A) Scientific and stable
B) Inadequate and deceptive
C) Neutral and precise
D) Complex and error-ridden

Question 24

In order for unconscious transfer to occur, previous encounters with the innocent person must have been

A) meaningful.
B) brief.
C) extraordinary.
D) painful.

Question 25

Actuarial predictions are based on _____; whereas clinical predictions are based on _____.

A) conditional circumstance; latent analysis techniques
B) psychological reports; medical records
C) statistical probability; subjective experience
D) missing data; anecdotal information

Question 26

Which polygraph test is viewed the most favorably by researchers?

A) Comparison Question Test
B) Reflective Accuracy Exam
C) Guilty Knowledge Test
D) Relevant/irrelevant Exam

Question 27

Martin Orne became an authority on hypnosis as a result of his skillful examination of which infamous criminal?

A) Jeffery Dahmer.
B) Kenneth Bianchi.
C) David Berkowitz.
D) Bernie Madoff.

Question 28

An interrogator who wants to increase cognitive load on a suspect would take which of the following actions?

A) Play loud music during the interview
B) Ask the suspect to recount events in reverse order of when they occurred
C) Challenge the suspect by asserting the story makes no sense
D) Request a second interrogator in front of the suspect

Question 29

What does survey research tell us about the relationship between police psychologists and profilers?

A) Many police psychologists often pursue certification in profiling early in their careers.
B) Many police psychologists engage in profiling activities on a frequent basis.
C) Many police psychologists do not wish to be considered profilers.
D) Many police psychologists earn most of their income through private consultation as profilers.

Question 30

Which statement is correct about the five categories of profiling discussed in the chapter?

A) They are mutually exclusive in that only one type can occur per case.
B) They can be practiced by licensed profilers only.
C) They often overlap, in that more than one may be relevant in a case.
D) They have been designated as such by the American Psychological Association.

Question 31

Which of the following statements about detecting deception is correct?

A) Nonverbal emotional cues are the best indicator that a person is lying.
B) Law enforcement officers have been successfully trained in detecting deception.
C) A person's lack of eye contact with the questioner is the only sure way to determine that the person is lying.
D) Detecting deception is a complex activity.

Question 32

Which form of profiling has raised the most concerns about racial, ethnic, or religious discrimination?

A) Crime scene profiling
B) Suspect based profiling
C) Psychological profiling
D) Geographical profiling

Question 33

The term __________refers to the tendency of investigators to prefer information that supports their own perspective, while ignoring other aspects that may not fit.

A) confirmation bias
B) suspect bias effect
C) contagion effect
D) selective perspective

Question 34

As of 2014, what is the single greatest cause of wrongful convictions nationwide?

A) False confessions
B) Inadequate legal representation
C) Erroneous pseudoscience
D) Eyewitness misidentification

Question 35

Which individual would be the most affected by the passage of the Employee Polygraph Protection Act?

A) A suspected child sex offender
B) A suspected terrorist who is planning to board a plane
C) A job candidate applying for a job at Harris and Smith Accounting
D) A job candidate at the Federal Bureau of Investigation

Question 36

Which type of line-up procedure is advocated by most researchers of eyewitness identification?

A) Sequential
B) Suggestive
C) Show-up
D) Simultaneous

Question 37

Professional polygraphers prefer the __________, while researchers are more favorably disposed to the __________.

A) Control Question Test; Comparison Question Test
B) Guilty Knowledge Test; Comparison Question Test
C) Control Question Test; Guilty Knowledge Test
D) Guilty Knowledge Test; Control Question Test

Question 38

Which of the following hypotheses is a possible explanation for own-race bias?

A) False alarm hypothesis
B) Differential experience hypothesis
C) Unconscious transfer hypothesis
D) Double blind hypothesis

Question 39

Vrij and Granag suggest that the best way to detect deception is

A) through nonverbal cues.
B) by means of the polygraph.
C) through physiological cues.
D) through verbal cues.

Question 40

In order to be legal in the United States, a show-up must

A) occur immediately after the offense.
B) involve at least two suspects.
C) occur after a designated waiting period.
D) involve photographs of both the suspect and distractors.

Question 41

The majority of police investigators believe that profiling can be useful.

Question 42

Hypnosis is a form of sleepwalking.

Question 43

Which of the following statements about police interrogation is correct?

A) If a suspect is in custody, police must inform him of the right to remain silent before beginning to question him.
B) Police are not allowed to deceive suspects during the questioning process.
C) Police may not coerce a confession through physical means, but they may coerce one through psychological means.
D) Police cannot interrogate suspects for more than 6 hours.

Question 44

In a sequential lineup, neither the witness nor the person administering the lineup is aware of the identity of the suspect.

Question 45

Identify the two underlying assumptions upon which profiling is based.

Question 46

Describe the three processes involved in deception. What does research tell us about how can investigators best detect deception in an individual?

Question 47

Research by the Innocence Project suggests that the great majority of individuals who confess to crimes are innocent.

Question 48

Explain the statement: DNA exonerations have demonstrated that eyewitnesses can be absolutely positive and yet absolutely mistaken.

Question 49

Crime scene profiling was developed by the Central Intelligence Agency.

Question 50

Psychological research has established that human behavior is more consistent __________than __________.

A) across situations; across time
B) across time; across situations
C) in non-criminals; in criminals
D) in criminal offenders; in non-criminals

Question 51

Profiling is based on the assumption that human behavior is consistent across time and place.

Question 52

Highly unique faces are easier to identify than plain or average faces.

Question 53

Actuarial predictions are based on statistical probability and data rather than subjective experience.

Question 54

The psychological autopsy attempts to reconstruct the deceased person's state of mind prior to his or her death.

Question 55

What is one criticism with the predominant method of interrogation used in the United States?

A) It rarely produces a true confession
B) It is insufficiently accusatorial
C) It has a high risk of producing false confessions
D) It fails to obtain information about a crime

Question 56

The earliest forms of crime scene profiling were based on clinical data.

Question 57

Functional brain imaging is a well-established method of detecting deception.

Question 58

Polygraphs are no longer used in law enforcement.

Question 59

All of the following are types of false confessions as identified by Kassin and his colleagues except

A) voluntary confessions.
B) coerced compliant confessions.
C) coerced internalized confessions.
D) externalized confessions.

Question 60

The goal of profiling is prediction.

Question 61

Name three dynamic risk factors and three static risk factors.

Question 62

Summarize how the attacks on September 11, 2001 changed the landscape of profiling. What is your opinion on the controversy associated with these changes?

Question 63

What are the three main problems with interviewing and interrogation? What is the concern with the dominant method of interrogation used in the United States?

Question 64

Define sequential lineup, simultaneous lineup, double-blind lineup and show-up. What this the preferred lineup procedure? Why is this preferred method not used?

Question 65

Discuss the reasons why psychological profiling is so often inaccurate.

Question 66

What are the two major theoretical perspectives for explaining the effects of hypnosis?

Question 67

Explain how the case of the Central Park Jogger pertains to the issue of false confessions.