Exam 2 Quiz Questions

Question 1

Most evidence suggests that the confidence of an eyewitness is…

Answer 1

a weak predictor of whether their memory is accurate

Question 2

A sequential lineup is intended to make it more likely that an individual will use __________ _________ to make an identification

Answer 2

absolute judgements

Question 3

When we retrieve memories over and over again, we tend to leave out or “forget” inconsistent or unimportant details. This is known as

Answer 3

leveling

Question 4

What is the most frequent cause of wrongful convictions?

Answer 4

Mistaken identification

Question 5

Which technique can be used to improve the accuracy of eyewitness identification in a lineup?

Answer 5

Blind administration of lineups

Question 6

In describing influences on the accuracy of eyewitness testimony, researcher Gary Wells has described estimator variables such as _____________ and system variables such as ____________.

Answer 6

witness eyesight; photo lineup procedures

Question 7

Confirmation, rehearsal and cognitive dissonance have been proposed as explanations for:

Answer 7

Increasing eyewitness confidence over time

Question 8

Kenneth Bianchi, known as the “Hillside Strangler”, claimed that one of his multiple personalities actually committed the murders. He is often cited as a classic case of

Answer 8

Malingering

Question 9

The sanity of a defendant refers to their mental state at the time

Answer 9

the crime was commited

Question 10

Legally, a defendant can only be forced to accept treatment to restore their competence to stand trial when

Answer 10

All of the above:
defendant accused of a serious crime
treatment is medically appropriate for their condition
treatment won’t have major side effects

Question 11

According to the M’Naghten Rule established in 1843, persons are to be considered as legally insane if

Answer 11

they do not know that their actions were “wrong”

Question 12

Undue influence and unnatural provisions are sometimes used as evidence when trying to determine if

Answer 12

a person has testamentary capacity

Question 13

In the case of Ford v. Wainwright (1986) the US Supreme Court decided that Alvin Ford, who was convicted of a murder committed during his robbery of a Red Lobster restaurant, was not:

Answer 13

“competent to be executed”

Question 14

Prior to the 1960s defendants were asked to determine if they were oriented to person, place, events, and time in order to

Answer 14

determine their CST

Question 15

The so-called “Twinkie defense” was mistakenly reported by newspapers during the trial of

Answer 15

Dan White

Question 16

The 1996 case in which John DuPont was convicted of murdering an Olympic wrestler on his Pennsylvania estate was discussed in class as an example of

Answer 16

the verdict of Guilty But Mentally Ill

Question 17

Potential jurors that are members of cognizable groups

Answer 17

cannot be excluded simply because of their race or gender

Question 18

The use of trial technology such as animaed re-enactments of crimes or accidents has a powerful influence on juries, often because of

Answer 18

simulation heuristics

Question 19

When jurors are exposed to pre-trial publicity about a criminal case it is most likely to have the effect of

Answer 19

biasing jurors towards thinking that the defendant is guilty

Question 20

When you tell a juror to ignore testimony that they’ve already heard, it can have the opposite effect. Psychologists explain this as the result of

Answer 20

ironic processes

Question 21

The CSI effect is said to occur when

Answer 21

jury members have unrealistically high expectations of forensic evidence

Question 22

Which of the following is one of the attitudes measured by Saul Kassin’s Juror Bias Scale?

Answer 22

Presumption of guilt

Question 23

Stealth jurors are individuals who

Answer 23

conceal their true opinions in order to become jury members

Question 24

Jury nullification is said to occur when

Answer 24

jurors ignore the law when reaching a verdict

Question 25

The Harrisburg Seven case in 1972 is often regarded as the first well-known example of

Answer 25

scientific jury selection

Question 26

Research on juror decision-making suggests that jurors decide on a verdicts based on

Answer 26

based on whether the evidence fits into a plausible “story”