malingering, deception, and psychopathy

Question 1

what is one of the most well known techniques to detect deception?

Answer 1

polygraph

Question 2

what does the polygraph record?

Answer 2

an individual’s autonomic nervous system responses (breathing, sweat, heart rate)

Question 3

under which circumstances a polygraph is used in canada?

Answer 3

• victims
• insurance claims
• suspects

Question 4

what is the comparison question test?

Answer 4

• it included questions that are unrelated to the crime, relevant questions concerning the crime being investigated, and comparison questions concerning the person’s honesty and past history prior to the the event being investigated
• pretest interview: control questions

Question 5

what is the concealed information test?

Answer 5

• designed to determine if a person knows details about a crime
• asking mcq with only one right answer (critical option) and suspect displays a larger physiological response to the correct answer

Question 6

why are polygraph test results not admissable in court?

Answer 6

the polygraph may cause jurors to weigh polygraph evidence more than it deserves when determining the verdict

Question 6

why are most people not good at detecting deception?

Answer 6

• ppl rely on behaviors that lack predictive validity (gaze aversion, fidgeting)
• most ppl have a truth bias (tendency to judge more messages as truthful than deceptive)
• there are only small differences btwn liars and truthers

Question 6

in which ways do the accuracy of the comparison question test and the concealed information test differ

Answer 6

• the CQT is better at identifying guilty suspects
• the CIT is better at identifying innocent suspects

Question 7

what are some other techniques to detect deception?

Answer 7

• event-related brain potentials (mesure brain activity)
• verbal cues (pitch, pauses, errors)
• non-verbal cues (fidgeting, gaze aversion)
• hypnosis

Question 7

how can you beat the polygraph

Answer 7

by using countermesures

Question 8

name a group that detects deception at a better rate than others

Answer 8

secret service agents

Question 9

what is factitious disorder?

Answer 9

• disorder in which the person’s physical/psychological symptoms are intentionally produced and are adopted to assume the role of a sick person
• absence of external incentives

Question 10

what is somatoform/conversion disorder

Answer 10

• physical symptoms that are not intentionally produced suggests an illness, but doctors cannot find anything

Question 11

what is malingering?

Answer 11

• intentionally faking psychological/physical symptoms for some type of external gain (like avoid standing trial, less severe jail, avoid military conscription)

Question 12

name the three explanatory models of malingering

Answer 12

• pathologic model
• criminological model
• adaptational model

Question 13

what are some cues to malingering psychosis?

Answer 13

• suspicious hallucinations/delusions
• presence of a partner in the crime
• understandable motive for committing crime
• absence of any subtle signs of psychosis

Question 14

what are the two types of (malingering) amnesia?

Answer 14

• retrograde (lost old memories)
• anterograde (can’t make new memories)

Question 15

what is psychopathy?

Answer 15

a personality disorder defined by a collection of interpersonal, affective, and behavioural caracs like manipulation, lack of remorse, and antisocial behaviour

Question 16

what is antisocial personality disorder

Answer 16

caracterized by a history of behavior in which the rights of others are violated

Question 17

what is sociopathy?

Answer 17

a label used to describe a person whose psychopathc traits are assumed to be due to environmental factors

Question 18

what is the main assessment tool for psychopathy?

Answer 18

psychopathy ckecklist revised

Question 19

what are the two factors of psychopathy

Answer 19

• interpersonal and affective traits
• unstable and socially deviant traits

Question 20

what are the advantages od self reported mesures of psychopathy?

Answer 20

• easy to administer, not to expensive
• mesure emotions that cannot be easily observed
• can detect faking

Question 21

what are some of the disadvantages of self-reported mesures of psychopathy?

Answer 21

• psychopaths often lie
• may have insufficient insight into their own traits
• do not experience certain emotios resulting in difficulty reporting them

Question 22

what are some traits of subclinical psychopaths (show some traits but not full fledged)

Answer 22

• detecting vulnerable victims
• defrauding a lottery
• cheating on exams
• owning vicious dogs

Question 23

why do psychopaths not meet the insanity defense

Answer 23

because they know the difference from right and wrong

Question 24

what is adversarial allegiance?

Answer 24

• tendency for forensic experts to be biased towards those who hired them
• pcl-r scores provided by the prosecution are higher than those of the defense

Question 25

what are some commons behaviours of psychopaths in the interrogation room?

Answer 25

• try to outwit the interrogator
• enjoy being the focus of attention
• will not be fooled by bluffs

Question 26

what are some suggestions for interviewing psychopaths

Answer 26

• be familiar with the case
• create atmosphere of authority
• show liking/admiration
• avoid criticism

Question 27

psychopathic violence is more likely to be…

Answer 27

• predatory
• calculated
• not reactive in nature
• targeted at strangers