Mid-term #2 Flashcards
Credibility assessment, eyewitness memory, and problem solving courts
1
Q
What did Ekman and O’Sullivan find about different professions and detecting lies?
A
that forensic psychiatrists, customs agents, FBI agents, and judges all performed at chance level; while US Secret Service agents performed better then chance
2
Q
What did Vrig find regarding detecting truths and lies?
A
we are better at judging truthful claims than we are at detecting when people are lying; there are subtle nuance differences between when people are lying vs telling the truth
3
Q
we are typically… in our detectability
A
overconfident
4
Q
most lie catchers have a…
A
truth bias (believe people are telling the truth more than they are)
5
Q
what do training programs do for credibility assessment?
A
expand people’s capacities to detect multiple cues and triangulate them, but are not a fool proof science
6
Q
what are polygraphs based off?
A
the belief that deception is related to physiological changes
7
Q
what do polygraphs measure? (3)
A
respiration, heart rate, sweating
8
Q
how does a polygraph measure?
A
a device attached to the chest, fingertips, and a half inflated cuff on the arm
9
Q
a polygraph is not a…
A
lie detector
10
Q
a polygraph bets on…
A
guilty individuals demonstrating larger psychological changes than innocent
11
Q
what are the uses of the polygraph? (4)
A
- helps in criminal investigations
- verify a crime has occurred
- monitoring sexual offenders on probation
- pre-employment screening for police
12
Q
what are the two types of polygraph tests?
A
- Comparison Question Test (CQT)
- Concealed Information Tests (CIT)
13
Q
what are the 3 types of questions asked in the CQT?
A
Irrelevant (used to obtain a baseline), Relevant (deals with the crime), and Comparisons (deals with prior antisocial behaviour)
14
Q
how is deception assessed in the CQT?
A
by comparing the psychological responses between the relevant and comparison questions
15
Q
what are the 4 phases of the CQT?
A
- Pre-tests interview
- Polygraph exam
- Scoring
- Post-test interview
16
Q
explain the pre-test interview of the CQT
A
an interview with suspect to develop comparison questions; gathers information and establishes a base like with irrelevant questions
17
Q
explain the polygraph exam in the CQT
A
questions are asked while suspects physiological responses are measured; guilty people react more strongly to relevant questions vs comparison questions due to guilt and innocent people react more strongly to comparison questions
18
Q
explain scoring in the CQT
A
polygraph examiner scores the physiological responses to determine if the suspect is truthful, deceptive, or inconclusive
19
Q
explain post-test interview in the CQT
A
if a suspect is judged deceptive, they are pressured to confess
20
Q
what is the CIT formally known as?
A
guilty knowledge test
21
Q
what does the CIT assess?
A
if suspect has information that only the criminal would know
22
Q
how does the CIT work?
A
asks suspects multiple choice questions, one option is correct; assumes if the suspect is guilty, they will react strongly to correct information
23
Q
Filed studies of polygraph tests include:
A
real-life situations and actual suspects; ground truth is not known
24
Q
laboratory studies of polygraph tests include:
A
ground truth is known
25
research findings of the CQT
most guilty suspects correctly identified; didn't produce high numbers of identifying false guilt
26
Research findings of accuracy of CIT
very accurate at identifying innocent participants; slightly less accurate at identifying guilty participants
27
complications of the CQT?
both physical and mental countermeasures dramatically reduce the effectiveness
28
complications of the CIT?
not effected by anti-anxiety drugs
29
The polygraph did not pass the...
General acceptance test when first admitted as evidence in court (Frye v. US 1923)
30
Is the polygraph admissible into evidence in Canadian courts?
no
31
what are 3 other physiological credibility assessment measures?
Thermal imaging, Event-related brain potentials (ERP), and Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)
32
explain thermal imaging
detects facial warming due to blood flow
33
explain event-related brain potentials (ERP)
electrodes measure brain activity in response to significant stimulus (used to detect guilty knowledge)
34
Explain functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)
measures differences in brain activity when people are being honest vs deceptive
35
what is the single most salient reason for wrongful convictions?
giving wrong eyewitness testimonies
36
what is the taxonomy of witness errors?
errors in:
1. clothing or physical attributes of perp
2. environmental details
3. perps race of sex
4. weapon errors
5. inferential, extrapolative, or imaginative errors (what they were probably wearing)
37
What are the two ways eyewitness can err
1. by failing to identify the guilty
2. by falsely identifying the innocent
38
who said 'justice would less often miscarry if all who are to weigh evidence were more conscious of the teachery of human memory'?
Hugo Munsterburg
39
what are the different stages of memory process?
1. Memory
2. Attention and Retention
3. Storage
4. Short-term memory/ long-term memory
5. Retrieval
40
what are the two types of memory retrieval?
1. Recall Memory
2. Recognition Memory
41
Explain Recall Memory
reporting details of a previously witnessed event/person (open-ended and no explicate cues)
42
Explain Recognition Memory
Determining whether what is currently being viewed/heard is the same thing as the previously witnessed item/person (matching things up, relies on retrieval of what occurred)
43
how can recognition memory be influenced?
the amount of time they had to scan the environment and by hearing others describe the situation
44
Explain the Landmark Study (John Yuille and Judith Cutshall)
Studied memory for witnessed murder/attempted murder (generally remained accurate, detailed, and resistant to effect of misinformation and showed that memories for violent things can be quite enduring)
45
what are the 2 types of variable influencing eyewitness memory (Gary Wells)
1. System variables
2. Estimator variables
46
Explain System Variables
can be manipulated to increases or decreased eyewitness accuracy (the way you were interviewed)
47
Explain Estimator Variables
present at the time of the crime and cannot be changed (environmental factors and within-the-person variables)
48
what are the 2 forms of recall of the crime
1. Open-ended recall/free narrative
2. Direct questions recall
49
Explain Open-ended recall/Free narrative recall
witnesses are asked to recount what they witnessed without be prompted (better accuracy)
50
Explain Direct question recall
witnesses are asked specific questions about the event/culprit (more room for bias and produces more errors)
51
what are some ways police officers may impeded the interview process?
1. interrupting witness free recall
2. repeatedly asking the same questions
3. ask short, specific questions
4. allowing one witness to overhear the responses to the other witness
52
What is lineup identification?
witnesses are asked to identify a culprit from a lineup
53
how does lineup identification work?
lineups contain the suspect (may be guilty or not) who is placed among a set of individuals who are known to be innocent for the crime in questions (foils or distractors)
54
what is a simultaneous lineup?
a common lineup procedure that presents all lineup members at one time to the witness
55
what is a sequential lineup?
lineup members are presented serially to the witness
56
what is a show up (lineup)?
only suspect is shown to the witness
57
what is a walk-by (lineup)?
witness is taken to a public location where the suspect is likely to be (not common)
58
what is relative judgment? (lineup)
comparing lineup members to one another and choosing who most looks like the culprit
59
what is absolute judgment (lineup)?
each member is compared to the culprit individually outside of a lineup
60
what are biased lineups?
suggests who the police suspect and thereby who the witness should identify
61
what is unconscious transference?
showing the witness a picture of a suspect prior to the lineup and then including that suspect in the lineup (witness will identify them because of their prior exposure)
62
what are the 3 types of biases that increase false identification in lineups?
1. Foil bias
2. Clothing bias
3. Instruction bias
63
explain foil bias
using particular distinguishable characteristics (put one one person of a different race in a lineup of foils all consisting of the same race)
64
explain clothing bias
have the suspect wearing different clothes than the foils (foils should be wearing similar things to the suspect in order to eliminate the clothing bias)
65
explain Instruction bias
witness is not told that the real suspect might not be in the lineup therefore pressuring them to select someone even if it is incorrect
66
What helps for greater accuracy in voice identification?
longer voice samples
67
what are the 6 factors associated with decreased voice identification?
1. whispering
2. disguising the voice
3. unfamiliar accents
4. placing the target voice near the end of the lineup
5. showing the face along with the voice
6. using a larger number of foils
68
due to the Law Reform Commission of Canada, emphasis was shifted onto...
instructing the jury due to the procedures not always being followed
69
do mock-jurors appear sensitive to inflated confidence?
no
70
what can confidence be modified with?
post-identification feedback
71
what are system variables?
after the event and can be addressed by the CJS
72
what are Estimator Variables?
present at the time of the crime and cannot be changed; environmental and within person
73
what is the Cross Race Effect?
the idea that we are better at identifying faces of people of our own race
74
what is inter racial contact? (cross-race effect)
different racial backgrounds have less contact and therefore. less experience to make facial recognition
75
what is attitudes (cross-race effect)
the ideas of more positive attitudes towards people of different races when you spend more fine coding and getting to know those races and vice versa
76
explain Encoding Time (cross-race effect)
the longer we have to encode faces of people of other races, the more profound out cognitive processing will be and the more we'll be able to differentiate faces of those outside of our race
77
what did Porter and Peace find about traumatic memory?
trauma impairs memory process (suppress and repress)
78
what percentage of complete memories can be implanted?
20-26%
79
memory for traumatic events are usually intact for...
central details of the experience
80
What is 'weapon focus' in the role of estimator variables?
the phenomenon of as witness' attention being focused on the weapon rather than on the culprit
81
what is the Cue-utilization hypothesis?
in presence of a weapon our physiological arousal increases, this leads to a narrowing process that occurs and continues to narrow significantly which can screen our relevant details
82
what is the Unusualness hypothesis?
idea that we don't frequently see weapons so they're especially salient to use so they distract us from other stimuli in the environment
83
who is Thomas Sophonow?
A man who was sentenced to prison for the murder of Barbara Stoppel due to an eyewitness changing details and information during their recount of the crime; further research found that the eyewitness was possibly traumatized by the event, leading to the wrong recount of the crime
84
What 4 things came from the Sophonow Case?
1. the lineup procedure should be taped
2. officers should inform witnesses of the importance of also clearing innocent suspects
3. photo lineup should be presented sequentially
4. officers should not discuss a witness' identification with that witness
85
What are the 9 steps of the best practice eyewitness identification guidelines
1. Pre-lineup interview
2. Evidence-based suspicion
3. Double-blind procedures
4. Lineup fillers
5. Pre-lineup instructions
6. Immediate confidence statement
7. Video-recording
8. Avoid repeated misidentification
9. Show-ups
86
explain the pre-lineup interview
before presenting lineup, the officers should interview the witness to see if there was anything that may interfere
87
explain evidence-based suspicion
people should not be a suspect in the lineup unless there is evidence they did the crime
88
explain double-blind procedures
lineup administrator or eyewitness should not know who the suspect is
89
explain lineup fillers
1 suspect, 5 fillers
90
explain Pre-lineup instructions
specific instructions: including that the suspect may not be there and its okay to say you don't know
91
when does the immediate confidence statement occur?
after the lineup
92
explain avoid repeated misidentification
even if the eyewitness doesn't identify the first time, they should not be shown the same person a second time
93
explain show-ups
suspect is presented by themselves and not in a lineup
94
what is the Post-Event Misinformation effect?
occurs when a witness is provided with inaccurate information about an event after it is witnessed, and incorporates the misinformation into their late recall
95
do words matter in witness testimonies?
yes, wording of questions influences how the witness think of their memory
96
does memory work like a recording device?
no!
97
what are the 3 theories of the misinformation effect?
1. Misinformation acceptance hypothesis
2. Source misattribution hypothesis
3. Memory impairment hypothesis
98
explain the misinformation acceptance hypothesis
witness tries to give the investigator what they want to hear
99
explain the source misattribution hypothesis
witness has both accurate memory and inaccurate memory but are not sure which is which
100
explain the memory impairment hypothesis
our memories become altered or replaced with new ones so the original memory is no longer there
101
Is information obtained under hypnosis admissible in court?
not usually
102
what is Hypnosis used for?
facilitate retrieval of memories, but may or may not be accurate
103
What were some basic interviewing strategies found by Fisher?
1. slow down rate of questioning
2. tailor questions to the individual witness
3. witness-centred interview
104
What are the goals of the Step-Wise Interview?
1. minimize the trauma for witness or victim
2. maximize amount of quality information
3. minimize any contamination of collected info
4. maintain the integrity of the investigation process
105
Credibility assessment is...
evaluation of whether a person has lied deliberately or mistakenly and/or omitted information
106
what are some non-verbal behavioural cues of deception?
1. blinking
2. pupil dilation
3. chin raises
4. pressed lips
5. facial pleasantness
5. cooperativeness
6. fidgeting
107
what are some verbal cues to decpetion?
1. voice pitch
2. speech errors (repetition)
3. talk time
4. speech pauses
5. speech fillers (ah, um)
108
what are some content cues that are indicative of honesty?
1. make spontaneous corrections
2. admit to lack of memory/forgetting
109
what are some content cues indicative of deception?
1. little detail
2. repetition of detail
3. word and phrase repetition
110
what is therapeutic jurisprudence?
a philosophical shift from traditional court to facilitate behaviour change via proper services
111
what are the 2 goals of Therapeutic Jurisprudence?
1. minimize anti-therapeutic effects
2. increase the laws therapeutic potential
112
what is restorative justice?
emphasis on holding the offender accountable while also restoring the harm they caused to the victim and community
113
Where was the first DV court?
Florida
113
what are the two common features of problem solving courts?
1. a dedicated legal team
2. non-legal professionals who can coordinate services for each case
113
what are the 4 types of problem solving courts?
1. Drug treatment court
2. Mental health court
3. Domestic violence court
4. Community court
113
clients of mental health courts were found...
criminally responsible
113
what are problem solving courts designed for?
to solve specific social problems
113
where was the first MHC?
Florida
113
what are some positives that came form MHC?
1. decreases time spent in jail
2. increases time before re-offence
3. reduction in # of arrests
4. fewer self-reported acts of violence
5. improved independent functioning and substance use
113
where did Mental health courts come from?
the deinstitutionalization movement
113
113
Are DV courts voluntary?
often mandatory
113
what do critics says about PS courts?
1. they are not needed
2. unfair to participants
113
court structure of DV courts
1. arraigned
2. legal advice
3. guilty plea
4. assessment
5. monitoring
6. sentencing
113
what is the RNR model?
Risk (who you could treat)
Need (what you should focus on)
Responsivity (how you should accomplish it)
