Midterm Flashcards
What are the three approaches to the relationship between psychology and law?
- Psychology in the law
- Psychology and the law
- Psychology of the law
These approaches highlight different aspects of how psychology interacts with legal processes.
What is the primary focus of ‘Psychology in the Law’?
Utilizing psychologists’ knowledge and experience to help resolve cases
This includes the involvement of counseling, clinical, or forensic psychologists.
How do psychologists contribute in ‘Psychology and the Law’?
Analyzing law components and court processes from a psychological perspective
Psychologists conduct research on issues faced by the legal system.
What is the main concern of ‘Psychology of the Law’?
Understanding how law seeks to control behavior and how individuals react to it
This involves examining the interaction between law and human behavior.
What is the Method of Tenacity?
Holding firmly to beliefs because they are perceived as true
This method reflects a strong adherence to personal beliefs without questioning.
Define the Method of Authority.
Believing something because authoritative figures assert it
This method relies on trust in experts or institutions.
What does the A Priori Method entail?
Believing evidence is correct due to logical deduction
This method is often used in legal reasoning.
What characterizes the Method of Science?
Testing statements through observations and systematic research
This method is critical for validating claims in a legal context.
What is required for expert testimony to be admitted in court?
Proper credentials and sound knowledge of the expert
The judge assesses the qualifications of the expert witness.
What is the Frye Standard?
General acceptance of scientific knowledge as a criterion for expert testimony
This standard was widely used in the 20th century in federal and state courts.
What does the Daubert Standard require?
- Relevancy
- Legal sufficiency
- Reliability
This standard emphasizes the need for scientific evidence to be relevant, legally sufficient, and reliable.
What are the primary functions of the Federal Courts?
- Enforcing laws fairly
- Interpreting the law
These functions are essential for maintaining justice in the legal system.
Differentiate between criminal and civil cases.
- Criminal Cases: Accused appear for trial, judge/jury decides guilt
- Civil Cases: Settling disputes between parties, court applies law to facts
Each type of case has distinct processes and outcomes.
What roles do psychologists play in the judicial process during the pretrial phase?
- Evaluate criminal defendants
- Provide evidence in depositions
- Testify in pretrial hearings
- Assess risk of dangerousness
- Consult with lawyers
- Restore incompetent defendants
- Assess juveniles
Psychologists contribute significantly to various aspects of the pretrial process.
What is the role of a Basic Scientist of the Law?
Pursues knowledge for the sake of knowledge without application focus
This role is more about understanding rather than solving real-world problems.
Define the role of an Applied Scientist of the Law.
Generates and applies knowledge to solve real-life problems
This role often involves serving as an expert witness.
What is the purpose of a Policy Evaluator in the Law?
Assess and innovate existing programs and policies
This role is crucial for ensuring effectiveness in legal practices.
What is the primary function of a Forensic Evaluator in Litigation?
Evaluate individuals in civil and criminal cases regarding competence and mental state
This includes assessing risk and rehabilitation prospects.
What does the memory system consist of?
- Encoding
- Storage
- Retrieval
These processes are essential for retaining and recalling information.
What is Encoding Specificity?
Conditions present during encoding facilitate later memory retrieval
The effectiveness of cues depends on their match with the initial encoding.
What is Context-Dependent Memory?
Memory retrieval is improved when in the same environment as learning
This principle highlights the importance of context in memory.
Fill in the blank: Short term memory (STM) holds information for about _______.
15-30 seconds
STM is temporary and limited in capacity.
What are the two types of reasoning in law?
- Deductive Reasoning
- Inductive Reasoning
These reasoning types guide legal decision-making processes.
Describe System 1 and System 2 in reasoning.
- System 1: Fast, relies on heuristics, requires little energy
- System 2: Slow, analytical, engages in detailed processing
Understanding these systems helps in analyzing decision-making processes.
What is Confirmation Bias?
The tendency to seek evidence that supports existing beliefs
This bias can significantly impact legal judgments.
What is the Reid Technique in interrogations?
A three-step process involving fact analysis, behavioral analysis interview, and accusatorial interrogation
This technique is designed to elicit confessions.
What is a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy?
Expectations causing actions that make those expectations come true
This phenomenon can influence behavior and outcomes in legal contexts.
What is the Mock-Crime Paradigm?
Participants are assigned to commit a mock crime or innocent behavior before being interrogated
This method helps establish ground truth in studies of interrogation.
What are Cognitive Biases?
Systematic errors in thinking due to subjective perceptions
These biases can affect decision-making and judgment in legal contexts.
What is the difference between Bayesian and Coherence-Based Reasoning?
- Bayesian: Each piece of evidence is assessed separately
- Coherence-Based: Evidence reshaped to fit a consistent narrative
These reasoning approaches have different implications for how decisions are made.
What are the primary factors influencing obedience?
- Location
- Participant Gender
- Distance between teacher and learner
These factors can significantly affect an individual’s likelihood to obey authority figures.
What is the purpose of coercive interrogation tactics?
Designed to obtain self-incriminating statements from suspects
Coercive tactics can include psychological pressure and manipulation.
What are Miranda Rights?
A set of constitutional warnings that law enforcement officers in the U.S. must give to a suspect before conducting a custodial interrogation
Protects Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination and Sixth Amendment right to legal counsel.
Define the term ‘Phenomenology of Innocence’.
Innocent suspects believe their innocence is sufficient to protect them from negative outcomes
This belief can lead innocent suspects to waive their rights and be more forthcoming.
What is ‘short-sighted thinking’ in the context of interrogation?
Suspects tend to make short-sighted confession decisions favoring short-term gains over long-term interests
This is often influenced by the pressures of interrogation.
What does self-regulation refer to?
The process by which people resist, override, or inhibit behaviors, thoughts, and emotions that interfere with long-term goals
Depleted self-regulation resources can lead to increased impulsivity and decision fatigue.
What is the Five-factor model of confessions?
A confession decision is determined by social, emotional, cognitive, situational, and physiological antecedents and consequences
Developed by Gudjonsson in 1989.
Fill in the blank: The interrogation decision-making model uses the framework of _______.
[subjective expected utility theory]
This theory helps explain how various factors sway suspects’ decisions.
What is the role of the ‘interrogation-related acute situational suggestibility model’?
It predicts that a suspect’s ability to resist interrogation pressures diminishes over the course of questioning
This model highlights the impact of interrogation pressures on self-incrimination.
What are perceived cues to deception?
- Avoid eye contact
- Nervous touching/shifting
- Speak quickly
These cues are often mistakenly interpreted as indicators of lying.
What is ‘strategic use of evidence (SUE)’ technique?
Goal: elicit cues of deception by strategically disclosing evidence
This technique is used to prompt suspects to reveal inconsistencies or lies.
True or False: Lying is less cognitively taxing than telling the truth.
False
Liars often exhibit more behavioral cues to deception due to the cognitive load of maintaining a lie.
What is the ‘Implicit Association Test (IAT)’ used for?
To measure attitudes indirectly by categorizing words according to certain rules as fast as possible
Faster pairing indicates a stronger association between concepts.
What does the autobiographical Implicit Association Test (aIAT) aim to determine?
Whether the IAT could be applied to lie detection
Studies have shown high accuracy in distinguishing between guilty and innocent conditions.
What is the Tipping Framework of Lie Detection?
Lie detection is revealed in implicit, nonconscious patterns
This framework suggests that implicit knowledge can influence conscious judgments of veracity.
What are some interrogation reforms suggested?
- Training
- Time Limits
- Videotaping
- Safeguards for vulnerable populations
- Probable cause
These reforms aim to improve the interrogation process and protect suspects’ rights.
