Test 1

Question 1

Define and contrast the differences between a Psychopath and Sociopath (please make sure to give a thorough yet brief and concise definition) and why is it in reference to forensic psychology/psychiatry in the western world, the term Psychopath is way more accurate and appropriate in its nomenclature over Sociopath when seriously used in a legal setting (i.e. in court case, psychiatric/psychological evaluations etc…)? (class notes)

Answer 1

▪ Sociopathy: (not used formerly in legal field or psychiatry):Only the environment can turn the person to anger. (we don’t use it because it relies only on the environment shaping that evil)

▪ Psychopathy: (extreme ASPD (anti social personality disorder), but with legal problems on the margins of society) The person has a genetically pre-disposed to evil, but it’s the environment that triggers it in the 1st place.
	Ex: Serial killers, Rapists, Assassins, Gangs, white collar crime

Question 2

In class, we discussed the concept of Moral Laws (i.e. Morality); what definition did we come up in reference to this concept and how does such concept relate to our legal system? (Please be sure to add one example of a moral law)

Answer 2

Moral Laws: Universal Laws that protect and preserve beneficial life and that maintain order in “civilized” countries.

Ex:War treaties (Geneva conventions), anything pertaining murder, rape, terrorism, laws that preserve the environment, slavery ban, stealing

Question 3

With the use of one example briefly and thoroughly explain what Social Conventions are.

Answer 3

Social Conventions: Rules that differ from country to country that are only there to maintain order and culture in nature.

Question 4

With the use of one example briefly and thoroughly explain what Personal/Institutional Rules are. (class notes)

Answer 4

• Personal Rules: a person in stills rules upon themselves for their own gain
  Ex: How clean one keeps their room
• Institutional Rules: Rules that apply to an institution, that are there to maintain said institution.
  Ex: drop deadline at Dawson is different then at Vanier

Question 5

In class, we discussed the concept of a gray area that falls between “Moral Laws” and “Social Conventions;” briefly, yet concisely explain what we have concluded that gray area is, and what kind of rules and/or laws and/or social conventions fall in that gray area? (please be sure to add at least two clear stellar examples to your answer and please clearly connect your examples to your explanation of the above given concept). (class notes)

Answer 5

Grey Areas: Any behavior that is punishable because it indirectly goes against protecting and preserving beneficial life
Ex:
Between Morals and Social Conventions
Gun Laws
Abortion Laws
Drug Use Tolerance / Decriminalization of drugs
Medically Assisted Death

Question 6

With the use of one example, briefly and thoroughly explain what Psychology and the Law refers to (Pg.21).

Answer 6

Using psychology to study the operation of the legal system, small group of researchers working together and publishing, this is the area forensic psychologists use research only (testing assumptions such as “are eyewitness accurate”)

Question 7

With the use of one example, briefly and thoroughly explain what Psychology in the Law refers to (Pg.21-22).

Answer 7

It’s the practical side of forensic psychology, using psychology within the legal system as it currently operates, practising the law (Alternatively, psychol- ogy in the law might consist of a psychologist using his or her knowledge in a police investigation to assist the police in developing an effective (and ethical) strategy for interrogating a suspect ).

Question 8

With the use of one example, briefly and thoroughly explain what Psychology of the Law refers to (Pg. 22).

Answer 8

At the macro level, legal scholars, policy analysis and legislative consultation based off of others research (“does a law reduce the occurrence of a crime?”)

Question 9

What makes a field of knowledge scientific and legitimate? (pg. 15-17 & class notes)

Answer 9

A Legitimate Science:
1. High Quality Textbooks
2. Academic Journals
3. Professional Associations
4. Training Opportunities
5. Recognized by a professional specialty discipline by the APA

Question 10

Based on our discussion in class on the interpretation of the findings in the Kenneth & Mamie Clark doll study of children ages 6-9 (Brown v. Board of Education); how does this discussion relate to the idea that psychological findings of this sort can be problematic when presented in court? (class notes)

Answer 10

The northern kids showed that they were less adjusted and battling the feeling of being segregated. The kids who faced segregation are used to the treatment and develop the habit of feeling inferior in society. It’s problematic, because the statistics can be interpreted differently.

Question 11

Briefly and thoroughly explain the functions of an expert witness and how it differs to the functions of an ordinary witness when it comes to testimony in court. (Pg. 23)

Answer 11

Expert Witness: An expert summoned by the court, in a legitimate field and asked to provide the court with their expertise of knowledge impartially.

Question 12

What are the challenges of providing Expert Testimony in court? (pg. 23 & class notes)

Answer 12

In part, providing expert testimony is challenging because there is simply so much for the expert witness to know, not only about their own testimony, but about their role in the court proceedings and what those proceedings involve. Providing effective testimony is also challenging because of the inherent differ- ences (often conflicts) that exist between the fields of psychology and law. (see slide 21-22/ page 19 in textbook) (George Floyd expert testimony example).

Differences between psychology and Law: Give examples/explain it
epistemology (objective vs. subjective )
nature (descriptive vs. prescriptive)
knowledge (Nomothetic vs. Idiographic)
criterion (cautions vs. expedient)
Principles (multiple explanations vs. single explanation)
Latitude of Behaviour (limited vs. Expansive)

Question 13

What is the Daubert Criteria (state all four elements) and why did it replace the General Acceptance Test? (Pg. 23-25 & class notes)

Answer 13

General Acceptance : An american standard for accepting expert testimony, which states that expert testimony will be admissible in court if the basis of the testimony is accepted in the scientific field.
* This issue of vagueness was addressed in the U.S. Supreme Court decision handed down in Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (1993).

Daubert Criteria: Testimony is admissible only if it’s given by a qualified expert, it’s relevant to the case and reliable. (4 elements) It must be peer-reviewed, testable, have a recognized rate of error and adhere to professional standards.

Question 14

What is the Mohan Criteria? In your own words, list and explain all four points stated in our text (pg. 25-28)

Answer 14

A Canadian standard for admissibility for expert testimony, it states that: (4 elements) it must be relevant to the case, necessary to assist the trier of fact (being able to educate the jury on things above the jury’s knowing), must not violate any rules of exclusion (can not use past convictions against them) and must be a qualified expert.

Question 15

Briefly and thoroughly explain the difference between sanity and insanity and its association to a criminal action. (class notes)

Answer 15

Insanity, when a person is unaware of their actions and unable to determine right and wrong during the commission of their crime. (aka automatisome).

Question 16

In your own words, briefly and concisely describe James Cattell’s 1895 “Measurements of the Accuracy of Recollection” experiment, and how are the findings of this experiment of significant importance to specific areas of Forensic Psychology today (be specific and pls use examples)? (pg. 4 & Class notes)

Answer 16

In a paper entitled Measurements of the Accu- racy of Recollection, Cattell (1895) asked 56 university students in psychology to recall things they had witnessed in their everyday lives (e.g., “What was the weather a week ago today?”). Cattell found not only that his students’ answers were often inaccurate, but also that the relationship between participants’ accuracy and their confidence (i.e., that their recollection was accurate) was far from perfect. In Cattell’s view, these findings had the potential to assist in “courts of justice”

Question 17

In your own words, briefly and concisely describe Alfred Binet’s 1900 “La Suggestibilité” experiment and how are the findings of this experiment of significant importance to specific areas of Forensic Psychology today (be specific and pls use examples)? (pg. 10 & Class notes)

Answer 17

Around the same time, a number of other psychologists began studying testi- mony and suggestibility (see Ceci & Bruck, 1993, for a review). For example, in his classic work, La Suggestibilité (1900), the famous French psychologist Alfred Binet presented numerous studies in which he showed that the testimony provided by chil- dren was highly susceptible to suggestive questioning techniques. In one study dis- cussed by Ceci and Bruck (1993), Binet presented children with a series of objects for a short period of time (e.g., a button glued to poster board). After viewing an object, some of the children were told to write down everything that they saw while others were asked questions. Some of these questions were direct (e.g., “How was the but- ton attached to the board?”), others were mildly leading (e.g., “Wasn’t the button attached by a thread?”), and still others were highly misleading (e.g., “What was the color of the thread that attached the button to the board?”). As found in numerous studies since this experiment, Binet demonstrated that asking children to report eve- rything they saw (i.e., free recall) resulted in the most accurate answers. Highly mis- leading questions resulted in the least accurate answers.

Question 18

In your own words, briefly and concisely describe William Stern’s 1901 Reality Experiment”, and how are the findings of this experiment of significant importance to specific areas of Forensic Psychology today (be specific and pls use examples)? (pg. 4& Class notes)

Answer 18

Shortly after Binet’s study, a German psychologist named William Stern also began conducting studies examining the suggestibility of witnesses (Ceci & Bruck, 1993). The “reality experiment” that is now commonly used by eyewitness researchers to study eyewitness recall and recognition can in fact be attributed to Stern. Using this research paradigm, participants are exposed to staged events and are then asked to pro- vide information about the event. In one of Stern’s first experiments, which he con- ducted with the famous German criminologist Franz von Liszt in 1901, participants in a law class were exposed to a scenario that involved two students arguing in a class- room (Stern, 1939). The scenario ended with one of the students drawing a revolver; the observers were then asked questions about the event. Consistent with the findings of Cattell and Binet, Stern found that the testimony of participants was often incorrect. In addition, he found that recall was the worst for portions of the event that were par- ticularly exciting (i.e., when the revolver was drawn). This led him to conclude that emotional arousal can have a negative impact on the accuracy of a person’s testimony.

Question 19

Who was Hugo Munsterberg, what were his early contributions/writings to the field of Forensic Psychology, how did the early legal field (circa 1909) react to his major writings and consequently what impact did such reactions from the early legal field temporarily cause to the credibility and public interest of Forensic Psychology? (pg. 11-12 & class notes)

Answer 19

Most notably, Hugo Munsterberg, another student of Wilhelm Wundt who came from Germany to Harvard University in 1892, was involved in several criminal cases, but not as an expert witness. Munsterberg’s contributions to these cases were not ignored by all, however. The press strongly objected to his involvement. Perhaps in response to these strong negative reactions, Hugo Munsterberg published his classic book, On the Witness Stand (Munsterberg, 1908). In this book, Munsterberg argued that psychology had much to offer the legal system. Through a collection of his essays, he discussed how psychology could assist with issues involv- ing eyewitness testimony, crime detection, false confessions, suggestibility, hypno- tism, and even crime prevention. Munsterberg presented his ideas in a way that led to even more criticism, especially from the legal profession.

Question 20

Describe briefly and concisely the 1962 Jenkins v. United States case, what were the overall outcomes of this case and how were the outcomes of this case a pivotal legal advancement for forensic psychologists in the United States? (pg. 14)

Answer 20

The view that psychologists could provide an admissible opinion regarding a defendant’s mental health was strongly reinforced in Jenkins v. United States (1962). The Jenkins trial involved charges of breaking and entering, assault, and intent to rape. The defendant, Jenkins, pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. Three psy- chologists supported this defence on the basis that the defendant was suffering from schizophrenia at the time of the crimes. However, the trial judge instructed the jury to disregard the testimony from the psychologists because “psychologists were not qualified to give expert testimony on the issue of mental disease” (American Psycho- logical Association [APA], 2016). The case was appealed. As part of the appeal, the APA provided a report to the court stating their view that psychologists are compe- tent to provide opinions concerning the existence of mental illness (APA, 1962). The court reversed the conviction and ordered a new trial, stating that “some psycholo- gists are qualified to render expert testimony on mental disorders” (APA, 2016).

Question 21

In class, we discussed the concept of a gray area that falls between “Social Conventions” and “Personal/Institutional Rules;” briefly, yet concisely explain what we have concluded that gray area is, and what kind of rules and/or social conventions fall in that gray area? (please be sure to add at least one clear stellar example to your answer and please clearly connect your example to your explanation of the above given concept). (class notes)

Answer 21

Ex:
- Between social conventions and personal/institutional rules
- Tardiness
-Speaking Loudly in public Spaces