Week 1 Flashcards
What is Forensic Psych
- Clinical Forensic Psychology (AU): The application of clinical psychological knowledge to the treatment and rehabilitation of offenders.
- Criminal Psychology (UK): The application of psychological knowledge to the criminal justice system.
- Law & Psychology (US): The use of psychological knowledge to assist with issues of importance to the law.
History - summarise how the field of forensic psychology has developed over time
15th century
The acceptance into law of psychological aspects of offending such as insanity.
16th century
The acceptance into law of expert witnesses - especially medical experts.
17th century
Development of systematic criminology.
18th century
Professionalism of medicine, medical concepts of mental illness & social problems.
19th century
Development of Waundt’s laboratory at Leipzig, i.e. in the origins of modern psychology.
Great founding ‘father’ theory - Mustingburg in Germany, then USA.
20th century
Development of the profession of clinical psychology to vie with psychiatry.
Massive expansion of academic psychology and psychological practice after World War 2.
Debates in Psychology - define the main concepts in the debates Nature versus Nurture and Free will versus Determinism
Nature/nurture: This debate revolves around the issue of how people acquire their behaviours and mental processes.
Free will/determinism: This debate revolves around the issue of whether our behaviours and mental processes are a product of our choice or the unavoidable result of precursors.
Mind/body: A debate that revolves around the issue of establishing the relationship between the mind (cognitive processes) and the body (behaviour).
Theoretical Positions in the Mind/Body problem
- Emergence suggests that the mind controls the body.
- Epiphenomenalism suggests that the body controls the mind.
- Interactionism suggests that the mind and body causally affect each other.
- Psychophysical parallelism suggests that the mind and body are not causally related.
Basics of Law
There are basic concepts of law that must be understood as they apply to forensic psychology. Law is defined as the rules established by a governing authority to institute and maintain orderly coexistence.
Criminal Vs Civil - identify important legal issues.
Civil cases involve the settlement of a dispute between two parties, where one of the parties perceives that they have been harmed. Criminal cases involve the prosecution by the state of an individual who has violated a law.
Appellate vs Lower Court - identify important legal issues.
Appellate decisions are those made by a higher court, usually regarding a claim that an individual’s constitutional rights have been infringed upon during a lower court hearing. These decisions are generally recorded.
Mens Rea Vs Actus Reus - identify important legal issues.
The two-pronged Common Law standard for establishing criminal guilt. Based on the Latin phrase ‘actus non facit reum nisi mens sit rea’ (the act does not make a person guilty unless the mind be also guilty).
Stare Decisis - identify important legal issues.
The legal principle of following precedents in deciding a case—the idea that future decisions of a court should follow the example set by the prior decisions.
What is the difference between the terms actus reus and mens rea?
The mens rea is the guilty mind and the actus reus is the guilty act.
Read Biological perspectives in criminology (PDF 826 KB) (Links to an external site.) (Fishbein, 1990, pp. 27–72), which will discuss how our perceptions of crime are influenced by psychological constructs.
Mens Rea - A forensic perspective on aggression and violence - if the defendant kills without premeditation, the defendant cannot be guilty (intent, malice, specific intent, premeditation and recklessness)
Mind/Body dualism and behavioural controls: a multidisciplinary problem in search of a model - Lazare (1973) 4 hidden conceptual models: 1. the medical model based on biological concepts, 2. psychological model by psychoanalysis and cognitive concepts, 3. behavioural model, grounded by learning theory concepts, 4. social model, patients are assessed in social context. Barratt (1972, 1985) 4 concepts, 1. biological, 2. social or environmental, 3. behavioural, 4. cognitive or psychological. - lack of integration is proposed as the main source of confusion in resolving the mind/body problem. we perceive ourselves to have more control over behaviour than we do = mens rea. - we need a discipline neutral model
Defining and measuring aggression: risk factors and criterion measures for premeditated vs impulsive aggression - measures = frequency, intensity, target, mode, type and pattern.
UTMB Aggression Research - Aggression is not monolithic impulsive disorder, its, 1. impulsive or reactive, 2. premeditated or proactive, 3. aggression is secondary to medical disorders. Phenytoin reduced frequency and intensity of impulsive aggression.
Impulsivity and mental responsibility for criminal acts - impulsive aggression argues against premeditation,
Read Impulsive versus premeditated aggression: Implications for mens rea decisions (PDF 90 KB) (Links to an external site.) (Barratt & Felthous, 2003, pp. 619–630), which will examine how beliefs about personality can shape beliefs about crime.
- Suggests biological conditions have a profound impact on the adaptive, cognitive and emotional abilities of the individual, such as behavioural dysfunctions, cannot rule personality as a main issue but has some merit. Maladadaptivity may detect early prevention, remediation and evaluation.
Biological perspectives may enhance understanding with control techniques in criminal justice such as corrections, prisionization, crowding, dehumanization. Reduce antisocial behaviours
In Australia, forensic psychology is defined in what way?
The application of clinical psychological knowledge to the treatment and rehabilitation of offenders.
Which of the following is NOT one of the major debates in psychology explored in the learning materials?
race and prejudice
Which of the following describes the Nature/nurture debate in psychology?
This debate revolves around the issue of how people acquire their behaviours and mental processes.
