Week 5: Psychology in the Criminal Justice System (Chapter 11)

Question 1

Criminal Behaviour

Answer 1

A violation of social agreements and rules.

Question 2

Social Ecological Perspective

Answer 2

• A view in which criminal acts are the result of an interaction between the person and the environment.

Question 3

Strain Theory

Answer 3

• Lack of resources can increase chances of restoring to criminal behaviours to attain them.

Question 4

Social Learning Theory

Answer 4

• We learn actions (and their consequences) from observing others perform those actions.

Question 5

Multi-Systemic Therapy (MST)

Answer 5

• Influence children in multiple settings they exist in (ex. school, home, neighbourhood, justice system) to reduce criminal behaviour.

Question 6

Investigative Interviewing

Answer 6

Police interview (or interrogate) both suspects and victim with the goals of learning about the crime.

Question 7

Interactional Synchrony

Answer 7

We tend to coordinate movements with people we are in conversation with.

• Ex. if police officer is fidgeting the interview fidgets as well.

Question 8

Self-Fulfilling Prophecies

Answer 8

• AKA the “Pygmalion Effect”.
• Our expectations of others can have a powerful influence on their behaviour.

Question 9

False Confessions

Answer 9

• If an interview is conducted improperly, there is a risk that a suspect may make a false confession to a crime they didn’t commit.
• The risk increases with factors that contribute to vulnerability.

Question 10

Forensic Confirmation Bias

Answer 10

The existence of a confession can lead to an…

• Over-reliance on evidence that supports guilt.
• Under-reliance or discounting of evidence counter to a guilty judgement.

Question 11

The Fundamental Attribution Error (FAE)

Answer 11

Is a bias that is prone to…

• Over-estimating internal behaviour contributing to others behaviour.
• Over-estimating external factors contributing to our own behaviour.

Question 12

The Cognitive Interview

Answer 12

• Ask open-ended questions.
• Use follow-up questions using the interviewee’s words.
• Use situational cues to help facilitate recall.
• Have interviewees report EVERYTHING (even partial memories).
• Ask to report information from different perspectives.
• Overall, the interviewee should be doing the majority of the talking.

Question 13

Eyewitness Testimony

Answer 13

• When a person witnesses a crime, accident, or other event, and later recalls what they saw in legal proceedings

Question 14

Misinformation Effect

Answer 14

Highlights how our memories can be influenced during recall.

Question 15

The Mandela Effect

Answer 15

Widespread false memories that a large number of people believe.

Question 16

Suspect Lineups

Answer 16

• Photos (or people behind the glass) with the suspect present among other foils.
• Eyewitnesses look at 6-8 individuals dressed similarly, and are asked to identify who they witnessed commit the crime in question.
• Some factors contribute to not being able to easily identify the suspect.
• Keeping lineups FAIR is key.