Deck 1: Forensic Psychology: Promises and Problems

Question 1

Describe and evaluate some of the legal system's criticisms of psychology's methods and findings.

Answer 1

no answer

Question 2

Describe the case of Price Waterhouse v.Hopkins (1989).What roles did psychologists play in this case? Did their participation have the desired effect?

Answer 2

no answer

Question 3

Describe the work of early experimental psychologists (from 1885 to 1915) that was relevant to forensic psychology.

Answer 3

no answer

Question 4

What role do aggravating and mitigating factors play in deciding whether to sentence a convicted defendant to death?

Question 5

Describe the tensions between psychology and the law,especially with regard to the role of empiricism.

Question 6

In what way does a narrow definition of forensic psychology limit the field?

Question 7

Describe the case of McCleskey v.Kemp (1987) and especially how it reflects the conflict between law and social science.

Question 8

Distinguish between induction and deduction as reasoning procedures.

Question 9

Which of the following is NOT given a special designation by the American Psychological Association

Question 10

Given a narrow definition of forensic psychology,which of the following would NOT be considered a part of forensic psychology?

A)Assessment of competency
B)Expert testimony on rape trauma syndrome
C)Expert testimony on eyewitness accuracy
D)Evaluation for child-custody determination

Question 11

Who was Hugo Munsterberg? What contributions did he make to forensic psychology? What were his goals? Was he successful?

Question 12

What is an example of a clinical application of forensic psychology?

A)Specializing in eyewitness reliability
B)Child custody evaluation
C)Jury selection
D)Studying pretrial publicity effects

Question 13

In the legal system,what role does the adversary system play in determining the truth?

Question 14

Define forensic psychology.

Question 15

How would a psychologist determine "truth"? How would a lawyer?

Question 16

Describe the difference between the two main divisions in the field of psychology.

Question 17

What are some examples of activities encompassed by the term "forensic psychology"?

Question 18

Describe the legal profession's reaction to Munsterberg's claims.What are some conflicts between the fields of law and psychology?

Question 19

Why is the case of Muller v.Oregon (1908) important with regard to the impact of social science on the legal system?

Question 20

What is it about judges that causes them to reject the findings of psychological research?to many topics,some psychologists define forensic psychology more narrowly,considering it a specialization of _____________ psychology.

A)experimental
B)social
C)developmental
D)clinical

Question 21

At the time,how did the legal field react to Hugo Munsterberg's contributions to the legal system?

A)They praised and accepted Munsterberg's contributions.
B)They strongly criticized Munsterberg's contributions.
C)They ignored Munsterberg's contributions.
D)They were bitterly divided about Munsterberg's work.

Question 22

Hugo Munsterberg is often considered the founder of what field?

A)American psychology
B)Child psychology
C)Forensic psychology
D)Cognitive psychology

Question 23

For which of the following would stare decisis serve as a guiding principle?

A)Social scientist
B)Police officer
C)Appellant
D)Appellate judge

Question 24

Regarding the use of psychics in criminal investigations,psychologists generally

A)believe that psychics can help.
B)reject the use of psychics.
C)favor the use of psychics only as a last resort.
D)favor the use of psychics who have gone through experimental tests.

Question 25

Which of the following is NOT one of the tensions between the law and psychology as described in Chapter 1 of the textbook?

A)Psychology's empirical versus law's authoritarian epistemology
B)Psychology's use of deontology versus law's use of consequentalism
C)Psychology's descriptive versus law's prescriptive discourse
D)Psychology's nomothetic versus law's ideographic focus

Question 26

Which of the following is NOT a psychological research topic relevant to the real world of the legal system?

A)Jurors' understanding of the definition of insanity
B)Children's competence as eyewitnesses
C)Bullet trajectories and victims' wounds
D)Validity of the battered woman syndrome

Question 27

Which is NOT a criticism leveled against psychology when applied to the legal system?

A)The lack of ecological validity in much psychological research
B)Going beyond research data to make moral judgments
C)The use of irrelevant past cases in making decisions about current issues
D)Its intrusion upon,and possible subversion of,legitimate activities of the legal system

Question 28

______________ are human creations that evolve out of the need to resolve disagreements.

A)Values
B)Morals
C)Laws
D)Opinions

Question 29

During what period was there little scientific activity in forensic psychology?

A)During the period right before and after the 20th century.
B)From WWII to the 1970's.
C)From the 1970s to the 1990's.
D)The current period.

Question 30

Which of the following was NOT an activity Hugo Munsterberg tried to bring into the legal system?

A)The establishment of minimum sentences for the criminally insane
B)The introduction of experimental psychology to laypersons
C)The demonstration of the fallibility of memory
D)His availability as an expert witness in highly publicized trials

Question 31

As indicated in the textbook,the nature of the adversary system leads to some trial attorneys valuing _________ over the quest for truth.

A)punitive sentencing
B)personal intuition
C)conflict resolution
D)professional ambition

Question 32

During what period did research on memory and eyewitness accuracy begin?

A)The 1880s into the early 1900s
B)Right after World War I
C)The 1950s
D)The latter half of the 1970s

Question 33

The attack on Munsterberg's claims for the power of forensic psychology were spearheaded by

A)Louis Terman.
B)Alfred Binet.
C)Elizabeth Loftus.
D)John Henry Wigmore

Question 34

Which of the following describes Sherlock Holmes' procedure of developing a number of possible solutions,then eliminating them one by one ("When youhave eliminated all the possibilities but one,that remaining one,no matter howimprobable,must be the correct solution")?

A)Transductive reasoning
B)Deductive reasoning
C)Inductive reasoning
D)Conductive reasoning

Question 35

According to John Carroll (1980),__________ deals in morality,social values, social control,and the application of abstract principles.

A)religion
B)law
C)education
D)social science

Question 36

According to John Carroll (1980),_____________ deals in knowledge,truth, and derives abstract principles from specific instances.

A)religion
B)law
C)education
D)social science

Question 37

_______________ are standards for decision making.

A)Values
B)Morals
C)Laws
D)Opinions

Question 38

Which of the following best corresponds to stare decisis?

A)"An eye for an eye"
B)"Let the decision stand"
C)"Search for the truth"
D)"The state shall decide"

Question 39

The first research on memory and errors in eyewitnesses' memory was done where?

A)Germany
B)France
C)The United States
D)Research began in all these countries within the same period of 20-30 years

Question 40

When was the first separate juvenile court established in the United States?

A)1785
B)1820
C)1899
D)1955

Question 41

In Price Waterhouse v.Hopkins (1989),Ann Hopkins sued her employer for sex discrimination.Based upon a majority opinion in the case,which of the following statements represents the significance of the social psychologist's testimony about sex stereotyping on the court's decision?

A)It hurt Ann Hopkins' case.
B)In the court's opinion,it made little,if any impact,in the court's decision.
C)It played a significant role but other ever was needed.
D)It was all the evidence necessary for the court's decision.

Question 42

In McCleskey V.Kemp (1987) the court decided to

A)to overturn McCleskey's conviction on the grounds that the death sentence is administered in a racially biased manner.
B)reject McCleskey's appeal because there was no evidence to suggest equal-protection was violated.
C)reject McCleskey's appeal because the statistical analysis used to support his claims was done incorrectly.
D)overturn McCleskey's conviction on the grounds that there were no

Question 43

McCleskey v.Kemp (1987) challenged the death penalty on the grounds that the applications of the sentence are racially biased.Which of the followingrepresents the percentages of murder sentences that were death sentences,depending on the race of the victim?

A)7% if Black,15% if White
B)15% if Black,50% if White
C)1 to 2 % if Black,11% if White
D)18% if Black,25 % if White

Question 44

In 1994 what happened to legislation that would allow people sentenced to death to challenge their sentences using statistical evidence of past racialdiscrimination in executions?

A)The legislation passed both houses and became law.
B)The U.S.Congress passed it,but the president vetoed it.
C)The House of Representatives passed it,but the U.S.Senate rejected it.
D)The legislation was rejected by both houses.

Question 45

When it comes to research's influence on court decisions,psychological research has

A)become the sole determinant of court decisions.
B)influence court decisions sometimes.
C)no influence.
D)no influence now,although in the past had a large influence.

Question 46

The case of Price Waterhouse v.Hopkins is important because

A)psychological research and theory on sex stereotyping was presented in court by an expert witness.
B)the Supreme Court admitted testimony on the battered woman syndrome.
C)for the first time,a Supreme Court opinion acknowledged that psychological research was the determining factor in its opinion.
D)Hopkins,who was to be executed,received a new trial.

Question 47

According to Baldus and his colleagues (1990),which magnitude of aggravating factors will create the largest "race-or-victim" effect in sentencingconvicted murderers?

A)Low
B)Mid-range
C)High
D)Extreme

Question 48

Which of the following describes a Brandeis brief?

A)A brief which calls for a mistrial based on a judge's lack of impartiality
B)A brief which is organized around the best intuitive argument for the case
C)A brief which focuses on empirical evidence rather than reviewing past cases and statutes
D)A brief which relies on a famous Supreme Court decision by Justice Brandeis

Question 49

According to Chapter 1,which profession would be most likely to describe facts in terms of their probabilities?

A)Law enforcement officer
B)Psychologist
C)Attorney
D)Judge

Question 50

Which of the following is NOT considered an aggravating factor,when determining the punishment after a murder conviction?

A)A rape of the victim
B)Torture of the victim
C)Kidnapping of the victim
D)The killing was done in self-defense

Question 51

Why is Muller v.Oregon (1908) considered a landmark case?

A)Its acceptance of social-science evidence rather than law cases and statutes
B)Its clarification of the insanity defense
C)Its emphasis on victim impact statements
D)Its refusal to allow expert testimony