Deck 15: Social Psychology in Court

Question 1

Research experiments by Wells and others (1979)show that incorrect eyewitnesses are believed ________ of the time.

A)5 percent
B)20 percent
C)50 percent
D)80 percent

Answer 1

80 percent

Question 2

Which of the following statements is true about research on the use of harsh and brutal interrogation techniques?

A)Brutal interrogation enhances accurate information retrieval.
B)Interrogation techniques that use torture are the most effective.
C)Harsh "enhanced" interrogation techniques are ineffective.
D)Brutal interrogation makes lie detection easier.

Answer 2

Harsh "enhanced" interrogation techniques are ineffective.

Question 3

Research indicates that eyewitnesses who remember trivial details of a crime scene:

A)also tend to overestimate the degree of harm or damage done as a result of the crime.
B)also tend to be particularly suspicious of all unfamiliar faces.
C)are less likely to have paid attention to the culprit's face.
D)are more likely to have paid attention to the culprit's face.

Answer 3

are less likely to have paid attention to the culprit's face.

Question 4

After hearing a television report falsely indicating that drugs may have contributed to a recent auto accident,several eyewitnesses of the accident begin to remember the driver as traveling at a higher speed than was actually the case.This provides an example of:

A)flashbulb memory.
B)state-dependent memory.
C)the serial position effect.
D)the misinformation effect.

Question 5

A prosecuting attorney learns that a crucial eyewitness to a grocery store robbery correctly remembers trivial details of the crime scene.If the prosecutor hopes to convince the jury that the eyewitness is credible,research suggests that the prosecutor should:

A)make the jury aware of the witness's ability to remember trivial details.
B)deliberately avoid making the jury aware of the witness's ability to remember trivial details.
C)deliberately avoid using the trivial details as evidence.
D)make the jury aware of the witness's ability to remember trivial details only if the witness is of a high-status.

Question 6

At the University of Washington,Loftus (1979)found that eyewitnesses in a hypothetical robbery-murder case were influential:

A)unless their testimony was shown to be useless.
B)even when their testimony was discredited.
C)only if other evidence supported their story.
D)only if they were similar to those making the judgments.

Question 7

Morgan and his team (2004)found that when a group of soldiers were asked to identify their intimidating interrogators from a 15-person lineup,they correctly identified their high-stress interrogator ________ of the time.

A)10 percent
B)30 percent
C)50 percent
D)90 percent

Question 8

Memory researcher Loftus found in a research study that when an eyewitness who had testified against the defendant in a hypothetical robbery-murder case was discredited because of having poor vision:

A)about half the jurors switched their votes from guilty to innocent.
B)the majority of jurors still voted for conviction.
C)jurors regarded the eyewitness testimony as useless and it had no impact on their verdict.
D)a boomerang effect occurred with all the jurors changing their votes in favor of an acquittal.

Question 9

Of the following eyewitnesses to a crime,who would probably appear most believable to a jury?

A)Teddy,a fifth-grader whose father is a lawyer
B)Randy,a radio announcer who appears very confident about what he saw
C)Moira,a retired teacher who has traveled widely to visit other countries
D)Dawn,a shy student who smiles and speaks very softly

Question 10

Wells and his colleagues (2006)reported that it is the ________ witnesses whom jurors find to be more credible than the others.

A)middle-aged
B)teenage
C)confident
D)emotional

Question 11

The process of witnessing an event,receiving misleading information about it,and then incorporating the misleading information into one's memory of the event is referred to as the ________ effect.

A)implicit memory
B)misinformation
C)inoculation
D)interference

Question 12

The tendency for witnesses to incorporate misleading information into their memories is especially strong when:

A)suggestive questions are repeated.
B)the questioner is female rather than male.
C)the event was a traffic incident rather than a violent crime.
D)the witness is low in need for cognition.

Question 13

A prosecuting attorney is uncertain whether her eyewitness will seem credible to the jury.The eyewitness's testimony could help win a conviction,but the eyewitness might be discredited by the defense attorney.What advice should the prosecutor accept?

A)Put the eyewitness on the stand,since even a discredited eyewitness is more convincing than no eyewitness at all.
B)Do not put the eyewitness on the stand,since a discredited eyewitness is worse than no eyewitness at all.
C)Put the eyewitness on the stand but admit your reservations about the credibility of the eyewitness before the defense attorney raises the issue.
D)Put the eyewitness on the stand only if he or she is attractive and similar to the jurors.

Question 14

Research on false memories in children find that children:

A)are not very confident about their memories.
B)cannot reliably separate real from false memories.
C)very rarely lie about their memories.
D)are unlikely to make false accusations.

Question 15

City police found that Mr.Caldwell,an eyewitness to a murder in a local bank,correctly remembered many trivial details of the crime scene,including the specific time on the clock and the paintings on the wall.Research findings suggest that Mr.Caldwell's recall of trivial details means:

A)it is more likely that he can also correctly identify the murderer.
B)it is less likely that he can also correctly identify the murderer.
C)nothing in terms of his ability to correctly identify the murderer.
D)it is more likely that he can also correctly identify the murderer,provided Mr.Caldwell is also highly educated.

Question 16

Which of the following statements is true of eyewitness testimony?

A)Eyewitnesses are often more correct than confident.
B)Confident eyewitnesses are less accurate when making identifications soon after the event.
C)Confident witnesses are not necessarily accurate witnesses.
D)Eyewitnesses who pay attention to details are most likely to remember the culprit's face.

Question 17

Research on the memories of young children indicates that they:

A)are better at remembering verbal details than visual details.
B)can reliably separate real from false memories.
C)are especially susceptible to misinformation.
D)do not react to misinformation.

Question 18

In the process known as the misinformation effect,individuals:

A)give misleading testimony in court.
B)receive wrong information about an event and then incorporate that information into their memory of the event.
C)purposely give wrong information to police.
D)fail to remember any information following a traumatic event.

Question 19

Which of the following statements about eyewitness testimony is FALSE?

A)Studies have confirmed that eyewitnesses often are more confident than correct.
B)Confident witnesses are more believable to jurors than those lacking confidence.
C)Younger eyewitnesses tend to be more accurate than older eyewitnesses.
D)Criminal cases lacking eyewitness testimony are more likely to produce convictions.

Question 20

Jurors think that an eyewitness who can recall trivial details such as how many pictures were hanging in the room probably:

A)gained information about these details by a second visit to the crime scene.
B)was paying better attention than one who recalls no details.
C)was not paying attention to the culprit or the crime itself.
D)is no more accurate in recalling important information than witnesses with no memory for details.

Question 21

Which one of the following is an indicator that can suggest accuracy in lineup identification?

A)being an older eyewitness
B)taking a long time to make an identification
C)being very confident about an identification
D)making a very quick identification

Question 22

Which of the following statements is true of retelling?

A)Retelling events accurately makes people less resistant to the misinformation effect.
B)Rehearsing answers before taking the witness stand decreases the confidence of those who are wrong.
C)Retelling events commits people to their recollections,accurate or not.
D)Retelling has no effect on memory.

Question 23

The misinformation effect among eyewitnesses can be reduced by:

A)avoiding stopping them when any incorrect information is provided.
B)implying that some given information is incorrect.
C)considering any evidence provided in the first instance as final.
D)letting witnesses report multiple versions of the same incident.

Question 24

To promote accurate recall,the "cognitive interview" procedure for questioning eyewitnesses begins with:

A)specific questions about the event.
B)guiding eyewitnesses to visualize the scene.
C)informing witnesses about what others have said.
D)flooding witnesses with mug shots of culprits right away.

Question 25

Blair Sheppard and Neil Vidmar (1980)had some students serve as witnesses to a fight,while others took the roles of lawyers and judges.When interviewed by the defense lawyer,the witnesses:

A)gave testimony condemning the defendant as guilty.
B)were more confident and remembered more details.
C)gave testimony that was more favorable to the defendant.
D)were less susceptible to the misinformation effect.

Question 26

Young children's susceptibility to the misinformation effect raises the distinct possibility that:

A)some people have been falsely accused in sex abuse cases.
B)many educators overestimate the competence of their students.
C)children forget that they were physically abused.
D)many children are simply unable to experience empathy for dissimilar others.

Question 27

Which of the following can result in an eyewitness gaining confidence?

A)being a witness for the first time
B)being asked the same question repeatedly
C)testifying against a person for the first time
D)disliking the defendant

Question 28

Wells et al.(1981)had eyewitnesses to a staged theft rehearse their answers to questions before taking the witness stand.Doing so:

A)increased the accuracy of the eyewitness testimony.
B)decreased the confidence of those who were correct.
C)increased the confidence of those who were wrong.
D)decreased the jurors' confidence in them.

Question 29

Which of the following can distort eyewitness testimony?

A)suggestive questions
B)an eyewitness's own retelling of events
C)police officers' response to witness statements
D)All of the answers are correct.

Question 30

A police interrogator questioning an eyewitness to a robbery hopes to learn whether the assailant was wearing a bright green hat similar to one seen in another robbery.According to research,which of the following questions will elicit the most detailed,undistorted recall from the eyewitness?

A)"Did you see whether the robber was wearing a hat?"
B)"Can you describe the hat the robber was wearing?"
C)"What color was the robber's hat?"
D)"How was the robber dressed?"

Question 31

Stan is uncertain about the man he identified as the burglar in a police lineup.His confidence as the witness is most likely to increase after:

A)learning that he is the only eyewitness in the case.
B)being asked the same questions repeatedly.
C)viewing a thousand police mug shots of different burglars.
D)seeing the grainy,inconclusive security camera video of the burglar.

Question 32

Which of the following statements can lead to imagination inflation?

A)"Recall the events that happened when you first visited a doctor's clinic,such as being scared of injections."
B)"How many times have you been to the dentist for a checkup in the last five years?"
C)"Recall the events that have made you happy in the last one week."
D)"Who did you go with for watching the game at the stadium last night?"

Question 33

Dunning and Perretta (2002)found that those eyewitnesses who made their identifications ________ were nearly 90 percent accurate.

A)after a long deliberation
B)confidently
C)in less than 10-12 seconds
D)and then changed them

Question 34

Which is NOT one of the confidence boosters for eyewitnesses found by Wells and Bradfield (1998,1999)?

A)learning that another witness has identified the same person
B)being asked the same question repeatedly
C)preparing for cross-examination
D)not getting feedback confirmation after identification of a suspect

Question 35

Researchers have found that eyewitnesses' accuracy when making identifications can improve when:

A)interrogators delay the identification procedure by at least one week.
B)the witnesses scan a group of mug shots or a composite drawing before reviewing a lineup.
C)the witnesses are presented with a sequence of individual people,one by one,instead of being presented with a group of photos or a lineup.
D)interrogators explain the seriousness of the crime that is committed and allow the witnesses to be part of the complete investigation process.

Question 36

Most police agencies in North America and Britain have adopted the ________ procedure,which shows promise for enhancing information gathered in oral histories and medical surveys.

A)panel interview
B)cognitive interview
C)behavioral therapy
D)verbal overshadowing

Question 37

In a police lineup,the lineup interviewer's feedback:

A)has no effect on the witness's confidence.
B)is of little significance.
C)has a large effect on the witness's confidence.
D)is usually not believed by the witness.

Question 38

Studies have identified the post-identification feedback effect and suggest that in order to avoid it:

A)witnesses should look for confirmation from interrogators.
B)witnesses should not be permitted to communicate with the interrogators.
C)interrogators should confirm which person is the suspect.
D)interrogators should be kept ignorant of who is the suspect.

Question 39

Which of the following is NOT a recommended strategy for increasing the accuracy of eyewitnesses and jurors?

A)Train police interviewers to elicit unbiased accounts.
B)Educate jurors about the factors influencing eyewitness testimony.
C)Ask witnesses to scan a lineup of several mug shots simultaneously rather than one at a time.
D)Use scripted and neutral questions during lineups so there are no subtle demands of identification.

Question 40

Sean has been accused of assaulting a six-year-old child.Which of the following suggestive questions to the child could be a cause for the misinformation effect?

A)"Did the abuser try to meet you after the incident?"
B)"Can you recollect the facial features of the abuser?"
C)"Did Mr.Sean try to intimidate you after committing the crime?"
D)"Have you seen Mr.Sean earlier?"

Question 41

All of the following are good procedures to follow when dealing with the lineup process for identification EXCEPT:

A)making the witness give a yes or no judgment in response to a sequence of suspects.
B)letting the witness view suspects one at a time.
C)using questions that are spontaneous,not scripted.
D)prohibiting any confidence-inflating post-lineup comments.

Question 42

Which of the following factors has been shown to influence either the likelihood of conviction or the severity of punishment?

A)status
B)attractiveness
C)similarity to the jurors
D)All of the answers are correct.

Question 43

In researching over 1,700 defendants appearing in Texas misdemeanor cases,Downs and Lyons (1991)found that the judges ________ less attractive defendants.

A)set lower bails for
B)set greater fines for
C)spent less time reviewing the cases of
D)spent more time questioning

Question 44

Which of the following strategies can be used for reducing misidentifications in police lineups?

A)Give eyewitnesses a "blank" lineup that contains no suspects and screen out those who make false identifications.
B)Minimize false identifications with instructions that acknowledge that the offender may not be in the lineup.
C)Use a sequential lineup where eyewitnesses can compare each person with their memory of the culprit and make an absolute decision.
D)All of the answers are correct.

Question 45

Which of the following arises when someone threatens our freedom of action?

A)reactance
B)disinhibition
C)self-efficacy
D)self-monitoring

Question 46

Which of the following is an example of compliant confession?

A)Jason confesses that he and his partner committed economic fraud after he is given a false news that his partner has confessed to committing the fraud.
B)Lia confesses that she drove the car that was involved in a car crash after seeing a media report on the accident.
C)Adrian confesses to committing a crime after being deprived of food and sleep for three days.
D)Katie confesses that she saw her spouse commit a murder after being told that he has been accused of such crimes earlier.

Question 47

If convicted,________ people strike people as more dangerous,especially if they are sexual offenders.

A)cute or baby-faced
B)attractive
C)unattractive
D)underage

Question 48

Which of the following factors is NOT likely to lead to a lighter sentence for the person convicted?

A)high status
B)baby-faced features
C)height
D)physical attractiveness

Question 49

Jurors find it difficult to erase the impact of inadmissible evidence:

A)when it is a criminal trial as opposed to a civil trial.
B)when the inadmissible evidence is presented by the defense as opposed to the prosecution.
C)when the inadmissible evidence is an emotionally provocative description of a defendant's record.
D)when a witness,as opposed to a trial lawyer,blurts out the inadmissible evidence.

Question 50

When Efran (1974)gave students a description of a case of students cheating and showed them a photograph of either an attractive or unattractive person accused of the crime,he found that attractive defendants were:

A)recommended a lesser punishment.
B)more likely to be judged as guilty.
C)more respected.
D)perceived as more dangerous.

Question 51

In an experiment conducted with BBC Television,Richard Wiseman (1998)reported that viewers saw the defendant played by either an attractive or an unattractive actor.How did the viewers react?

A)More viewers "convicted" the attractive defendant.
B)More viewers "convicted" the unattractive defendant.
C)There was no difference in the conviction rates of the attractive and unattractive defendants.
D)Baby-faced defendants were more often found guilty.

Question 52

Who among the following is likely to receive the most severe sentence for drunk driving?

A)Kim,a good-looking real estate agent
B)Tim,an unattractive auto mechanic with long hair
C)Ken,a clean-cut businessman
D)Carol,an attractive single mother

Question 53

To minimize the effects of inadmissible testimony,judges are best advised to:

A)wait until jurors have heard the testimony before ruling it inadmissible,so jurors specifically know what they are to disregard.
B)videotape the testimony and cut out the inadmissible parts.
C)meet with jurors during their deliberations after the trial to ensure that inadmissible testimony is not influencing their judgments.
D)immediately follow a trial by seeking a verbal pledge from each juror to ignore inadmissible evidence.

Question 54

Nearly all the states in the United States now have "________" statutes that prohibit or limit testimony concerning a rape victim's prior sexual activity.

A)inadmissible rape testimony
B)rape denial
C)rape shield
D)no

Question 55

According to Craig Haney (1991),Blacks are ________ as defendants or ________ as victims,or both.

A)undervalued;undervalued
B)overpunished;overvalued
C)undervalued;overvalued
D)overpunished;undervalued

Question 56

Someone accused of a crime is judged more sympathetically:

A)by females than by males.
B)if he or she has good communication skills.
C)if he or she appears similar to the one who judges.
D)if there was a bystander who watched and did not intervene.

Question 57

When Amato (1979)had Australian students read evidence concerning a left- or right-wing person accused of a politically motivated burglary,they judged the person less guilty if:

A)his motives were known to others.
B)his political views were similar to their own.
C)he claimed he had been hired to commit the crime.
D)he proved he had not profited by the burglary.

Question 58

Research shows that when a judge rules evidence to be inadmissible and admonishes the jury to ignore it:

A)jurors are generally able to follow the judge's instructions.
B)jurors have a hard time ignoring the evidence and its influence on their deliberations.
C)jurors do so if the evidence damages the defendant's case but not if it hurts the prosecution's case.
D)the evidence typically becomes the focus of debate in jury deliberations.

Question 59

Which of the following refers to internalized confessions?

A)the confessions that are made after people are subject to torture
B)the confessions given by people under the influence of drugs
C)the confessions apparently believed after people are fed misinformation
D)the confessions that are supported with DNA evidence

Question 60

Misinformation-induced false memories lead to:

A)compliant confessions.
B)a lack of subjective data.
C)false confessions.
D)a lack of evidence.

Question 61

Research on the effects of group deliberation by a jury suggests all of the following EXCEPT that:

A)jurors exert normative pressure.
B)jurors share information.
C)deliberation never tends to cancel out certain biases.
D)deliberation can draw attention away from jurors' previous prejudgments of the evidence.

Question 62

Research on minority influence suggests that jurors in the minority will be most persuasive when they:

A)are inclined toward changing their position.
B)begin to trigger some defections from the majority.
C)tend to be aggressive in their attitudes.
D)are favorable to the opinions and decision of the majority.

Question 63

Blair et al.(2004)reported that over a two-decade period,Black males convicted of murdering a White defendant were doubly likely to be sentenced to death if:

A)the murder was violent.
B)the jurors were inexperienced
C)the jurors were inexperienced.
D)they had more stereotypically Afrocentric features.

Question 64

Which of the following is true about juries?

A)Larger juries are less likely to recall trial testimony accurately.
B)Twelve-person juries are twice as likely as six-person juries to have hung verdicts.
C)Larger juries are less likely to reach "correct" verdicts.
D)Psychologically speaking,a jury split 10 to 2 is equivalent to a jury split 5 to 1.

Question 65

Support for capital punishment in the United States has ________ since 1994.

A)reduced
B)increased slightly
C)remained stable
D)increased significantly

Question 66

After the eyewitness of a hit-and-run crime offers an unprompted recollection of the incident,which of the following is an evocative and open-ended question that should be asked to the eyewitness to ensure that the recollections are the most accurate?

A)"Did the driver wear goggles?"
B)"Was there anything unusual about the driver's appearance?"
C)"Did the driver have black or gray hair?"
D)"Was the driver wearing a bright-colored shirt?"

Question 67

Which is NOT true in relation to jurors in court?

A)Jurors are best persuaded when attorneys present evidence as a story of what happened.
B)Many jurors don't understand the standard legalese of judicial instructions.
C)Understanding how jurors misconstrue judicial instructions is the first step toward better decisions.
D)Premature opinions formed by jurors won't influence how they interpret information later.

Question 68

Which of the following statements is true of death penalty and homicide rates?

A)States with the death penalty have lower homicide rates.
B)States with the death penalty do not have lower homicide rates.
C)Homicide rates increase when states abolish the death penalty.
D)Homicide rates drop when states initiate the death penalty.

Question 69

An attorney will be defending James,who is accused of raping a 22-year-old woman.Who among the following jurors is likely to be least sympathetic to his client's case?

A)John,a 40-year-old plumber who once served a sentence for burglary
B)Todd,a 22-year-old college student who is a political liberal
C)Wilma,a 42-year-old mother of two who tends to be authoritarian
D)Rita,a 32-year-old television executive who opposes the death penalty

Question 70

Compared with all-White mock juries,racially mixed mock juries have been found to:

A)express more leniency.
B)express less openness to a wide range of information.
C)be harsher in sentencing.
D)be more susceptible to group polarization.

Question 71

In 1986,the U.S.Supreme Court,in a split decision:

A)ruled that death-qualified jurors are a biased sample.
B)overturned a lower court ruling that death-qualified jurors are indeed a biased sample.
C)ruled that Georgia's five-member juries were as reliable and accurate as twelve-member juries.
D)overturned a lower court decision that six-member juries could decide cases involving the death penalty.

Question 72

You have just been appointed to serve as a new county judge.You are concerned about the effect inadmissible evidence may have on the jury in an upcoming trial of a sexual assault case.You anticipate that the defense attorney will seek to introduce evidence regarding the victim's prior sexual history.To minimize the impact of such evidence on the jury,you should:

A)say nothing about the possible inadmissible evidence to the jury.
B)remind the jury before the trial that the victim's previous sexual history is irrelevant.
C)tell the jury that the evidence is inadmissible only after the defense attempts to introduce it.
D)ask the defendant to refute any damaging evidence about her previous sexual history.

Question 73

Research suggests that jury deliberations can be influenced by all of the following processes EXCEPT:

A)group polarization.
B)minority influence.
C)deindividuation.
D)informational influence.

Question 74

Which of the following is an example of an internalized confession?

A)A person confesses to committing a crime after being deprived of food and sleep for four days.
B)A person confesses to committing a crime during a lie-detector test.
C)A person confesses to committing a crime to a close family member.
D)A person confesses to committing a crime after receiving a false news that his partners have also confessed.

Question 75

Hastie et al.(1983)showed participants reenactments of an actual murder case and asked them to deliberate until they agreed on a verdict.After deliberation,their initial leanings:

A)had weakened.
B)had grown stronger.
C)were inconsequential.
D)did not change.

Question 76

Ellsworth and Mauro (1998)reported that gender seems to be linked with verdicts only in:

A)racially charged cases.
B)rape and battered woman cases.
C)personal injury awards in suits against businesses.
D)murder cases.

Question 77

Death-qualified jurors are:

A)more likely to be women.
B)less likely to convict in criminal cases.
C)more concerned with crime control rather than due process of law.
D)less concerned with favoring the prosecution in most cases.

Question 78

Group judgments surpass those made by individuals because groups:

A)are less likely to include a community's diversity.
B)recall information from a trial better than individuals.
C)are more likely to be attentive to their own prejudgments.
D)give less time to deliberation.

Question 79

In the context of jury deliberations,what is meant by the "two-thirds-majority" scheme?

A)Two-thirds of all people asked refuse to serve on a jury.
B)Two out of three times,judges have to agree with the jury's decision.
C)A jury needs to necessarily consist of two-thirds women and two-thirds minorities.
D)The jury verdict is usually the alternative favored by at least two-thirds of the jurors at the outset.

Question 80

Research suggests that jurors in the minority will be most persuasive when they are all of the following EXCEPT:

A)consistent.
B)self-confident.
C)persistent.
D)conservative.