Introduction to Legal Frameworks and Psychology

Questions and Answers

What are laws?

Natural occurrences

Divine regulations

Social customs

Human creations (correct)

What is the function of behavior?

Person + personal qualities + setting/context/environment

What does the Due Process Model emphasize?

Value on citizen protection and assumption of innocence before proven guilty.

What is the primary goal of the Crime Control Model?

Seeks punishment of criminals and containment of crime. Signup and view all the answers

What does equality in law mean?

Equal time, equal crime Signup and view all the answers

What is the Principle of Proportionality?

Punishment should be consistent with the magnitude of the act. Signup and view all the answers

What does discretion in the legal system refer to?

Variations in justice system response to crime that may be appropriate. Signup and view all the answers

What distinguishes science from law?

Law is based on authority, while psychology is based on empiricism. Signup and view all the answers

What is Haney's Taxonomy (1980)?

Conceptualization of the complexity and diversity of roles for psychologists in the legal system. Signup and view all the answers

What is Psychology IN the Law?

Explicit use of psychology by lawyers in legal proceedings. Signup and view all the answers

What does Psychology AND the Law examine?

Use of psychological principles to analyze the legal system. Signup and view all the answers

What does Psychology OF the Law explore?

Origins and existence of law and its psychological functions. Signup and view all the answers

What characterizes a Basic Scientist?

Knowledge for knowledge's sake, with no intent to apply findings. Signup and view all the answers

What is an Applied Scientist?

Knowledge used to solve problems, reporting findings regardless of funding sources. Signup and view all the answers

What does a Policy Evaluator do?

Provides data to answer questions using appropriate methodology. Signup and view all the answers

What is an Advocate in the legal context?

A commitment to a specific side. Signup and view all the answers

Legality has a direct correlation to morals.

False Signup and view all the answers

What does Distributive justice entail?

Outcomes are equitably dispersed. Signup and view all the answers

What characterizes Procedural justice?

The process is fair. Signup and view all the answers

What are the three dimensions of Attribution Theory?

Internality, Stability, Globalness. Signup and view all the answers

What defines a Culpable individual?

Internal + Stable + Global. Signup and view all the answers

What makes someone Less Culpable?

External + Unstable + Specific. Signup and view all the answers

What is common sense in the context of law?

Allows for wider parameters than does the law. Signup and view all the answers

What is Subjectivity in jurors' judgments?

Jurors may make judgments that are not objective. Signup and view all the answers

What do the Principles of Proportionality entail?

Punishment should be consistently related to the magnitude of offense. Signup and view all the answers

What is the Principle of Equality in law?

Equal protections and punishments under the law. Signup and view all the answers

What is Determinate Sentencing?

Little room for discretion as sentences are determined by the offense. Signup and view all the answers

What is the focus of Behavioral Science?

Understanding causes of crime. Signup and view all the answers

What is Criminology?

The study of crime and criminal behavior. Signup and view all the answers

What is the goal of Rehabilitation?

To treat individuals and eliminate causes of crime. Signup and view all the answers

What does Retribution in sentencing refer to?

Punishing proportionately to the severity of the crime. Signup and view all the answers

What does Deterrence in the justice system primarily focus on?

Certainty and severity of punishment. Signup and view all the answers

What is the Religious Theory of crime?

Crime equals sin, and sin causes crime. Signup and view all the answers

What is the Classical School of Criminology based on?

Free will and crime occurring when gains outweigh consequences. Signup and view all the answers

What do Sociological Theories attribute crime to?

Social influences and cultural factors. Signup and view all the answers

What explains the Dysfunctional social arrangements?

Interference with attainment leads to crime. Signup and view all the answers

What does Subcultural Explanation of Crime suggest?

Cultural endorsements diverge from societal rules. Signup and view all the answers

What does Fundamental Inequality contribute to?

Crime due to lack of equal opportunities. Signup and view all the answers

What is the Theory of Differential Opportunity?

Social structure determines access to criminal subcultures. Signup and view all the answers

What does Rational Crime Theory suggest?

Some illegal behavior is rational based on rewards and risks. Signup and view all the answers

What does Strain Theory state?

Stress and frustration increase prospects for norm violations. Signup and view all the answers

What does Psychological Theory focus on?

Individual differences in behaviors and beliefs. Signup and view all the answers

What is the emphasis of Psychodynamic Theory?

Early childhood experiences influence likelihood of future crimes. Signup and view all the answers

What does Behavioral Theory explain?

Crime through behavior modeling and social learning. Signup and view all the answers

What is the focus of Cognitive Theory?

How perception affects potential criminal behavior. Signup and view all the answers

What does Psychoanalytic Theory propose?

Personality is governed by unconscious processes from childhood. Signup and view all the answers

What are Criminal Thinking Patterns?

Thoughts that justify continued criminal behavior. Signup and view all the answers

What does Wilson and Herrnstein's Net-Advantage Theory explain?

Individual differences affect understanding of long-term consequences. Signup and view all the answers

What does Net-Advantage refer to?

Cognitive and emotional calculations before action. Signup and view all the answers

What characterizes Extroversion?

Active, aggressive, impulsive personality traits. Signup and view all the answers

What defines Neuroticism?

Restlessness and emotional volatility. Signup and view all the answers

What does Psychoticism indicate?

Lack of empathy and manipulative behavior. Signup and view all the answers

What is Psychopathy?

Psychopaths commit a small percentage of crime but a disproportionate amount of violent crime. Signup and view all the answers

What is Control Theory?

People must learn to be good through various controls. Signup and view all the answers

What do Learning Theories explain?

Behavior acquired through various experiences. Signup and view all the answers

What is Social Labeling Theory?

Deviance caused by labels and may lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy. Signup and view all the answers

What does Classical Conditioning relate to?

Conscience shaped by association between actions and punishment. Signup and view all the answers

What does Operant Learning involve?

Actions that are rewarded continue, while aversive outcomes discontinue actions. Signup and view all the answers

What is Social Learning?

Learning through modeling and the importance of individual observations. Signup and view all the answers

What is Social Labeling?

Deviance is caused by labels, leading to self-fulfilling prophecies. Signup and view all the answers

What is Primary Deviance?

The criminal act itself. Signup and view all the answers

What is Secondary Deviance?

Society's reaction to the act. Signup and view all the answers

What does Biocriminology explore?

Biological factors associated with criminal behavior. Signup and view all the answers

What do Biological Theories focus on?

Reject biological determinism and nature/nurture dichotomy. Signup and view all the answers

What is Screening In?

Identifying candidates with suitable attributes for law enforcement. Signup and view all the answers

What does Screening Out entail?

Elimination of unsuitable candidates for law enforcement jobs. Signup and view all the answers

What does Validity refer to in testing?

Whether the test measures what it is supposed to measure. Signup and view all the answers

What is Concurrent Validity?

The degree to which a test captures current performance. Signup and view all the answers

What is Predictive Validity?

The degree to which a test predicts future performance. Signup and view all the answers

What does Face Content Validity examine?

Superficial relevance of a measure to its purpose. Signup and view all the answers

What does Selection involve?

Identifying good fits and weeding out unsuitable candidates. Signup and view all the answers

What are Interviews used for?

Wide usage for recruitment and evaluation in various contexts. Signup and view all the answers

What are Situational Tests?

Simulated contexts to evaluate decision-making skills. Signup and view all the answers

What is the effectiveness of Psychological Tests?

Mixed results in predicting performance but generally better than interviews. Signup and view all the answers

What is Police Culture?

Attitudes, practices, and beliefs accepted by law enforcement. Signup and view all the answers

What does the Ferguson Effect propose?

Negative publicity may lead officers to avoid fulfilling their duties. Signup and view all the answers

What is Self-Legitimacy in policing?

Recognition of individual entitlement to power. Signup and view all the answers

What are the factors contributing to Stress in law enforcement?

Physical and psychological threats, public evaluation, and media scrutiny. Signup and view all the answers

What contributes to Excessive Force?

Character traits and previous job-related experiences. Signup and view all the answers

What defines a Hostage Situation?

Persons holding victims against their will for gain. Signup and view all the answers

What is Stockholm Syndrome?

Hostages develop positive feelings toward captors. Signup and view all the answers

What does Perception involve?

Cognitive processing of sensory information. Signup and view all the answers

What is Information Processing?

How individuals receive, organize, store, and retrieve information. Signup and view all the answers

What is Memory?

Cognitive capacity to retain and recall information and experiences. Signup and view all the answers

What is Change Blindness?

Failing to notice changes in the environment. Signup and view all the answers

What is the Weapon Focus Effect?

A weapon captures attention, interfering with perception. Signup and view all the answers

What does Divided Attention refer to?

Directing attention to multiple stimuli simultaneously. Signup and view all the answers

What are Encoder Characteristics?

What we encode is selective and inexact. Signup and view all the answers

What is Storage in memory?

Keeping the encoded information. Signup and view all the answers

What is Retention Interval?

The amount of time between contact with an event and recall. Signup and view all the answers

What is Postevent Information?

Can be altered by experiences after the event. Signup and view all the answers

What does Retrieval Inhibition involve?

Recalling specific memories inhibits others. Signup and view all the answers

What is Memory Trace?

Biochemical representation of experiences in the brain. Signup and view all the answers

What is Unconscious Transference?

Accurate memories applied to the wrong context. Signup and view all the answers

What are Scripts in social contexts?

Beliefs and expectations about sequences of events. Signup and view all the answers

What does Confirmation Bias entail?

Verification of preexisting beliefs. Signup and view all the answers

What is Suggestive Questioning?

Wording of questions influences witness memory. Signup and view all the answers

What does Feedback do in memory recall?

Increases certainty and bolsters retrospective reports. Signup and view all the answers

What is Confidence in legal contexts?

Strength of belief that the identified person is the guilty party. Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

Laws and Legal Frameworks

Laws are human creations, establishing societal rules and standards.
The Due Process Model emphasizes protecting citizens and presumes innocence until proven guilty.
The Crime Control Model prioritizes punishing criminals and containing crime effectively.
Equality in law means equal time and punishment for equal crimes, reflecting justice consistency.

Legal Principles and Discretion

The Principle of Proportionality dictates that punishments must align with the severity of crimes.
Discretion in the legal system acknowledges that rigid applications of the law can lead to injustices.
Legality often lacks correlation with moral standards, indicating laws do not always reflect ethical considerations.

Roles of Psychology in Law

Psychology IN the Law involves conventional roles of psychologists in legal procedures, such as expert witnesses.
Psychology AND the Law analyzes legal principles with psychological insights, evaluating underlying assumptions about behavior.
Psychology OF the Law studies the origins and implications of laws and their impact on behavior.

Theories of Crime and Human Behavior

Culpable actions are characterized by internal, stable, and global factors, while less culpable actions are regarded as external, unstable, and specific.
Various theories explain criminal behavior, including:
- Strain Theory: Stress increases norm violations due to frustrations and failed aspirations.
- Rational Crime Theory: Suggests that criminal acts are driven by perceived benefits and manageable risks.
- Psychodynamic Theory: Proposes that early experiences shape future criminal behaviors.
- Learning Theory: Claims criminal behaviors are acquired through experiences and influence social modeling.

Psychological Assessments and Law Enforcement

Screening In identifies candidates suitable for law enforcement, while Screening Out eliminates unsuitable candidates.
Psychological Tests aim to predict officer performance; their effectiveness varies compared to interviews.
Interviews are commonly used, especially when structured, to foster rapport before thorough evaluations.

Cognitive Aspects of Law

Memory and Information Processing play crucial roles in legal settings, influencing how witnesses recall events.
Change Blindness refers to failing to notice environmental changes, impacting witness accuracy.
Confirmation Bias affects jurors and witnesses, reinforcing preexisting beliefs during testimonies.

Influence of Environment and Context

The Ferguson Effect describes how negative publicity may deter police from fulfilling their duties effectively.
Hostage Situations can lead to Stockholm Syndrome, where hostages develop a bond with captors, complicating resolution efforts.

Biocriminology identifies biological factors linked to criminal behavior, such as dietary deficiencies and brain dysfunctions.
Behavioral Scientist roles focus on understanding crime's causes and influences within societal contexts.
Social Labeling Theory posits that deviance results from labels, creating self-fulfilling prophecies for offenders.

Key Psychological Constructs

Attribution Theory explores how individuals perceive the causes of behavior along dimensions of internality, stability, and globalness.
Scripts shape expectations for social interactions and events, influencing both individual behavior and society’s responses.

Summary of Effective Law Enforcement

Control Theory emphasizes the necessity for internal and external controls to regulate behavior.
Excessive Force can arise from personality traits in officers or past job experiences that involve using force, reflecting broader issues within police culture.

Miscellaneous Concepts

Psychopathy accounts for a small percentage of criminals but is responsible for a large share of violent crime, reflecting complex psychological dynamics.
Bio-criminological and sociological frameworks consider how crime emerges from unequal opportunities and social structures, linking social justice with crime rates.

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Description

Explore the fundamental concepts of laws, legal frameworks, and the role of psychology in the legal system. This quiz covers various models of justice, principles, and the intersection of psychology with law. Test your understanding of how legal systems operate and the importance of psychological insights in legal contexts.