Legal Psychology: Core Concepts and Applications

• Focus on the core concepts, legal psychology, lie detection, interrogations, forensic identification, and criminal profiling are key
• Exam includes multiple-choice questions, a short answer essay on the Gacy case, and a longer essay

Roles of Forensic Psychologists

• Advisors/Trial Consultants: Assist with jury selection and witness preparation.
• Evaluation Research: Assess programs and practices within the legal system.
• Reformers: Advocate for changes in the legal system, focusing on criminal rehabilitation.

Influencing the Legal System (ECADL)

• Expert Testimony: Provide specialized knowledge to courts or legislative bodies.
• Cross-Disciplinary Training: Integrate psychology and law curricula for students.
• Amicus Curiae Briefs: Educate the court with psychological research.
• Dissemination of Research Findings: Share research through media and education.
• Legislature and Public Policy Research: Influence legislators through research and lobbying.

Lie Detection & Polygraphs

• Liar's Stereotype: Common but inaccurate beliefs about behaviors indicating lying.
• Confirmation Bias: Seeking information that confirms existing beliefs.
• Polygraph: Measures physiological changes to detect lies, but is controversial

Polygraph Tests Types

• Relevant-Irrelevant Test (RIT): Asks irrelevant and relevant questions but yields many false positives.
• Control/Comparison Question Test (CQT): Compares responses to crime-relevant and uncomfortable control questions.
• Positive-Control Test (PCT): Asks the relevant question twice, instructing the person to lie once.

Polygraph Weaknesses

• Inconsistent reactions, standardization issues, countermeasures, ethical concerns, and potential for coercion.

Polygraph Strengths

• The Guilty Knowledge Test (GKT) detects concealed information using physiological arousal.

GKT Accuracy

• More accurate with reaction time measures.

Polygraph Results in Court

• Jurors can be persuaded by polygraph results, but experts are more skeptical.

Physiological Measures of Lying

• fMRI detects brain activity during lying, but is expensive and slow.
• EEG detects timing of lying-related brain activity.

Ekman Research

• Identifies true vs. false emotional expressions using microexpressions.

Thermal Imaging

• Detects subtle heat changes near the eyes to identify deception.

Interrogation vs Interview

• Interrogation aims for confession, interviews seek detailed truth.

Why Police Prefer Confessions

• Confessions save time and guarantee convictions, jurors are still likely to convict even with false confessions

Fundamental Attribution Error

• Overemphasizing internal factors in behavior, disregarding external factors.

Miranda Rights

• Right to silence and an attorney, but most suspects waive these rights.

Reid Technique

• Influence strategies used in interrogations
• Loss of Control: The interrogator controls the procedure.
• Social Isolation: Isolating the suspect.
• Certainty of Guilt: Direct accusation of guilt.
• Exculpatory Scenarios: Offering justifications for the crime, like self-defense.

False Confessions

• A significant percentage of wrongful convictions are linked to false confessions.

Types of False Confessions

• Instrumental-Coerced: Confessing to stop interrogation or get leniency.
• Instrumental-Voluntary: Confessing to achieve a goal.
• Internalized-Coerced: Believing they committed the crime due to interrogation.
• Internalized-Voluntary: Confessing due to mental illness.

PACE Act (England & Wales)

• Illegal for interrogators to lie; requires witness presence and audio recording.

PEACE Method

• Focuses on open-ended questions and engagement:
• Preparation / Planning
• Engage and Explain
• Account
• Clarify, Challenge, Conclude
• Evaluate

Video Recording of Interrogations

• Creates a permanent record but can be manipulated by partial recordings or biased views.

Solutions to Decrease False Confessions

• Limit interrogation length, adult witness for vulnerable suspects, expert testimony.

Cognitive Interview (CI) Technique

• Elicits more information from witnesses.

Stress Definition

• Demands adjustment of behavior, causing mental, physical, or emotional strain.

Types of Stress

• Short-term (acute), long-term (chronic), personal, occupational, organizational.

PTSD and First Responders

• Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (CISD) is no longer recommended.
• Psychological First Aid (PFA) focuses on emotional support.
• Fitness for Duty Evaluations (FFDE) assess the ability to perform job duties.

Forensic Identification

• Links physical evidence to a suspect. Includes comparison between two samples

Trace Evidence

• Fragments of physical evidence (fingerprints, hair skin cells)

Types of Forensic Identification

• Anthropometry(early), biometrics, and DNA analysis.

DNA Evidence

• Most valid form of forensic evidence, reliable, with some limitations.

Source Attribution

• Exclusion, inconclusive, inclusion, individuation.

Reliability vs Validity

• Reliability: Consistency of measurement, interrater reliability.
• Validity: Accuracy of measurement.

Fingerprint Evidence

• Latent (not visible) vs. patent (visible).

Forensic Entomology

• Uses insect biology to estimate time of death.

Pathology

• Body temperature, livor mortis, rigor mortis, putrefaction.

Bullet Striations

• Scratch marks on bullets used for matching.

Bite Mark Analysis

• Forensic odontologists identify teeth markings.

Framing Effect

• How information is presented affects choices.

Jurors and Trace Evidence

• Jurors struggle with statistical statements but are persuaded by fingerprint evidence.

Types of Killers

• Serial, spree, and mass murderers.

Criminal Profiling

• Using behavior to identify criminals.

Issues with Profiling

• Tunnel vision and the Barnum effect.

M.O. vs. Signature

• M.O. is functional, signature is unique.

Serial Killer Characteristics

• Organized vs. disorganized killers, visionary, mission-oriented, hedonistic, power-oriented killers.

Psychopathy

• Lack of empathy, deceitfulness.

Paraphilias

• Necrophilia, rape, fetishes, pedophilia, S&M

Geographic Profiling

• Uses locations to determine possible offender residence.

Geographic Terms

• Anchor point, buffer zone, distance decay.

Offender Styles

• Hunter, poacher, troller, trapper.

Psychological Autopsies

• Examine psychological state before death.

Equivocal Death

• Cause of death unclear.

NASH System

• Natural, Accidental, Suicide, Homicide.

Explore legal psychology, covering lie detection, forensic identification, and criminal profiling. The roles of forensic psychologists as advisors, researchers, and reformers within the legal system, including influencing policy and practice and expert testimony are examined.