Applied Psychology: An Introduction to Forensic Psychology - PDF

Applied Psychology: An Introduction to Forensic Psychology Associate Professor Helen Paterson Phone: 9036 9403 Email: [email protected] Acknowledgement of Country Housekeeping Matters… These six lectures: Overview and introduction; more topics and more detail in PSYC3020 Lectur...

Applied Psychology: An Introduction to Forensic Psychology Associate Professor Helen Paterson Phone: 9036 9403 Email: [email protected] Acknowledgement of Country Housekeeping Matters… These six lectures: Overview and introduction; more topics and more detail in PSYC3020 Lectures are examinable  Lectures slides and recordings will be posted online  Lecture slides are not meant to stand alone Readings are complementary, but not examinable Housekeeping Matters…  The following readings are optional: Frenda, S.J., Nichols, R.M., & Loftus, E.F. (2011). Current issues and advances in misinformation research Current Directions in Psychological Science, 20, 20-23. Wells, G. L., & Quigley-McBride, A. (2016). Applying Eyewitness Identification Research to the Legal System: A Glance at Where We Have Been and Where We Could Go. Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition, 5(3), 290-294. Vrij, A., & Fisher, R. P. (2016). Which lie detection tools are ready for use in the criminal justice system?. Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition, 5(3), 302-307. Gudjonsson, G.H. & Pearse, J. (2011) Suspect interviews and false confessions Current Directions in Psychological Science, 20, 33-37. Swanner, J. K., Meissner, C. A., Atkinson, D. J., & Dianiska, R. E. (2016). Developing Diagnostic, Evidence-Based Approaches to Interrogation. Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition, 5(3), 295-301. Bornstein, B.H. & Greene, E. (2011) Jury decision making: Implications for and from psychology. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 20, 63-67. Content Note In the following six lectures we will be discussing crimes, including sexual assault, murder, child abuse, and domestic violence It is normal to feel some discomfort when discussing these topics  6 Support Services Confidential helpline service  1800 SYD HLP (1800 793 457) University of Sydney Crisis Line  Call 1300 474065  Text 0488 884 429 (for sms chat option) University of Sydney Support Services  https://sydney.edu.au/students/counselling-and-mental-health- support/resources-workshops.html The Plan… What is Forensic Psychology? Topics studied in Forensic Psychology A brief history of the subject What do Forensic Psychologists do today?  Psychologists as Expert Witnesses Learning Outcomes At the end of this lecture you will be able to:  Define Forensic Psychology and list topics studied in Forensic Psychology  Describe the history of Forensic Psychology  Describe the functions of an expert witness  Describe admissibility criteria and challenges of providing expert testimony  Critically evaluate techniques in forensic science What is Forensic Psychology? Some people (e.g., Blackburn, 1996) argue that the term Forensic Psychology should only be used to denote the: “direct provision of psychological information to the courts, that is, to psychology in the courts” However, some psychologists have wanted to widen this usage to cover all aspects of psychology that are applied or relevant to the legal process. What is Forensic Psychology? The application of psychological knowledge and theories to all aspects of the criminal and civil justice systems, including the processes and the people Topics Studied in Forensic Psychology The Process Criminal investigation – Profiling* – Lie detection* – Identification parades * – Eyewitness testimony * – Repressed/recovered memories * – Interrogations and confession evidence* Pre-trial – Competency to stand trial – Pre-trial publicity* – Jury selection* Topics Studied in Forensic Psychology The Process cont. Trial – Insanity plea – Expert evidence*/judge warnings – Jury deliberation* – Sentencing Post trial – The prison experience – Treatment of offenders and risk assessment Topics Studied in Forensic Psychology The People Victims of Crime Offenders of Crime Police Jurors Judges Witnesses The History of Forensic Psychology Earliest research investigated eyewitness memory James Cattell (1895)  Asked people to recall things they witnessed in their everyday life  E.g., In which direction do apple seeds point?  Found that answers were often inaccurate The History of Forensic Psychology Alfred Binet (1900)  Binet showed children objects (e.g., Button glued to poster board) and then asked them questions about the object  Found that highly misleading questions resulted in poor accuracy The History of Forensic Psychology Aussage period of eyewitness research (1900-WWI)  German for “testimony” von Liszt (1902); Stern (1910)  Conducted “reality experiments” with staged events The History of Forensic Psychology Around this time, psychologists began to appear as witnesses in court. Varendonck (1911)  Called to be an expert witness in a case involving the murder of a young girl  Staged an event at school and tested memory for event  Concluded that children’s memories are inaccurate and suggestible The History of Forensic Psychology Hugo von Munsterberg  Called into question legal assertions that eyewitness memory is necessarily accurate  On the Witness Stand (1908)  Has been described as the “father” of forensic psychology. The History of Forensic Psychology Hugo von Munsterberg  But he was very critical of lawyers for their failure to recognise the value of psychology and massively overstated his case  Probably put back the development of the discipline for some decades The History of Forensic Psychology Eyewitness research disappeared for around 50 years because: Wigmore (law professor) criticised Munsterberg’s book WWI prevented further research in Germany Rise of behaviourism The History of Forensic Psychology Eyewitness Research re-emerged in the 1960’s & 70’s Robert Buckhout  Wanted to change legal system  “Nearly 2000 witnesses can be wrong” Elizabeth Loftus  Studied malleability of memory  Postevent misinformation paradigm (More on this next class) Today: What work do forensic psychologists do? Work in policy units Work in government research units Work as academic researchers Work in prisons designing and administering treatment programs Help the police with investigations / advise on procedures/ employment matters Evaluate mental health related claims for damages Provide expert advice in court* Today: Psychological Experts 1. Functions of an expert witness 2. Challenges of providing expert testimony 3. Admissibility criteria 4. Examples of expert evidence 1. Functions of an Expert Witness Two primary functions:  Aid in understanding a particular issue relevant to the case  Provide an opinion This contrasts with regular witnesses who can only testify about what they have directly observed 1. Functions of an Expert Witness Either side can ask judge to permit expert witnesses. Expert witnesses may be clinical psychologists or academic psychologists. In Australia it is not as common as in US for academic psychologists to appear in court. 2. Challenges of Providing Expert Testimony The Legal System’s Criticisms of Psychology:  The lack of ecological validity of psychological research  Psychologists may become advocates and lose their objectivity  Psychology can intrude upon the legitimate activities of the legal system  It’s all common sense 3. Admissibility Criteria Experts must satisfy judge that they have special knowledge above and beyond that of average juror and that this expertise will assist jurors Admissibility Criteria: England & Wales Experts not commonly used R v Turner 1975  Just because experts are well qualified does not mean they are helpful to the jury – but there is a danger that jury will think so and pay too much attention.  Psychologists and psychiatrists are not needed except where mental illness is an issue.  All other psychological knowledge is seen as common knowledge However, more recently some relaxing of Turner ruling and some psychological experts are giving evidence on issues other than mental illness. Admissibility Criteria: Australia Australia and NZ are also constrained by the Turner ruling – especially the “common- knowledge” ruling Expert evidence relating to eyewitness testimony regularly disallowed Evidence Act NSW (1995) abolishes common- knowledge rule. Admissibility Criteria: Australia R v Skaf (2006) Psychologists allowed to give expert evidence regarding the reliability of certain aspects of eyewitness testimony First time in NSW 4. Expert Evidence: Fingerprints Fingerprint evidence is analysed by humans. It has been used in court for over 100 years. The first study to objectively investigate fingerprint identification accuracy was published in 2011 (Tangen, Thompson, & McCarthy). Expert Evidence: Fingerprints Tested qualified practicing fingerprint experts and novices Assessed accuracy for matched, similar, and not similar pairs of prints Copyright © by Association for Psychological Science Tangen J M et al. Psychological Science 2011;0956797611414729 Expert Evidence: Fingerprints Overall, fingerprint experts Matched were very accurate, but not perfect Experts tended to err on the side of caution by Similar making judgments that would free the guilty However, they occasionally made the type of error that Not Similar can lead to false convictions Copyright © by Association for Psychological Science Tangen J M et al. Psychological Science 2011;0956797611414729 Expert Evidence: Facial Mapping Techniques are not standardised and not consistently applied by practitioners Process may involve taking measurements, noting characteristics, or other techniques Expert Evidence: Facial Mapping “Much of the incriminating facial mapping evidence now routinely accepted in Australian courts is of unknown validity and reliability… judges and others should be reconsidering the terms on which the criminal justice system engages with ostensibly incriminating images and related opinion evidence.” (Edmond, Biber, Kemp & Porter, 2009, p. 338) Expert Evidence: Hair Analysis “The Justice Department and FBI have formally acknowledged that nearly every examiner in an elite FBI forensic unit gave flawed testimony in almost all trials in which they offered evidence against criminal defendants over more than a two- decade period before 2000.” The Washington Post, April 18, 2015  Confirms long-suspected problems with subjective, pattern-based forensic techniques (e.g., hair, bite-marks). Prompted investigation into scientific validity of forensic techniques.  2016: Report on scientific validity of feature-comparison methods  People have been wrongfully convicted for crimes that they did not commit (http://www.innocenceproject.org/) Take Home Message Forensic Psychology is the application of psychological knowledge to the legal system Forensic psychologists can play different roles:  Clinical: Mental health issues as they relate to law  Experimental: Any aspect of human behaviour that relates to the law Research in Forensic Psychology dates back over 100 years Expert witnesses provide the court with information that assists the court in understanding an issue of relevance to the case