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165 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Munsterberg
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Father of forensic psychology
Examined witness statements and false confessions Tried to introduce psychology to the courts, but they weren't ready yet |
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Differences between Psychology and the Law
Psychology |
Descriptive
Based on observation Search for truth Moves fast Future oriented Focused on the group Democratic |
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Differences between Psychology and the Law
The Law |
Prescriptive (dictates)
Deals in absolutes Search for justice Adversarial conflicts Supports contrasting views of reality Focuses on specifics (individual cases) Moves slowly (precedents) Hierarchical |
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Mens Rea
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"Guilty Mind"
Person must have the mental capacity to commit a crime |
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Definition of Law
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Rules of conduct that regulate behavior and interactions
Only used when others forms of social control fail (such as customs or conventions) The more laws, the more diverse the society Is also used for conflict resolution |
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Max Weber's Definition of Law
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Must satisfy the following:
Outside pressure to conform Conformity is enforced by psychological or physical force Force is applied by officials whose express duty it is to enforce the order |
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John Haidt's Five Innate Values that make Law a Moral Issue
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People show concern over
Harm Fairness Authority Community (in group/out group) Purity |
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Brazil Study
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Gave examples of gross behavior that violated social conventions and morals (stories were harmless but violated purity)
Found that lower classes saw acts as moral issues that needed to be punished Upper classes saw them more as social conventions that didn't need to be punished |
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Moral Issues versus Factual Issues
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Moral Issues - beliefs about how people should behave and how society should treat people
Factual Issues - beliefs about how people do behave, what influences behavior, and what the consequences of behavior are |
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South versus North
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More violence exists in the South because it is a culture of honor that heavily weighs authority, reciprocity, and purity
Southerners are not more likely to endorse violence overall, except to protect or to answer an affront |
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Cohen Nisbett Studies on Southerners
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Demonstrated that there was a difference in ideals of honor and use of violence between Northerners and Southerners
Used five different stages: Simple Story completion Chemical changes "Chicken" Handshake Found that Southerners were much more likely to respond with anger instead of amusement, increase cortisol and testosterone, and have more forceful handshake Southerners endorse violence of a certain type, but not in general |
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Joe Horn Case
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Demonstrates different attitude between Northerners and Southerners when it comes to violence and protecting a person's property
Uses the Castle Doctrine to escape punishment (in cases of self defense, a person no longer had to seek a safe retreat before taking action) |
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Functional Autonomy
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Different values are emphasized in different regions because of the way people have been taught to evaluate situations and respond
(Differences between North and South) |
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Changes in the Law that have resulted from Changing Morals
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Loving v. Virginia - mixed-race marriages
Boy Scouts of America v. Dale - discrimination against gays (struck down) Lawrence v. Texas - Sodomy laws abolished (consensual sex between same-sex adults) Megan's Law - law became stricker against sexual offenders Myspace Bullying - new law needed as a result of new technology |
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Jury Nullification
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Cases in which jurors are guided by their own moral intuitions rather than the law
Jurors can ask themselves the law is right and appropriate SC - jurors don't have the right to nullify, but they still can because they don't have to give a reason behind verdict Many believe nullification can lead jurors to become chaotic and base decisions on emotional responses |
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Ethanasia Study
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Had mock jurors decide mock murder and euthanasia cases in which victim was either sympathetic or unsympathetic
Found that jurors were less likely to find defendant guilty if victim was unsympathetic and vice versa when given nullification instructions Jurors are guided by their emotions |
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Muller v. Oregon
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Female workers in a factory and negative health risks
Brandies collected statistics and presented them in court as "social facts" Created the Brandeis Brief |
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Brandeis Brief
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Evidence about social facts that are presented to the court (usually statistics)
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Amicus Curiae
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Friend of the Court Brief
Used to introduce the social sciences into the court and produce social science findings Example - Clark Doll experiments Seen more in dissenting opinions and viewed as a secondary issue |
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Roper v. Simmons
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Old woman off bridge case
Appealed his case to the SC because he was a juvenile and was given the death penalty Amicus Curiae brief of the APA argued that adolescents were impulsive, didn't have full brain development, influenced by peers, and couldn't escape negative environments SC changed death penalty from 16 to 18 years old |
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Distinctions in the Law
Criminal Law |
Deals with the relationship between the state and individuals
Murder, assault, rape Standard of Proof - must show beyond a reasonable doubt Two verdicts - guilty or not guilty Unanimous Defendant is protected by the fifth amendment (doesn't have to testify) Punishment - prison, treatment, or probation |
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Distinctions in the Law
Civil Law |
Private relationships between individuals
Individuals seek compensation for wrongs Standard of Proof - Preponderance of the evidence (more likely than not to have occurred) Requires simple majority Defendant must testify Punishment - monetary fines and settlements |
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Justice and the Law
What's it all about? |
FAIRNESS
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Definition of Justice
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Fairness in how the law is applied and how legal decisions are made
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Distributive Justice
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Focuses on the fairness of the outcome of a legal dispute
Demonstrated by the inequalities in sentences for the same offense |
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Procedural Justice
(Due Process) |
Focuses on the fairness of the procedure
Those that feel the process was fair and that they were treated fairly are more likely to feel that justice was done |
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Tom Tyler Studies
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Procedural Justice
If not treated with respect or objectivity, law is seen as less legitimate (mostly by African Americans) |
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Commonsense Justice
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More likely to see outcomes as fair when they follow our commonsense judgments of fairness
Must follow the sentiments of the community If it doesn't, then the law is seen as illegitimate Law often does not match commonsense beliefs or human intuitions |
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Ways in which the law goes against human intution and commonsense
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Wants jurors to look at events objectively, but they often view things subjectively
Wants jurors to look at events in isolation, but they look at whole picture Jurors take a proportional view of punishment and make judgments on what fits the crime |
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Felony-Murder Law
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Goes against our commonsense view of justice
Enacted when a murder occurs while a felony is taking place and classifies the murder in the first degree even when it is not The more intentional a crime, the more jurors want to punish an offender, but this law goes against this commonsense intuition |
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Finkel Proportioanl Justice Study with Children
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Wanted to see if children had the same intuitions as adults
Had a set of "criminals" the children had to give punishment to - ringleader, confederate, lookout, and non-participant Found that children treated "criminals" proportionally and gave ringleader the most punishment |
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Darley Proportional Justice Study with Adults
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Gave participants scenarios and asked them to give punishments
How close someone got to completing a crime determined the level of punishment they recieved Also, participants punished people for not helping others |
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Delimmas in achieving Justice
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Individual versus Community (due process versus crime control)
Equality versus Discretion in sentencing Truth versus Conflict Resolution Law versus Science (reliability of results) |
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Individual versus Community
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Due process increases number of guilty people freed
Crime control increase the number of innocent people convicted Three Strike laws are an example of crime control In a study, found that three strike laws actually made the third felony more violent than in the past Three strike laws aged the prison population and made it more expensive to maintain |
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Yewing v. California
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Reinforced three strike laws
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Equality versus Discretion
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Federal sentencing guidelines made sentences more regulated, took power away from the judge, and gave more power to prosecutors
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Truth versus Conflict Resolution
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Psychology seeks truth, law seeks justice for conflicts and can entertain two views of reality
Plea Bargaining makes the legal system less honest |
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Law versus Science
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We can be seduced by science
Amicus Curiea don't have to undergo the same stringent requirements that studies in other scientific fields do Teenagers and black and white faces study (actually used in court even though it was poorly done and not true) |
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Actus Reas and Mens Rea
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Actus Reas - "Bad Act" that focuses on the objective
Mens Rea - "Evil Mind" that focuses on the subjective |
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Definition of Crime
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Any intentional act in violation fo the law committed without excuse or defense and is punishable by the state
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Criminalization of the Mentally Ill
Factors that have led to an increase in prison populations of the Mentally Ill |
De-institutionalization (asylums had become less theraputic as they were being overrun with patients; also, new drugs were available)
Changes in commitment laws (had to be a danger to themselves or others) Changes in sentencing laws Failure of the community to provide services Attitude of the Police (easier and quicker to process the mentally ill through the judicial system) |
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Who violates the law more, men or women? Why?
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Men
Men are rewarded for aggression, have poorer social-cognitive skills, and have more neuro-cognitive deficits Women don't have an evolutionary need to be aggressive |
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Age of Criminals
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Criminals are generally of young age
Criminal activity depends more on age than any other factor Biological - adolescence is a time of "storm and stress," forging identity, and growth Societal - same problems with adolescence are not seen around the world |
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Steinberg Driving Study and Adolescence
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Believes that the reasons adolescents end up in certain situations is because of risk-taking behavior that is biological and beyong their control
Driving Study - alone versus peer pressure Teenagers have a greater imbalance in their socio-emotional network (limbic system - gas) and their cognitive control network (prefrontal cortex - brakes) With friends, teenagers took more risks than adults Withour friends, both were the same |
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Moffit Study about the Onset of Delinquency
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Studies those with the onset of delinquency in childhood and those with the onset in adolescence
Childhood onset - rejected by peers and parents, neurological impairments, males, grew up in violent environment, and showed violence at any earlier age Late onset - changed drastically with the coming of age, influenced by peers, behavior less violent, and disappears by adulthood |
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Social Labeling Theory
Primary Deviance versus Secondary Deviance |
Problems with late onset delinquency might stem from the stigma of the label of being a delinquent
Primary Deviance - everyone breaks the law at some point, but in most these violations are ignored or unnoticed Secondary Deviance - Certain groups are more likely to be noticed because of the group they are in - they are then labeled as deviant and can't escape the label |
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Cupability of Adolscents - what should it be based on?
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Law says free will while psychology emphasizes determinism
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In Re Gault
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Obscene phone call that gets two boys in trouble, judge gives Gualt an incredibly harsh sentence
At the time, juveniles could be given harsher sentences than adults and could not appeal SC said his rights had been violated (due process, attorney, self-incrimination) Shifts the juvenile system to being more adversarial and transferring more teenagers to adult courts |
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Lykken's Typology of Criminals
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Psychologically Normal - career criminals, white collar criminals, victims of provocative circumstances, and mentally ill
Sociopaths Antisocial Personality Disorder Psychopaths |
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Sociopaths
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Lack of socialization
See delinquency as their opportunity in life Adopt their own value system contrary to mainstream culture |
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Antisocial Personality Disorder
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Long-term maladaptive personality trait that impairs social functioning
Hard to change Usually occurs before age 18 Decietful, lying, impulsive, irritable, aggressive, reckless, irresponsible, disregard for others, and lack of remorse |
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Psychopaths
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Have innate characteristic that makes it difficult for them to socialize in normal family
Not destined to be violent, antisocial, or evil - can become famous and high-achieving High rates of aggression |
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Age of Criminals
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Criminals are generally of young age
Criminal activity depends more on age than any other factor Biological - adolescence is a time of "storm and stress," forging identity, and growth Societal - same problems with adolescence are not seen around the world |
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Steinberg Driving Study and Adolescence
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Believes that the reasons adolescents end up in certain situations is because of risk-taking behavior that is biological and beyong their control
Driving Study - alone versus peer pressure Teenagers have a greater imbalance in their socio-emotional network (limbic system - gas) and their cognitive control network (prefrontal cortex - brakes) With friends, teenagers took more risks than adults Withour friends, both were the same |
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Moffit Study about the Onset of Delinquency
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Studies those with the onset of delinquency in childhood and those with the onset in adolescence
Childhood onset - rejected by peers and parents, neurological impairments, males, grew up in violent environment, and showed violence at any earlier age Late onset - changed drastically with the coming of age, influenced by peers, behavior less violent, and disappears by adulthood |
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Social Labeling Theory
Primary Deviance versus Secondary Deviance |
Problems with late onset delinquency might stem from the stigma of the label of being a delinquent
Primary Deviance - everyone breaks the law at some point, but in most these violations are ignored or unnoticed Secondary Deviance - Certain groups are more likely to be noticed because of the group they are in - they are then labeled as deviant and can't escape the label |
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Cupability of Adolscents - what should it be based on?
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Law says free will while psychology emphasizes determinism
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In Re Gault
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Obscene phone call that gets two boys in trouble, judge gives Gualt an incredibly harsh sentence
At the time, juveniles could be given harsher sentences than adults and could not appeal SC said his rights had been violated (due process, attorney, self-incrimination) Shifts the juvenile system to being more adversarial and transferring more teenagers to adult courts |
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Lykken's Typology of Criminals
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Psychologically Normal - career criminals, white collar criminals, victims of provocative circumstances, and mentally ill
Sociopaths Antisocial Personality Disorder Psychopaths |
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Sociopaths
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Lack of socialization
See delinquency as their opportunity in life Adopt their own value system contrary to mainstream culture |
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Antisocial Personality Disorder
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Long-term maladaptive personality trait that impairs social functioning
Hard to change Usually occurs before age 18 Decietful, lying, impulsive, irritable, aggressive, reckless, irresponsible, disregard for others, and lack of remorse |
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Psychopaths
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Have innate characteristic that makes it difficult for them to socialize in normal family
Not destined to be violent, antisocial, or evil - can become famous and high-achieving High rates of aggression |
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Lombroso
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Felt that criminals were not completely evolved compared to normal people and were evolutionary throwbacks
Developed criteria associated with ciminality |
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Atavism
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A regression back to a more primative state (Lombroso)
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Sheldon and Body Types
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Thought there were biological similarities between criminals
Endomorph - chubby Mesomorph - muscular (most likely to be criminal) Ectomorph - tall and thin (intelligent) |
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Horns and Halo Effect
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Physical unattractiveness is more likely to produce delinquency because a person is less likely to be noticed in school (horns)
Physical Attractiveness is more likely to produce a non-delinquent person because people are more forgiving to those that are more attractive (halo) |
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Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
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Facial features reflect Central nervous system dysfunctions
FAS children are more likely to have contact with the law |
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Robert Alton Harris Case
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Disgusting, impulsive crime
Tried to use FAS as a mitigating factor in his trial to prevent the death penalty Couldn't prove that FAS was the sole cause of his condition |
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Attractiveness and the Jury Study
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Found that attractiveness did not have an impact on the outcome of a trial as long as attractiveness wasn't part of the crime, only the punishment
The more attractive the person, the lighter the sentence If the crime involved fraud or the use of looks, sentences were much longer |
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Baby-facedness in Small Claims Court Study
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The more attractive the plaintiff, the more likely the defendant would pay damages
However, found that if the plaintiff had a baby face and the defendant was mature-looking, the plaintiff was scene as vulnerable, less at fault, and more likely to win damages Also worked the other way around |
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Rikker's Island Plastic Surgery Study
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Gave some inmates that were being released from Rikker's Island cosmetic surgery
Those with plastic surgery were much less likely to recidivate |
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Genetic Basis of Criminality
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Minor physical anomalies alone were enough to cause delinquent behavior in a study, but also had to have a bad home environment
In a pregnancy with birth complications study, genetics could predispose someone to violence, but rejection by the mother was the biggest factor Genetic basis for criminality could be caused be shared environment between family members, though |
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Adoption Studies for Genetic Basis of Criminality
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Follow-up study - compared children from criminal and non-criminal mothers who were giving up children for adoption
Found that the longer children from criminal mothers were in institutions, the more likely they would be diagnosed with ASPD Look-back Study - looked at both biological and adoptive parents Found that if biological parent exhibited ASPD, child was more likely to also but was much more likely to if adoptive parent also had ASPD |
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Social Push
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Genetic factors are more evident in low risk environments, while a high risk environment generally hides genetic factors
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XYY Men and Richard Speck
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XYY chromosome found in prisons in the 1960s and it was assumed that these types of men were more prevalent in prisons because they had more testosterone
Study found that XYY men were more likely to commit property crimes and end up in prison, had same levels of testosterone, lower IQs, taller, clumsy, and had severe acne Prevalence in prison could be attributed to very identifiable characteristics |
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Steven Mobley case and MAOA evidence
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Robbed a dominos pizza, killed clerk, and tried to use genetics as a mitigating factor
Brunner study had just found that men without MAOA functioning had difficulty regulating impulsive aggression Genetic evidence may demonstrate that defendants are less responsible for their actions but they are also harder to rehabilitate |
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Frye Test
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Test of general acceptance to determine what evidence should be allowed in court
Has to be generally accepted, verified by experts in the field, and deemed relevant and reliable Judge had a lot of discretion |
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Daubert Standards
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Evidence had to be relevant, legally sufficient (not prejudicial), and reliable
Judges role became much more complicated because they were the gatekeeper and had to know some science |
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Environmental Factors of Criminality
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Relationship with Family (family variables, child effects, both)
Societal factors (temperature, TV, video games, prevalence of guns, US as a violent society) |
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Environmental Factors of Criminality
Family variables |
Etiological Factors - deficits in family functioning cause criminality (inconsistent punishment, lax, unaffectionate, abusive, etc)
Responsive factors - behavior of antisocial child creates dysfunctions in family Shared Genotype - creates a malicious cycle as dispositions of both child and parent reenforce behavior All three could be operating |
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Abuse Excuse
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Menendez case - unsuccessful
Lorena Bobbit case - successful because abuse was framed as insanity defense |
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Beautiful Baby Theory
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Shocked that so many psychopaths came from good families and parenting, so proposed a theory
Baby's needs were met by the parent, never felt fustration, and never had to delay gratification if baby was particularly good-looking As a result, ther were unable to feel fustration and anxiety of others (psychopath) |
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Environmental Factors of Criminality
Temperature |
Increased aggression on hot days is actually due to increased adrenaline and arousal of the body
As body experiences discomfot, easier to agitate someone We misattribute discomfort to the person when it is due to temperature |
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Environmental Factors of Criminality
Television |
Found that children who watched more violent TV exhibited more violent behavior
Was similar for both men and women Also led to more antisocial behavior Violent images also desensitized viewers South Africa study - prohibition on TV allowed researchers to see that violent TV did have an effect on numbers of homicides |
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Environmental Factors of Criminality
Video Games |
Similar to TV results, but are more effective because people are actively involved in them and learning exactly how to act out violence
Devin Moore example Some claim that this correlation isn't strong, but it is stronger than the correlation between calcium and bone mass (must have some effect) |
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Environmental Factors of Criminality
Presence of Guns in US |
Handling guns increases testosterone and agression
Hot Sauce Study - measured testosterone levels before and after handling a gun, and then measured how much hot sauce participants put in a cup of water (measure of aggression) Found that those that handled the gun put more hot sauce (were more aggressive) |
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Psychopaths
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Have innate characteristics that make the difficult to socialize in a normal family
Exhibit deficits in emotional functioning Don't experience things emotionally the same way as others do |
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Cleckley's Criteria for Psychopathy
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Superficial charm
Intelligent Seductive Absence of delusions No real emotions (fain emotions) Lack of anxiety Attenuated startle response Irresponsible Unreliable Lack of remorse of guilt* Impulsive Poverty of emotion Egocentric/narcissistic Lack of gratitude Gross behavior Constantly seek stimulation Impersonal sex life Can't learn from experience |
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Psychopathy
Hare Experiment - Startle Response |
Demonstrate attentuated startle response
Don't jump or are surprised by the same things that normal people would, such as snakes or loud noise |
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Psychopathy
Blair Experiment - Pictures |
Found that psychopaths should reduced responsiveness to distress stimuli (pictures of people and children in distress)
Lack of empathy |
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Psychopathy
Patterson and Newman - Cards |
Card Turning Game
Normal people stopped playing when they started losing and switch to a diffferent deck Psychopaths were impulsive and kept turning over cards unless forced to wait |
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Psychopathy
Lykken - Activities |
Gave people choices of different things to do, both of which were unpleasant, but one was more harmful and scary
Found that psychopaths picked activities that were scary and thrilling instead of slightly uncomforable Demonstrates their need to seek stimulation |
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Psychopathy
Lykken - Mental Maze |
Manifest task - learn which buttons to press in order to recieve points
Latent task - learn to avoid buttons with shock Psychopaths showed a deficit in learning which buttons would give them a shock (learned poorly from negative consequences) |
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Treatment of Psychopaths (study)
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When psychopaths were given adrenaline to increase arousal, they performed similarily to normal people on the mental maze
Demonstrates under-arousal could be to blame |
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Treatment of Psychopaths
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Therapy is difficult because it often reinforces how to manipulate others
Also, psychopaths rarely form attachments, which is the basis of therapy Punishments are ineffective But aging helps (lack of energy) |
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Baxtrom v. Herold
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Found that prison inmates could not be left in prison hospitals indefinitely
If they had finished their sentence, they must be released or be civilly committed by a jury When Baxton and others were released, found no increase in violence |
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Difficulties in making risk assessments
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Cognitive Biases often cloud our judgement, such as:
Representative hueristic (stereotype) Fundamental Attribution Error (ignore environmental factors) Confirmation bias (only look for confirming evidence) Numerator Bias (more swayed by numbers than percentages) Predictions lack feedback |
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When are risk assessments most accurate?
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Made over the short term
Made for a specific environment Have past history of a person's violent behavior High base rate of violence |
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Actuarial versus Clinical predictions
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Actuarial prediction - use specific rules about which risk factors are used in assessment and how much credence is given to each
Clinical predictions - consider and assess risk factors based on interaction and overall expreience Although actuarial predictions are much more accurate, clinical testimony has a greater impact on juries and is more immune to cross examination |
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Barefoot v. Estelle
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Man was going to be executed in TX and court had to determine his threat to society
Two clinical psychologists testified without even meeting him - he was sentenced to death SC found that the psychologists were not incompetent and did not eliminate clinical testimony |
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How can you make jurors pay attention to actuarial predictions?
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Have expert speak in frequencies instead of percentages
Make the scientific evidence as simple as possible and don't overwhelm the jurors Prime them to think rationally and not with their emotions |
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Actuarial versus Clinical testimony Priming Study
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Found that if jurors were primed experientially (had to draw their current emotionaly state), they responded better to clinical judgments
If they were primed rationally (doing math problems), they responded to and were influenced by actuarial predictions more |
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Kansas v. Hendricks
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Sexual predator who was about to be released, but the state civily committed him
SC found that this was not illegal and that civil committment was justified because he was a danger to society Most people think this is good because sexual predators recidivate often, but this is not true DOESN'T VIOLATE EX POST FACTO LAWS |
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PCL-R
Advantages and Disadvantages |
Developed by Hare to determine if a person should be considered a psychopath
Centered around lack of remorse and antisocial behavior Too much wieght is given to anti-social behavior and criminal record Should not be used for juveniles because their scores can change drastically over time Prosecution and Defense often come up with different scores during trial Difficult to predict violent behavior inside institutions (death penalty cases don't apply) |
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Edens Psychopath labeling Study
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When given any diagnosis, mock jurors judge the person to be at high risk for future dangerousness
Regardless of whether or not a person was at high or low risk for future offenses, diagnosis was the most important factor during sentencing |
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Tarasoff Case
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In first ruling, CA SC find that therapists have a "duty to warn" if they think one of their clients is dangerous
In their second ruling, the CA SC state that therapists have a "duty to protect" and make them take much more direct action Hindsight Bias - jurors were more likely to find the therapist culpable if patient acted out violently even if the therapist acted responsibly |
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Criminal Profiling
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Now called Criminal Investigative Analysis
The process of identifying personality traits, behavioral tendencies, geographic locations, and demographic descriptors of an offenderd based on the characteristics of the crime or crime scene Rests on the assumption that people has consistent behavioral traits* Assumes that situation factors aren't that important |
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Mad Bomber
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First psychological profile developed in the US
Done by James Brussel Closely fit his description, but arrest didn't stem from the profile but hard evidence Profile wasn't even very consistent |
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Susan Jaeger
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Girl who was kidnappd while camping
First successfully profiled case Seems to perfect for profiling not to be true |
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Categories of Single Murderers
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Expressive - has conflict with victim that is very emotional
Instrumental Opportunist - kills someone in the process of attaining another goal (robbery) Instrumental Cognitive Offender - Kills and has no emotional feeling or anxiety over murder (psychopath) |
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Types of Multiple Murders
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Mass - Kills four or more people in one location during continuous period of time
Spree - kills two or more victims in more than one location with not cooling off period Serial - Kills three or more people on seperate occasions with cooling off period |
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Offender Types
(most likely possess these qualities) |
Organized Killer - intelligent, has skilled job, married, children, plan carefully, use con or ruse, patient, self-controlled, neat, tidy, use restraints (Ted Bundy)
Disorganized - low intelligence, unemployed, live with parents, knock victim out, don't interact with victim, mutilate body, display body in the open (Rooftop Killer) Most serial killers (and crime scenes) are organized |
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Holmes' Motives behind Serial Killers
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Visionary - psychotic individuals influenced by voices or a higher power
Missionary - kill to get rid of the "bad" Hedonistic - kill for some sort of pleasure (3 types) Power-oriented - Get pleasure from exerting power and control over a helpless victim Most serial killers are power-oriented |
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Types of Hedonistic Serial Killers
(kill for pleasure) |
Lust - kill for sexual pleasure and eroticisized experience
Thrills - kill for excitement Comfort - kill for personal or financial gain |
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Validity of Criminal Typologies
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Most were associated with power-oriented and organized killer, demonstrating that they might not be of much use
Might be better off looking at how victims were treated and linking crime scenes |
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Accuracy of Profilers
Profiler Study |
Looked at 5 different groups (profilers, trained police, untrained police, psychologists, and undergrads)
Found that trained profilers were only better on sexual offense cases, although they studied more material and made more specific predictions |
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Accuracy of Profilers
What makes a Good Profiler Study |
Used Psychologists (mindset), police officers (investigative experience), science students (objectivity), psychics (intutition), and profilers
Found that profilers did the best of all the groups, but had the most variability Science students also had good scores but with less variability Investigative experience often hurt (based on stereotypes) |
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Criminal Profiling Successes
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Rooftop Killer (perfect match)
Trailside Killer (stutter) |
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Criminal Profiling Failures
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Baton Rogue Killer (some correct, mostly wrong)
Olympic Bomber Washington Sniper (didn't consider everyone) |
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Perception of Criminal Profiling Study
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Framed a profiler as either an outside consultant or an FBI profiler to police officers
Found that police thought the FBI profiler was more trustworthy even though both were the same Police may overestimate efficacy of profiling |
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Barnum Effect Study
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Ambiguous info can always be a hit - language is often ambiguous
Gave FBI profilers description of Rooftop killer and another completely different person Both groups thought the profile was accurate |
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Criminal Profiling and Parlor Tricks
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Profiles are often full of ambiguous, unverifiable info and parlor tricks, such as:
Rainbow Ruse - trait and its opposite Fuzzy Fact - general statement Vanishing Negative - Regardless of answer Prompting Questions |
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Intuitive Profiling
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Stereotypes of the types of people who tend to commit crimes and the circumstances under which they tend to be committed
Snow mobile case Not allowed in court because they tend to be more prejudicial than probative |
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Psychological Autopsies
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Seeks to examine the psychological state of a person prior to their death
Tries to determine if death is natural, accident, suicide, or homicide |
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USS Iowa
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Psychological autopsy case
Appealed to the SC and found that psychological autopsies had no validity In general, though, they are still allowed in civil cases |
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Jackson v. State of Florida
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Case of stripper daughter who killed herself
Psychological autopsy was allowed Needed to discover her state of mind at time of death |
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Racial Profiling
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Any time there is police action that occurs because of race, ethnicity, or national origin instead of a person's behavior
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Operation Pipeline
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Driving While Black (DWB)
Wanted to stop influx of crack cocain to the Northeast along the NE corridor Stopped more blacks than whites Stopped a law student named Wilkins, who filed a suit with the ACLU |
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Does Racial Profiling work?
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By turning to racial and ethnic variables rather than suspicious behavior, police may undermine their ability to find criminals
More criminals are found when searches are based on suspicious behavior Boston Police study - found that officers were more likely to search people with different races than them |
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Who looks more criminal study
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When primed with a black instead of white face, participants identified guns much quicker that obscure objects
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Dot Probe Study
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When primed with a crime object and then a black face in the same area as the dot, subjects find the dot quicker
Sports primes also produced the same effect |
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Stereotypically Black Study
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The more black a person looked, the more likely they were to recieve the death penalty when the victim was white
Did not apply if victim was black This might be because the criminal act is seen as less threatening to the in-group when victim was black |
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Afro-Centric Study
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Found that the more Afrocentric facial features a person had, the more likely they would get longer sentences
This was true for both blacks and whites |
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Weapon Bias Study
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When primed with a black face, subjects identified the gun quicker and mistook tool for gun more often when pressed for time than when primed with white face
Negative implicit attitudes towards blacks did not have an impact on this study In another similar study, though, it was found that more negative attitudes led to a greater weapon bias |
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Eliminating Weapon Bias Study
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Control group, avoid bias group, and use bias group
Observed bias in all, but especially in the avoid and use bias groups If person was told to think "safe" bias could be trained out of their response |
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Shooter Bias Study
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Blacks were put in various places in pictures and holding various objects
When subject must decide quickly, errors increase and they are more likely to shot unarmed blacks Seen in blacks and whites Not thought to be due to personal prejudice but to cultural stereotypes of blacks as dangerous and agressive |
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Bias and Police Study
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Similar study to the shooter bias
Community members were much more likely to show shooter bias than police If in poor environment, subjects will shoot blacks and whites equally Police are better able to be trained to overcome automatic responses with intentional responses |
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Eyewitness Testimony
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Based on perception and memory
When people are convicted on the evidence of only one or a few eyewitnesses, faith in procedural justice decreases |
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Memory
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Not like a video recorder!
Centered around Perception, Encoding, Storage, and Retrival Errors can happen at every step of the way |
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Errors in Perception
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Dartmouth/Princeton Football Study - see what we are primed to see, what we expect to see, and what we attend to
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Errors in Encoding
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Robbery Schema Study - fill in details for what we think should have occurred
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Errors in Storage
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Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve - retention dissipates over time
Ivan the Terrible Case - all evidence based on eyewitness testimony |
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Errors in Retrieval
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Verbal Overshadowing - if asked to describe a face verbally, witness will be less likely to identify the person later and feel forced to stick to their description
Narrative versus Interrogatory - narrative remembered more but fewer details, vice versa Wording of questions also matters Car study - can introduce new material or get desired response through questions Sweatshirt study - calling attention to a subset limited recall later |
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Buckhout Eyewitness Studies (Realistic)
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Staged an assualt in class, and found a significant amount of unconscious transference during lineup
Simulated crime on TV and found a very low accuracy rate |
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Wade Trilogy
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Required the presence of council at all pre-trial matters and investigative procedures
Took into account the totality of the circumstances, though |
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Kirby v. Illinois
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Decided that Kirby had not been arrested or indicted and that his right to council during pre-trial matters was not allowed or necessary
Started to dismantle Wade Trilogy |
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Neil v. Biggers
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Railroad tracks crime
Developed criteria for eyewitness testimony: Opportunity to view crime Degree of attention Accuracy of description Level of certainty Length of time between crime and confrontation |
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Manson v. Brathwaite
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Undercover cop
SC confirmed their previous ruling in Neil v. Biggers and broadened it to include the totality of the circumstances Emphasis shifts from due process to the reliability of the identification |
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Methods used by the Legal System against Weak Eyewitness Testimony
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Voir Dire (jurors tend to over believe though)
Cross Examination (difficult to destroy a witness because they believe what they are saying) Deliberation (don't generally question witnesses) |
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Cross-Race Identification
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Much easier to identify people of the same race than of other races
Might be caused by perceptual expertise and social categorization models |
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Perceptual Expertise
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de facto segregation leads percievers to have different expretise in processing same races versus cross-race faces
See same-race faces much more (in-group) Korean adoption study |
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Social Categorization Model
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Tend to think categorically about out-group members which produces processing differences
Tend to see those in the out-group as less unique Miami University versus Marshall University study |
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Grocery Store Study
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Mock jurors are given a description of a robbery in which the owner was killed
There were three different witnesses - none, eyewitness, and discredited eyewitness Found that jurors convicted suspect just as much with a discredited witness |
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When are eyewitnesses most persuasive?
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When they are highly confident
However, confidence can be increased after identification through confirming feedback Can protect against this by making witness think about their memory and by using a blind administrator |
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When are eyewitnesses most credible?
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When they are detailed
Witnesses seem credible if they can remember exact and specifc details instead of vague references Stress and heighted arousal often cause "tunner vision" and limits memory of details, though |
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Estimator Variables
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Sources of error not under the control of the justice system
Include impairments in attention, perception, and memory |
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System Variables
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Sources of error that can be controlled by people in the justice system
Include regulation of lineups, questioning, etc The weaker the memory, the more impact system variables will have |
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Demographic Variables
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Estimator variable
Men and women are equal The very young and very old make more mistakes in target absent lineups Children are also overconfident in their choices |
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Unconcious Transference
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Estimator variable
Identifying someone the witness has seen as a bystander at the scene of the crime Familiar face is transfered to another context Donald Thompson - psychologist on TV Could be the result of change blindness (shallow processing that renders us oblivious to small changes in out surroundings) |
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Morgan Survival School Study
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Subjects could better identify interrogators in low stress rather than high stress situations
IDed them best with sequential photo lineups rather than other methods (cued photos also helped) Demonstrates that stress has a negative effect on eyewitness identification |
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Weapon Focus Studies
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Cashier/check/gun study - found that the more normal the situation, the more likely the witness would correctly identify the perpetrator
Beauty salson and TV repair shop study - Unusualness may be a more important factor in skewing a person's memory than the threatening aspect of the object |
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Ways to improve accuracy of lineup identifications
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Unbiased selection of filters
Blind Lineup administrators Instructions to the witness (may or may not be there) Get confidence rating immediately after ID Sequential over simultaneous lineup (not necessarily better) |
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Reasons why judges may deny expert testimony about EWT
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EWT is not muture or precise enough
Jury should decide the credibility of the witness Expert will make jurors skeptical of all EWT (more prejudicial than probative) Psychology is common sense (jurories already know these things from everyday experience) |
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Binet and the suggestability of Children
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More suggestible in groups
More suggestilbe than adults More accurate during free recall More confident with repeated questions but less accurate |
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False Memory in Children Studies
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Sam Stone study - stereotype information influences childrens' memories for events (were told Sam was clumsy and thought he had broken several items)
Harris Study - have difficulty in distinguishing fact from fantasy if asked to use imagination Mr. Science - Children recall non-experienced by suggested events Paco Perez Study - children will falsely report fantastic events not just the mundane if reinforced |
