Forensic Psychology Test #1 Questions With
Complete Answers.
What is forensic psychology?
any application of psychological research, methods, theory, and practice to a task faced by the legal
system
What is the research of human behavior related to?
the legal process (eyewitness memory and testimony, jury decision making, criminal behavior)
What is the role of professional practice of psychology within the legal system?
consultation
How does developmental psychology contribute to forensics?
custody arrangements following divorce; trying children as adults
How does social psychology contribute to forensics?
interrogators' use of coercion and persuasion; trying children as adults
How does clinical psychology contribute to forensics?
mental illness and competence to stand trial; prediction of future violence among mentally ill
How does cognitive psychology contribute to forensics?
accuracy of eyewitness testimony; jurors' understanding of legal instructions
What were the three primary training areas in Kirk Heilbrun's conceptualization?
experimental psychology, clinical psychology, legal
What were the two approaches in Kirk Heilbrun's conceptualization?
research/scholarship; applied
Who is the father of modern criminology?
Cesare Lombroso
What did Cesare Lombroso do?
sought to understand the causes of crime focusing on biological influences
What did William Healy do?
physician who studied the causes of juvenile delinquency after the establishment of the 1st juvenile
courts
How did Sigmund Freud contribute to forensic psychology?
cautioned Austrian judges that their decisions were influenced by unconscious processes; claimed
that insights from his theory could be used to understand criminal behavior and improve the legal
system
, What did Hugo Munsterberg believe?
experimental psychology has reached a stage at which it seems natural and sound to give attention to
its possible service for the practical needs of life
Who is the founder of forensic psychology?
Hugo Munsterberg
What were Munsterberg's 3 crucial activities?
demonstrated the fallibility of memory; published On the Witness Stand; offered testimony as an
expert witness in highly publicized trials
What did Hugo Munsterberg seek to do?
raise the position of the psychological profession to one of importance in public life; was sometimes
insulting to those in the legal profession
What did Hermann Ebbinghaus do?
demonstrated the rapid rate of early memory loss
What did Alfred Benet do?
studied children's competence as eyewitness
What did Louis Stern do?
published eyewitness research in Germany; testified as an expert on eyewitness identification
What did Guy Whipple do?
conducted experiments relating testimony and evidence to perception and memory
Why was there little research related to the legal system from WWII until the late 1970s?
Munsterberg had generated such a negative response; legal community was not open to the
contributions of psychologists
What does law focus on?
issues of morality, social values, social control and justifying the application of abstract principles to
specific cases (values efficiency and expediency)
What do social sciences focus on?
issues of knowledge, truth, and deriving abstract principles from specific instances (values
reproducible phenomena and underlying concepts/causes)
What are the legal system's criticisms of psychology?
lack of ecological validity to make moral judgment; going beyond the data to make moral judgments;
intruding upon the legitimate activities of the legal system
Complete Answers.
What is forensic psychology?
any application of psychological research, methods, theory, and practice to a task faced by the legal
system
What is the research of human behavior related to?
the legal process (eyewitness memory and testimony, jury decision making, criminal behavior)
What is the role of professional practice of psychology within the legal system?
consultation
How does developmental psychology contribute to forensics?
custody arrangements following divorce; trying children as adults
How does social psychology contribute to forensics?
interrogators' use of coercion and persuasion; trying children as adults
How does clinical psychology contribute to forensics?
mental illness and competence to stand trial; prediction of future violence among mentally ill
How does cognitive psychology contribute to forensics?
accuracy of eyewitness testimony; jurors' understanding of legal instructions
What were the three primary training areas in Kirk Heilbrun's conceptualization?
experimental psychology, clinical psychology, legal
What were the two approaches in Kirk Heilbrun's conceptualization?
research/scholarship; applied
Who is the father of modern criminology?
Cesare Lombroso
What did Cesare Lombroso do?
sought to understand the causes of crime focusing on biological influences
What did William Healy do?
physician who studied the causes of juvenile delinquency after the establishment of the 1st juvenile
courts
How did Sigmund Freud contribute to forensic psychology?
cautioned Austrian judges that their decisions were influenced by unconscious processes; claimed
that insights from his theory could be used to understand criminal behavior and improve the legal
system
, What did Hugo Munsterberg believe?
experimental psychology has reached a stage at which it seems natural and sound to give attention to
its possible service for the practical needs of life
Who is the founder of forensic psychology?
Hugo Munsterberg
What were Munsterberg's 3 crucial activities?
demonstrated the fallibility of memory; published On the Witness Stand; offered testimony as an
expert witness in highly publicized trials
What did Hugo Munsterberg seek to do?
raise the position of the psychological profession to one of importance in public life; was sometimes
insulting to those in the legal profession
What did Hermann Ebbinghaus do?
demonstrated the rapid rate of early memory loss
What did Alfred Benet do?
studied children's competence as eyewitness
What did Louis Stern do?
published eyewitness research in Germany; testified as an expert on eyewitness identification
What did Guy Whipple do?
conducted experiments relating testimony and evidence to perception and memory
Why was there little research related to the legal system from WWII until the late 1970s?
Munsterberg had generated such a negative response; legal community was not open to the
contributions of psychologists
What does law focus on?
issues of morality, social values, social control and justifying the application of abstract principles to
specific cases (values efficiency and expediency)
What do social sciences focus on?
issues of knowledge, truth, and deriving abstract principles from specific instances (values
reproducible phenomena and underlying concepts/causes)
What are the legal system's criticisms of psychology?
lack of ecological validity to make moral judgment; going beyond the data to make moral judgments;
intruding upon the legitimate activities of the legal system
