Forensic and Legal Psychology Psychological Science Applied to Law, Fourth Edition
By Mark Costanzo and Daniel Krauss
Contents:
Preface
1 Psychology and Law: A Cautious Alliance
A Brief History of Psychology and Law
A Clash of Cultures
Goals: Approximate Truth Versus Approximate Justice
Methods: Rulings Versus Data
Style of Inquiry: Advocacy Versus Objectivity
The Importance of Bridging the Two Cultures
Roles Played by Psychologists Interested in Law
Psychologists as Advisors
Psychologists as Evaluators
Scientific American Spotlight 1.1 Does Tough Treatment of
Troubled Teens Work?
Psychologists as Reformers
Five Pathways for Influencing the Legal System
Expert Testimony
Scientific American Spotlight 1.2 Neuroscience in the
Courtroom
Cross-Disciplinary Education
Amicus Curiae Briefs
Broad Dissemination of Research Findings
Influencing Legislatures and Public Policy
Has Psychology Influenced the Legal System?
The Criminal Justice System: A Flow Chart
2 Lie Detection
The Complexity and Pervasiveness of Deception
Can We Tell When Others Are Lying?
The Polygraph
Development of the Polygraph
Focus on Careers Police and Forensic Psychologist
The Process of Polygraphing
Research on the Polygraph
The Polygraph as Coercion Device
Legal Status of the Polygraph
Hot Topic 2.1 Postconviction Polygraphing of Sex Offenders
How Jurors Respond to Polygraph Evidence
An Alternative Technique: The Guilty Knowledge Test
Consider This 2.1 Lower-Tech Lie Detection: Words and Wizards
From Physiological Arousal to Cognitive Load
Some Emerging Technologies for Lie Detection
3 Interrogations and Confessions
The Power of a Confession
The Evolution of Interrogation Techniques
Inside the Modern Interrogation Room
Consider This 3.1 Core Principles of Social Influence
The Problem of False Confessions
The Prevalence of False Confessions
Types of False Confessions
Should Interrogators Be Allowed to Lie?
Hot Topic 3.1 Ethics, the American Psychological
Association, and the Use of Torture as an Interrogation Device
From Accusatorial Interrogations to Information Gathering:
HUMINT, SUE, and PEACE
Potential Solutions to the Problem of False Confessions
Video Recording of Interrogations
Requiring Probable Cause for Interrogation
Time Limits on Interrogations
The “Appropriate Adult” Safeguard for Vulnerable Suspects
Instructions to the Jury
Expert Testimony
4 The Psychology of Forensic Identification: DNA, Fingerprints, and
Other Types of Physical Trace Evidence
Trace Evidence in Context
Hot Topic 4.1 Modern Biometrics: Beyond Fingerprints and DNA
When Does a Trace “Match” a Source?
Basic Principles of Scientific Measurement: Reliability and
Validity
The Scientific Foundation of Forensic Identification
DNA Evidence
Consider This 4.1 Forensic Genetic Genealogy: Using
Familial DNA Matches to Identify Criminal Suspects
Fingerprint Evidence
Techniques of Weak or Unknown Validity
Legal Spotlight 4.1 “Changed Science” Laws
Communicating the Similarity of a Trace and a Source
Reducing Error and Bias
Hot Topic 4.2 Is There Really a “CSI Effect”?
Science as the Solution to the Problem of Identification Bias
How Jurors Think About Trace Evidence
5 Criminal Profiling and Psychological Autopsies
The Process of Profiling
Three Famous Profiles
Jack the Ripper
The Olympic Bomber
The Mad Bomber
Characteristics of Serial Killers
Scientific American Spotlight 5.1 What “Psychopath”
Means
Research on Profiling
Scientific American Spotlight 5.2 Implicit Racial Bias and
Police Shootings
Profiling Problems and Promise
Assumptions
Cross-Situational Consistency
The Utility of Inferences
Persistent Problems
Geographic Profiling: An Alternative to Intuition
Precise Profiles or Sloppy Stereotypes?
Hot Topic 5.1 Racial Profiling
Psychological Autopsies
Legal Status of Psychological Autopsies
6 Eyewitness Identification and Testimony
Eyewitness Testimony and the Legal System
The Manson Criteria
How the Legal System Attempts to Expose Eyewitness Error
Legal Spotlight 6.1 Post-Manson Court Decisions on
Eyewitness Identification
The Construction, Reconstruction, and Evaluation of
Eyewitness Memories
Cross-Racial Identifications
Stress and Weapons Focus
Unconscious Transference
Preexisting Expectations
Leading or Suggestive Comments
Witness Confidence
When the Eyewitness Is a Child
Hot Topic 6.1 Cameras and Computers as “Eyewitnesses”
Using Research Findings to Improve Eyewitness Accuracy
Prelineup Interviews
Consider This 6.1 Translating Science Into Practice
Evidence-Based Grounds for Putting Suspects in Lineups
Double-Blind Lineups
Appropriate Lineup Fillers
Prelineup Instructions to Eyewitnesses
Obtaining an Immediate Postlineup Confidence Statement
Video Recording
Avoiding Repeated Identification Procedures With the Same
Witness and Suspect
Avoiding the Use of Showups
Expert Testimony
Techniques for Refreshing the Memories of Witnesses
Hypnosis
The Cognitive Interview
7 Child Sexual Abuse: Interviewing Children and Assessing the
Recovered Memories of Adults
The Reported Memories of Young Children
The Day Care Center Cases
Hot Topic 7.1 The Use of Child Interviewing Props: Dolls
and Diagrams
Effective Interviewing of Children
Hot Topic 7.2 Child Sexual Abuse Accommodation
Syndrome
Testimony by Children at Trial
Adults’ Recovered Memories of Sexual Abuse
Were the Memories Created or Recovered?
Focus on Careers Social Science Analyst
The Ingram Case
Research on Implanting False Memories in Adults
Scientific American Spotlight 7.1 Recovered Memories: An
Interview With Elizabeth Loftus
Scientific American Spotlight 7.2 Traumatic Therapies Can
Have Long-Lasting Effects on Mental Health
8 Competency to Stand Trial
The Meaning of Competency to Stand Trial
The Dusky Standard
Functional Elements of CST
CST Versus Competency to Plead Guilty and Competency to
Waive an Attorney
How the Criminal Justice System Deals With Incompetent
Defendants
Methods for Evaluating CST
CST Assessment Instruments
Malingering
CST Evaluations and Ultimate Issue Testimony by Experts
Restoration of CST
Legal Spotlight 8.1 Legal Issues in Competency for
Execution
Treatment of Defendants Judged Incompetent
Right to Refuse Treatment and CST
Adolescents and CST
Consider This 8.1 Juvenile Transfer to Adult Court
Hot Topic 8.1 Juvenile Competency to Waive Miranda
Rights
9 Plea Bargaining, Jury Selection, and Trial Procedure
The Hidden, Consequential World of Plea Bargaining
Plea Bargaining in Theory and Practice
Plea Bargaining and Vulnerable Defendants
Jury Selection
Assembling a Jury: Pools, Venires, and Voir Dire
From Jury Pool to Venire
Voir Dire
Cognizable Groups
Using Stereotypes and Science to Select Jurors
Legal Spotlight 9.1 Using Social Media to Select Jurors
The Use of Trial Consultants
Hot Topic 9.1 Jury Consulting and the Role of Money at
Trial
Focus on Careers Trial Consultant
Scientific Jury Selection
Juror Characteristics and Attitudes as Predictors of Verdict
General Personality Tendencies
Attitudes About the Legal System
Defendant–Juror Similarity
Pretrial Publicity as a Source of Bias
An Overview of Trial Procedure
10 The Insanity Defense
The Trial of Andrea Yates
The Evolution of Insanity Law
Three Important Cases and Their Consequences
The M’Naghten Case
The Durham Case
The Hinckley Case
Hot Topic 10.1 Brain Scans as Evidence
Common Misconceptions About the Insanity Defense
Post-Hinckley Developments in Insanity Law
Guilty but Mentally Ill
Mens Rea Defenses and Diminished Capacity
Legal Spotlight 10.1 Is It Constitutional to Prohibit an
Insanity Defense and Instead Allow a Mens Rea Defense?
How Jurors Define Insanity
Clinical Evaluations of Insanity
Methods for Assessing Insanity
MSE and R-CRAS
Malingering
11 Intimate Partner Violence, Battered Woman Syndrome, Rape
Trauma Syndrome, and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
Intimate Partner Violence
Syndromes in Court
Battered Woman Syndrome
The Historical Development of BWS
Characteristics of Battered Women
Characteristics of Batterers
BWS and the Legal System
The Scientific Validity of BWS
Rape Trauma Syndrome
The Historical Development of RTS
Recovery From Rape and Characteristics of RTS
RTS and the Legal System
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
PTSD Versus BWS
Scientific American Spotlight 11.1 Trapped in a Cycle of
Sexual Abuse
PTSD Versus RTS
Scientific American Spotlight 11.2 How to Find Meaning in
Suffering
12 Juries and Judges as Decision Makers
The Process of Jury Decision Making
Models of Decision Making
The Impact of Evidence
The Effects of Biasing Information
Defendant Characteristics
Inadmissible Evidence
Impeachment Evidence
Complex Evidence
The Group Dynamics of Jury Deliberations
Hot Topic 12.1 The Effects of Technology in and out of the
Courtroom
Diversity and Deliberation
Strong Jurors and the Power of the Majority
Stages in the Deliberation Process
Other Characteristics of Deliberations
Size of the Jury
Decision Rules (Unanimous or Majority Rule)
Jury Nullification
Jury Reform
Hot Topic 12.2 Should We Use Professional Jurors?
Simplifying Instructions to the Jury
Allowing Jury Discussion During Trial
Judges Compared to Juries
Judges as Decision Makers
Agreement and Disagreement Between Juries and Judges
13 Child Custody Disputes
Varieties of Custody Arrangements
Consider This 13.1 Parental Alienation Syndrome and
Parent Alienation
Best Interest of the Child Standard
The Tender Years Doctrine
Primary Caretaker Rule
The Uniform Marriage and Divorce Act of 1976
Weaknesses of the BICS
Legal Spotlight 13.1 Same-Sex Unions and Child Custody
Approximation Rule
Children’s Responses to Divorce
The Psychologist’s Contribution to Custody Decisions
The Role of the Psychological Expert
Psychological Tests and Their Problems
Scientific American Spotlight 13.1 What’s Wrong With
This Picture?
Judges’ Views of Experts
Custody Mediation as an Alternative to Litigation
Parent Coordination and Collaborative Divorce
14 Workplace Law: Harassment, Discrimination, and Fairness
The Evolution of Sexual Discrimination Law
Sexual Harassment: Prevalence and Perceptions
The Legal Boundaries of Sexual Harassment
Current Status of Harassment Law
Sexual Harassment Lawsuits
The Psychology of Sexual Harassment
Some Causes
Some Effects
Prevention
Scientific American Spotlight 14.1 Who Should Be a Cop?
Selecting and Training Police Officers
A Broader Look at Workplace Discrimination
Scientific American Spotlight 14.2 Detecting Implicit Bias
Racial Discrimination in the Workplace
The Changing Nature of Racial Prejudice
Reducing Racial Bias
Scientific American Spotlight 14.3 Technology, Psychology,
and the Search for the Best Employees
The Psychology of Perceived Fairness
Three Models for Allocating Rewards
Research on Perceptions of Fairness
Consider This 14.1 The Gender Gap in Salaries
15 Predicting Violent Behavior: The Psychology of Risk Assessment
Sexually Violent Predators and the Law
Consider This 15.1 Sexual Offender Community
Notification and Registration Laws
Risk Assessment and the Law
Future Dangerousness and the Death Penalty
Scientific American Spotlight 15.1 Deranged and
Dangerous?
Civil Commitment
Consider This 15.2 The Tarasoff and Ewing Cases
Sexually Violent Predator Civil Commitment
Methods and Outcomes of Risk Assessment
Unstructured Clinical Judgment and Ways to Improve It
Actuarial Prediction
Types of Risk Factors
Hot Topic 15.1 Pretrial Detention and the Use of Risk
Algorithms: Are They Biased?
Focus on Careers Violence Risk Expert
Structured Professional Judgment Instruments
Jurors’ Reactions to Risk-Assessment Evidence
Treatments to Reduce the Risk of Violence
16 Corrections: Sentencing, Imprisonment, and Alternatives
Sentencing Decisions
Disparities
Consider This 16.1 Free Will and the Purpose of Prisons
Guidelines
Types of Imprisonment
Hot Topic 16.1 Modern Solitary Confinement in Supermax
Prisons
The Goals of Imprisonment
The Evolution of Prisons in the United States
The 1800s
The 1900s
Scientific American Spotlight 16.1 Victim–Offender Mediation
Prisoner Rights and the Role of the Courts
Basic Statistics on Prisons and Prisoners
The Distinctive Culture of Prison
The Power of the Prison Situation
The Harshness of Prison Life
Focus on Careers Correctional Psychologist
Does Prison Work?
Alternatives to Prison
17 The Death Penalty
Capital Punishment in Context
Supreme Court Decisions
Hot Topic 17.1 Should We Execute the Elderly?
Research on Capital Murder Trials
Consider This 17.1 Victim Impact Statements and
Execution Impact Statements
Hot Topic 17.2 Ethical Issues in Competency for Execution
Racial Disparities and the Death Penalty
Is the Death Penalty a Deterrent to Murder?
Errors and Mistakes in Death Penalty Cases
Glossary
References
Name Index
Subject Index
Index of Cases and Acts