PSYC39 LEC 2 NOTES

FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGY:
● Forensic Psychology: A field of psychology that deals with all aspects of human
behaviour as it relates to the law or legal system.
○ Forensic psychologists are interested in understanding the mechanisms that
underlie people’s thoughts, feelings, and actions - within a legal context.
○ Multiple terms are used, such as legal or criminological psychology.
○ Narrow Definition: Individuals engaged in clinical practice (i.e. assessing,
treating, or consulting) within the legal system.
○ Broader Definition (Bartol and Bartol): Psychological research related to legal
processes, and professional practice of psychology within or in consultation with
legal systems.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGY:

● James Cattell (1860-1944): The first professor of psychology in the U.S.
○ Completed PhD in 1886 under the supervision of Wilhelm Wundt in Germany.
○ Early research on eyewitness testimony (1895).
■ Asked university students to recall things they had witnessed in their daily
lives.
■ Found that student answers were inaccurate.
■ Students’ degree of confidence and recall accuracy was weak.
■ Cattell believed these findings could be useful in ‘courts of justice’.
● Hugo Munsterberg (1863-1916): The father of forensic psychology.
○ Completed PhD in 1885 under Wundt.
○ On the Witness Stand (1908):
■ Argued that psychology could assist the legal system through:
● Eyewitness testimony
● False confessions
● Crime prevention
■ Was ridiculed by legal scholars
● Fictional story in which he was tried by the “Supreme Court of
Wundt County” and found guilty of ‘claiming more than he could
offer’.
■ In wake of Munsterberg’s work, forensic psychology began to develop.
● Ex: Psychologists played an important role in the opening of the
first clinic for juvenile delinquents in 1909.
● Ex: By 1917, developed psychological tests for law enforcement
selection purposes.

THEORIES OF CRIME:
 ● Biological Theories:
○ Sheldon’s (1949) Constitutional Theory:
One’s temperament (reflected by body
type) increases his or her likelihood of
committing crime.
○ Jacob’s et al. (1965) Chromosomal
Theory: Chromosomal irregularity is
linked to criminal behavior.
■ Typical Females are XX; Typical
Males are XY.
■ Chromosomally atypical males with XYY (1/1000 male births)
● It was proposed that the extra Y chromosome in XYY makes
males more masculine.
● Jacob’s et al. reasoned that they would be more aggressive and
prone to violent crime → “violent super male”.
■ In fact, XYYs (a) do perform more antisocial and criminal behaviors; and
(b) are overrepresented in prison populations. But, they also have
● lower IQs
● lower income and education
● fewer social supports
● Sociological Theories:
○ Merton’s (1938) Strain Theory: Some low SES people use crime to compete for
status.
○ Sutherland’s (1939) Differential Association Theory: People are more likely to
get involved in crime when they learn values that are favorable to violations of
law.
● Psychological Theories:
○ Eysenck’s (1964) Biosocial Theory of Crime: People high in Extraversion and
Neuroticism don’t easily learn from the consequences of their behavior; aren’t
sufficiently socialized and develop antisocial inclinations.
○ Aker’s (1973) Social Learning Theory: Crime is learned; role models and the
expectations of rewards from crime leads to antisocial behavior.

THE ROLES OF A FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGIST:

● Clinician: Assessment and treatment of mental health issues as they pertain to the legal
system.
● Scientist: Experimenter or researcher; psychology as it relates to the legal system.
● Legal Scholar: Interdisciplinary training in both psychology and the law.

THE FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGIST AS A CLINICIAN:

 ● What do they do?
○ Conducting divorce and child custody mediation
○ Providing expert testimony on questions of a psychological nature
○ Personnel selection (e.g., for the police)
○ Treatment programs for offenders
● Educational Requirements:
○ Must hold a PhD in Psychology (ON, BC, QBC, PEI), Master’s degree is
sufficient in other provinces
○ Supervised practice in forensic setting
● Forensic Psychiatrists are medical doctors who work in forensic settings.

THE FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGIST AS A RESEARCHER:

● What do they do?
○ Examining the effectiveness of risk-assessment strategies
○ Determining what factors influence jury decision making
○ Evaluating programs (e.g., victim treatment)
○ Studying stress management interventions among police officers
● Educational Requirements:
○ Must hold a PhD in Psychology
○ Research focused on forensic psychology
○ No supervised practice, but may pursue postdoctoral training

EXPERT WITNESSES / EXPERT TESTIMONY

● Definition
○ A witness who provides the court with information that assists the court in
understanding an issue of relevance to a case.
○ Non-expert witnesses testify about what they have directly observed.
● Providing expert testimony is hard!
○ You have to be an expert in your field.
○ You have to know legal procedures.
○ You have to be an effective communicator (persuasive and helpful).

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN PSYCHOLOGY AND LAW

 ● Epistemology:
○ Psychology: Objective Truth
○ Law: Subjective, most convincing story.
● Nature of Law:
○ Psychology: Descriptive—why do people behave the way they do?
○ Law: Prescriptive — people should behave this way.
● Knowledge:
○ Psychology: Knowledge is nomothetic or “general laws”.
○ Law: Knowledge is idiographic (case specific) analyses and reasoning.
● Methodology:
○ Psychology: Nomothetic, scientific method
○ Law: Case-by-case basis, develop compelling stories that cover details of a
specific case.
● Criterion:
○ Psychology: Statistical (e.g., Hypothesis testing, p < .05)
○ Law: Prescriptive—” Beyond reasonable doubt”
● Principles:
○ Psychology: Consider multiple, even competing explanations; explore
○ Law: Stick to available facts
● Latitude of Courtroom Behavior:
○ Psychology: Expert witness—strict protocol
○ Law: More options

CRITERIA FOR ACCEPTING EXPERT TESTIMONY IN U.S.A:

● In the United States, scientific evidence must meet the Daubert Criteria to be admitted
into court:
○ 1. The research has been peer reviewed.
○ 2. The research is testable (i.e., falsifiable).
○ 3. The research has a recognized rate of error.
○ 4. The research adheres to professional standards.

CRITERIA FOR ACCEPTING EXPERT TESTIMONY IN CANADA:

● In Canada, scientific evidence must meet the Mohan Criteria to be admitted:
○ 1. The evidence must be relevant.
○ 2. The evidence must be necessary for assisting the trier of fact.
○ 3. The evidence must not violate exclusionary rules.
■ Ex: Cannot cause prejudice jurors
○ 4. The evidence must be provided by a qualified expert.

POLICE PSYCHOLOGY:
 ● Police Selection:
○ Procedures to screen out undesirable candidates and select desirable ones.
● Police Discretion:
○ Latitude that officers have when making decisions.
● Police Stress:
○ Occupational stress and organizational stress.
● Psychology applied to selection procedures is, again, almost as old as psychology.
○ Lewis Terman (1917) used the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Test to assist with
police selection in California
○ In France, Alfred Binet published the first intelligence test in 1905.
● The goal of selection procedures is to select the best candidates.

POLICE AGENCY SELECTION PROCEDURES IN THE U.S.:

Selection Procedure Percentage of Police Agencies

Background Checks 99.4%

Medical Exams 98.7%
Selection Interviews 98.1%
Personality Tests 91.6%
Physical Agility Tests 80.0%
Recommendation Letters 46.5%
Cognitive Ability (Intelligence) Tests 46.5%

DEVELOPING POLICE SELECTION INSTRUMENTS:

● Step 1: Conduct a Job Analysis:
○ Identify the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities that make a good police
officer → Not easy …KSAs depend on type of work!
■ Ex: KSAs of the ideal constable (officer) vs. ideal manager
○ Consensus: Honesty, reliability, sensitivity to others, good communication skills,
high motivation, problem-solving skills, being a team player.
○ The RCMP uses the Six Factor Personality Test.
● Step 2: Constructing and Validating Instruments:
○ Do scores on the test predict performance outcomes?
■ Ex: Do scores on the Six Factor Personality Test predict supervisor ratings
of performance, number of promotions, absenteeism?
○ Predictive Validity: Often measured with correlation coefficients, which
quantify how two variables are associated with each other (and it assumes a linear
relationship).

EXAMPLES OF REAL CORRELATIONS BETWEEN DIFFERENT VARIABLES:

Predictor & Criterion (Meyer et al., 2001): r

Aspirin & the reduced risk of death by heart attack .02

85 fewer heart attacks among 11,000 people (Rosenthal, 2000)

Smoking & lung cancer .08

Sex & weight .26

Psychotherapy & outcome .27

Viagra & improved sexual functioning .38

Past behavior & the prediction of future behavior .39

Sex & arm strength .55

Distance from equator & daily temperature .60

Conclusion: The modal effect size is between .10 and .30 for psychology as a
whole (including experimental investigations).
● Effect sizes in psychology are comparable to, and often larger than, those
found in medicine.

HEMPHILL (2003):
THE PREDICTIVE VALIDITY OF POLICE SELECTION INSTRUMENTS:
● Selection Interviews:
○ Semi-structured (set list of questions for all applicants).
○ Assess whether the applicant has KSAs for the job.
○ Not a whole lot of research supporting their validity.
■ Ex: Annell et al. (2015) found only partial support for predictive validity:
of 36 correlation coefficients, only 5 were significant; largest was r = .10.
○ But, these recruits already had two years of academy training, 6 months of field
training, and had already passed other assessment hurdles.
○ Problem: Restrictive Range
● Psychological Tests:
○ Cognitive ability (intelligence) tests are commonplace.
■ Ex: RCMP use the RCMP Police Aptitude Test → Composition,
comprehension, memory, judgement, observation, logic, computation
○ Hirsh et al. (1986) meta-analysis of 40 studies
■ r = .36, training success
■ r = .13, on-the-job performance
○ Aamodt (2004), more recent meta-analysis
■ r = .41, academy performance
■ r = .16, supervisor ratings of on-the-job performance
● Assessment Centres:
○ Sophisticated facilities in which the behavior of applicants can be observed by
multiple raters
■ Situation Test: Approximate real-world policing in simulated
environments.
■ Some evidence supports validity. Pynes and Bernardin (1992) found:
● r = .14 for training academy performance
● r = .20 for on-the-job performance

POLICE DISCRETION:
● The freedom that officers have for deciding what should be done in a given situation:
○ What street should I patrol?
○ Should I stop that vehicle for a traffic violation?
○ What level of force is required to achieve my objective?
 ○ Should I call an end to this investigation?
● Discretion is necessary because the job is too complicated, and resources are scarce.
○ Sheehan and Cordner (1989):
● Enforcing all the laws all the time would force police to be at the station
and in court all the time, not on the streets where they’re needed.
● Ex: Minor infractions like going 2 km/hr above the speed limit.
● Enforcing all the laws all the time would overwhelm the justice system.
● There are limited resources.
● Politicians pass some laws that aren’t intended to be strictly enforced.
● Politicians pass laws that are purposely vague, allowing for discretion.

DISCRETION WHEN DEALING WITH INDVS’ WHO HAVE MENTAL ILLNESS:

● The deinstitutionalization of individuals with mental illness has increased the likelihood
that police officers will come into contact with mentally ill people (Cotton & Coleman,
2008)
● Three Options:
○ Transport the individual to a psychiatric institution or hospital.
○ Arrest and take to jail.
○ Resolve the manner informally (e.g. see that family steps in to help).

VINCE LI EXAMPLE:

DISCRETION IN USE-OF-FORCE SITUATIONS:

● In some situations, officers need to use force to protect the public and themselves.
● They can use varying degrees of force to suppress a situation.
● Need to do their best to use the minimal amount that’s necessary.
● When officers use excessive force, they can be charged and convicted of crime.
○ Canadian study by Hall and Votova (2013):
■ Examined 3.5 million interactions and recorded that only 0.1% of all
interactions were use-of-force.
● Physical strikes (59.6%), taser (14.9%), pepper spray, etc.
RCMP’S INCIDENT MANAGEMENT/INTERVENTION MODEL:
● Promotes continuous risk assessment in constantly evolving situations
● Situational factors
○ Environmental conditions (lighting, location, hazards, etc.)
○ Subject characteristics (e.g., number, abilities, state of mind, etc.)
 ○ Tactical issues (number of subjects, abilities of subject, threats etc.)

USEFUL DEFINITIONS:
● First-Degree Murder:
○ A homicide that is both planned and deliberate (e.g., contract killings).
○ Automatic: Life-sentence, no possibility of parole (early release) for 25 years
● Second-Degree Murder:
○ A deliberate killing that is not planned (e.g., X and Y are having a disagreement;
things get out of hand; X impulsively kills Y).
○ Minimum: Life-sentence, no possibility of parole for 10 years.
● Attempted Murder:
○ Trying to cause the death of another person.
○ Maximum of life sentence; If firearm is used, 4, 5, or 7 years depending on prior
convictions.
● Manslaughter:
○ A homicide committed without intent, although there may have been intent to
cause harm.
○ No minimal sentence, except when committed with a firearm (minimum 4 years
in prison).

JAMES FORCILLO CASE:

● Sammy Yatin on a Toronto bus exposing himself and threatening others with a knife
● Officers arrived. Officer Forcillo asked for a taser, but one wasn’t available.
● Shot Yatin 3 times. Yatin fell to the ground. Forcillo shot another 6 rounds; claimed he
saw Yatin start to “renew his attack”.
○ Forcillo was charged found guilty of attempted murder.

POLICE STRESS:
● Occupational Stress: Stressors relating to the job itself (e.g. facing danger).
● Organizational Stress: Stressors relating to organizational issues (e.g., problems with
management, pressure).
● Highest-Ranked Stressors for Police in Ontario:
 ○ The feeling that different rules apply to different people
○ Feeling like you always have to prove yourself to the organization
○ Dealing with the court system
○ Shift work
○ Perceived pressure to volunteer time
● Consequences of Police Stress:
○ Health problems
■ Retired officers die younger than other city employees (Brandl & Smith)
■ Officers more likely to die of cancer (Violanti et al., 1986)
○ Psychological problems (e.g. PTSD)
○ Job Performance Problems
○ Different solutions to help officers manage stress are being used and investigated
for effectiveness