CHAPTER 1

  1. There are a number of conflicting areas between psychology and the law. Which of the following areas is associated with the legal perspective?
  1. empirical
  2. probabilistic
  3. conservatism
  4. experimentation
  1. All of the following are in keeping with the notion of therapeutic jurisprudence except that
  1. the law can be seen to function as a kind of therapeutic agent.
  2. legal rules and actors can produce anti-therapeutic consequences.
  3. therapeutic concerns should be the only concern considered when devising new laws.
  4. the limits placed on or extended to psychotherapist-patient privilege can lead to better therapy.
  1. Which one of the following would not be considered a forensic psychologist according to the definition of forensic psychology offered in the text?
  1. a clinical psychologist who is the director of a sex offender treatment program
  2. a cognitive psychologist testifying about the inaccuracy of eyewitness memory
  3. a counseling psychologist who conducting a substance abuse evaluation of an individual who has been convicted of DUI
  4. a neuropsychologist who has performed a competency evaluation to determine whether an offender suffers from brain damage

4. Which of the following is a disadvantage of obtaining a joint-degree?

a. admission to these programs is easier

b. hardly anyone ever completes both degrees

c. you are not allowed to practice as an attorney if you have a PhD

d. you may limit your career options by attending a joint-degree program

5. Which court decision first recognized the admissibility of expert testimony by psychologists in insanity cases?

a. Atkins v. Virginia

b. Jenkins v. United States

c. Daubert v. Merrell Dow

d.Tarasoff v. California Board of Regents

5. Which of the following statements is true of joint-degree programs?

a. obtaining a joint-degree will lead to greater annual salaries

b. obtaining a law degree is necessary to become a forensic psychologist

c. joint-degree programs attempt to integrate two different disciplines

d. joint-degree programs are the best way to be trained as a forensic psychologist

6. Branson loves to collect dead bugs in his spare time. However, Lois is disgusted by his behavior and his suing Branson on behalf of dead bugs everywhere. She believes they have suffered long enough as they wait to be Branson’s next victim. As a result of the lawsuit, Branson will probably have to appear in ______.

  1. civil court
  2. juvenile court
  3. criminal court
  4. administrative court

7. About ______of forensic psychologists and psychiatrists have engaged in criminal profiling.

a. 10%

b. 25%

c. 70%

d. 90%

8. The word forensic is derived from the Latin word describing ______in Ancient Rome.

a. the prison system

b. the art of argument and debate

c. where individuals resolved disputes

d. the attempt by physicians to identify causes of death

9. Which of the following is a difference between forensic psychologists and forensic psychiatrists?

a. forensic psychologists prescribe medication

b. forensic psychologists have more experience conducting psychological assessments

c. forensic psychiatrists obtain a doctorate while forensic psychologists typically obtain a masters degree

d. forensic psychologists are trained to assists the mentally ill and forensic psychiatrists assist individuals with more mild emotional difficulties

10. Who is considered to be the first to engage in the clinical practice of forensic psychology?

a. Thomas Grisso

b. Michael Jenkins

c. Lightner Witmer

d. Hugo Munsterberg

11. ______is a principle that suggests a person must have committed an unlawful act willfully or purposely.

a. forensic

b. mens rea

c. culpability

d. common law

12. Criminal law is concerned with ______.

a. the acts against individuals

b. acts involving financial compensation

c. acts generally considered to be against society

d. acts in which an individual has been physically harmed

13. Which of the following is not an element of a tort?

a. owing a duty

b. violation of a duty

c. a harm must occur

d. the harm must have a financial basis

14. In the United States federal court system, trial courts are generally referred to as

a. circuit courts

b. district courts

c. appeals courts

d. supreme courts

15. Decisions rendered by the United States Supreme Court

a. all involve constitutional issues

b. only involve a violation of common law

c. are not always binding to the state courts.

d. must have passed through both the state and the federal court system

16.Law created by federal or state legislatures is called ______.

a. case law

b. mens rea

c. common law

d. statutory law

17. When faced with making legal decisions, judges are reluctant to make decisions that contradict earlier judicial decisions. The propensity is an example of the principle of

a. torts

b. mens rea.

c. stare decisis.

d. statutory law

18. In deciding the type of graduate program to attend, which is true?

a. joint-degree programs are clearly the best program for everyone

b. there is only one type of program for training forensic psychologists

c. clinicians with PhDs are clearly better at their jobs than master's level clinicians

d. most students interested in forensic psychology think about obtaining a doctorate

19. Which of the following are characteristic of specialty programs in forensic psychology?

a. clerking for law firms

b. obtaining a law degree

c. seminars on forensic related issues

d. the best integration of psychology and law

20. Bersoff et al. (1997) proposed three different levels of training for training forensic psychologists. The ______receives specialized training in forensic psychology that allows him or her to perform some limited forensic work.

a. expert clinician

b. specialist clinician

c. proficient clinician

d. legally informed clinician

CHAPTER 2

1. What is a major drawback or difficulty in forensic assessment?

  1. Malingering is a concern with all offenders.
  2. The courts appreciate the contribution of psychologists.
  3. There are no empirically verified means for treating offenders.
  4. The law asks questions that are too simplistic given our current knowledge.

2. Dr. Croft is a forensic psychologist who is conducting an evaluation on 27 year-old man. The man’s employer has referred him because he is having anger control problems that have become a problem at work and the employer is considering firing the man. What should Dr. Croft‘s ethical concern be regarding who he can communicate the findings of his report to (this is normally not a concern for psychologists)?

  1. duty to warn
  2. informed consent
  3. determining who is his client
  4. the admissibility of scientific testimony

3. Dr. Collins is a forensic psychologist but he does not have any experience assessing or treating children. An attorney that he has worked with before asks him to assist with a case involving an 8 year-old girl. She is alleging that a man in her neighborhood molested her. Dr. Collins decides to decline this case because

  1. there is an extensive literature on the topic.
  2. he would be more likely to get sued for malpractice.
  3. a child that age is not able to give valid consent for the evaluation.
  4. psychologists must practice only in areas in which they are competent.
  1. The primary role of forensic assessment is to
  1. change the law where it is wrong.
  2. assist the courts in arriving at their legal decisions.
  3. answer legal questions that the courts are unable to answer themselves.
  4. improve the training of psychologists wishing to involve themselves in legally related work.
  1. The interview that accompanies the Psychopathy Checklist-R is intended to be an example of what type of interview?
  1. Fixed
  2. Structured
  3. Unstructured
  4. Semi-Structured
  1. Why is it important to clarify the referral question when conducting a forensic assessment?
  1. in order to identify the client
  2. in order to fill in that empty space near the top of your report
  3. in order to assess your duty to warn in case the client is dangerous to others
  4. in order to best address the needs of the court in your report and stay within your scope of practice
  1. What term is associated with the focus on matching a client to a specific type of treatment based on his or her individual characteristics?
  1. responsivity principle
  2. sound conceptual model
  3. multifaceted programming
  4. targeting criminogenic needs
  1. You are a forensic psychologist and you have been asked to conduct an evaluation of an offender who is awaiting sentencing. When should you obtain his informed consent and instruct her about the purpose of your meeting?
  1. Her attorney should have obtained informed consent before you ever met.
  2. Informed consent is not necessary when there is a court ordered evaluation.
  3. Informed consent is assumed when the offender voluntarily answers your questions.
  4. Obtain informed consent from the offender at the beginning of your first session.
  1. Greater need for accuracy and the conclusions being evaluated by the legal system are two reasons ______was more important for forensic psychologist compared to general psychologists.
  1. specialized forensic testing
  2. assessment of malingering
  3. identifying the referral question
  4. archival and third party information
  1. Which form of treatment includes a focus on self-mutilation, violence, and trauma reactions?
  1. outpatient
  2. maintenance
  3. special programs
  4. crisis management
  1. Special programs have increasingly become the focus of treatment efforts in corrections. Which of the following is not usually a focus of these programs?
  1. Affective Disorders
  2. Personality disorders
  3. Chemical dependency
  4. Sex offender treatment

12. Which treatment model appears to be the preferred approach for psychologists providing treatment in forensic settings?

a. psychoanalysis

b. cognitive-behavioral

c. behavior modification

d. rational-emotive therapy

13. Which is especially problematic in forensic consultation?

a. the development of dual relationships

b. identify who the client is in a given case

c. providing informed consent to someone who is not being honest

d. pressure to act in an adversarial manner thereby violating ethical considerations

14. Which of the following is not generally used as a way to assess malingering?

a. SIRS

b. TOMM

  1. Clinical interviews
  2. WAIS-III

15. Reliability

a. is less important than validity

b. the consistency of measurement

c. refers to the accuracy of measurement

d. is frequently expresses as a correlation between -2 and +2

16. An advantage of projective personality tests is that

a. they produce easily read summary reports

b. they require that the examinee is more literate

c. they generally are more reliable and more valid

d. they report to assess characteristics that are typically unobservable

17.______arepsychological tests that focus onidentifying underlying brain deficits.

a. cognitive tests

b. projective tests

c. malingering tests

d. neuropsychological tests

18.Which of the following is an example of a specialized forensic instrument?

a. Trail Making Tests A and B

b. Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R)

c. Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-II (MMPI-II)

d. Roger’s Criminal Responsibility Assessment Scales (RCRAS)

19. One difference between a therapeutic and a forensic assessment is that ______in a therapeutic assessment.

a. the goal is to address a legal question

b. the psychologist should be investigative and seek the truth

c. it involves consequences such as financial loss or loss of liberty

d. the relationship between the parties should be one of care and support

20. What is secondary gain?

a. an additional advantage or benefit central to malingering

b. an improvement in psychological functioning due to therapy

c. the additional advantage associated with conducting an unstructured interview

d. the positive aspects associated with a manic period in those who suffer from bipolar disorder

CHAPTER 3

1. Which statement best characterizes the impact of expert testimony on mock jury verdicts?

a. experts have very little impact on the decisions of juries

b. expert testimony has a modest impact across different types of cases

c. expert testimony has a profound impact on the final decisions of juries

d. expert testimony is more influential in cases with less complex evidence

2. The dominant standard for the admissibility of scientific evidence for 70 years under Frye was ______.

a. a falsifiable theory

b. known or potential error rate

c. a reasonable degree of certainty

d. general acceptance by the scientific community

3. Evidence that is useful in addressing an issue that is before a court of law is referred to as ______.

a. reliable

b. probative

c. prejudicial

d. generally accepted

4. Many scholars suggested that concerns over ______was part of the impetus for the Daubert decision.

a. the admission of junk science

b. the reduction in the power of judges

c. the complete ban of psychological evidence

d. the lack of expert witnesses in complicated cases

5. Under the Daubert standard, what are the criteria that must be evaluated by the judge?

a. reliability, relevance, legal sufficiency, lack of bias

b. validity, legal sufficiency, relevance, prejudicial impact

c. reliability, validity, general acceptance in the scientific community, relevance

d. general acceptance, known error rate, peer review, testable theory or technique

6. ______ruled that Daubert applied to technical and specialized knowledge, not just scientific exert testimony.

a. Jenkins v. United States

b. General Electric Co. v. Joiner

c. Kuhmo Tire Co., Ltd. v. Carmichael

d. Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals

7. Which statement best characterizes the findings by Groscup et al. (2002) about the impact of Daubert on the admissibility of expert evidence?

a. It increased the likelihood that poor science was admitted into the courts

b. It did not have a significant impact on the admissibility rates of expert testimony

c. Courts made drastic changes in their scrutiny of scientific evidence significantly diminishing the admission of junk science

d. Although less time was spent on examining the qualifications of experts, more time was spent on examining the scientific merit of their methods

8. Which challenge to expert testimony appears to be the most effective?

a. cross-examination

b. judicial instructions

c. employing an opposing expert

d. identifying the qualifications of the expert

9. One of the major problems identified in the text with the use of judicial instructions to challenge expert testimony is that ______.

  1. their use is barred in federal court
  2. jurors have difficulty understanding them
  3. judges are not perceived as credible sources of scientific knowledge
  4. they actually increase the attention jurors pay to the improper testimony

10. Which of the following was not an empirically supported factor that influenced the credibility of expert witnesses?

  1. professional appearance
  2. testifying for only the defense
  3. offering your testimony for free
  4. actively practicing in your discipline

11. Research examining the influence of ultimate issues testimony on juries has found

a. ultimate issue testimony is never allowed in court.

b. ultimate issue testimony leads to incorrect jury decisions.

c. ultimate issue testimony leads to longer jury deliberations.

d. ultimate issue testimony does not overly bias jury decisions.

12. Which of the following is an example of ultimate issues testimony?

  1. stating that a defendant’s risk to reoffend is high
  2. stating that a defendant is incompetent to stand trial
  3. stating that a defendant is mentally ill and dangerous
  4. stating that a defendant’s ability to control their impulses was impaired

13. A survey of attorneys found that the majority chose a forensic psychologist because of their ______.

a. price

b. political and moral beliefs

c. knowledge, ability to communicate, and overall reputation

d. willingness to testify in a case as the attorney recommended

14. Asking an expert to delete a reference to a psychological test in a report submitted to the court was used as an example of which potential source of bias?

a. notoriety

b. attorney pressure

c. financial incentives

d. extra-forensic relationship

15. The real danger in all the different potential sources of bias is that

a. there are no legal sanctions.

b. experts fail to recognize the sources of bias.

c. there are different ethics for psychologists and attorneys.

d. graduate programs fail to train psychologists in regard to these issues

16. Which one of APA’s Ethical Principles (2002) best relates to our notion of scope of practice?

a. competence

b. confidentiality

c. informed consent

d. financial arrangements

17. Ethics relating to financial arrangements usually encourage psychologists to

a. avoid exorbitantly high fees

b. provide their services for free

c. avoiding billing on an hourly basis

d. require payment in advance of providing services

18. Psychologist may not be able to avoid a multiple relationship reasonably if they

a. are routinely retained by either side.

b. are the only psychologist in a geographic area.

c. are already providing therapy to a client who becomes involved in a custody dispute.

d. are asked by an attorney to conduct an evaluation on a person and treat them simultaneously.

19. One problem with the increasing introduction of syndrome evidence is that

a. courts are treating it as junk science.

b. there are very few syndromes that can be identified.
c. the empirical evidence supporting their use is overwhelming.

d. it is being used as substantive evidence to prove the legal issue before the court.

20. ______critiqued early attempts by psychologists to apply psychology inappropriately to the legal system.

a. John Johnson

b. Hugo Munsterberg

c. Dean John Wigmore

d. Judge David Bazelon

CHAPTER 4

1. All of the following terms are frequently used interchangeable with psychopathy except ______.

a. sociopathy

b. pathological liar

c. dyssocial personality disorder

d. antisocial personality disorder

2. ______was one of the first scholars to provide a comprehensive description of the psychopath in the book, Mask of Sanity.

a. Robert Hare

b. Paul Babiak

c. Cathy Widom

d. Hervey Cleckley

3. Which of the following psychopathic characteristics falls on Factor 2 (i.e., the socially deviant/antisocial factor) of the PCL-R?

  1. pathological lying
  2. callous/lack of empathy
  3. poor behavioral controls
  4. glibness/superficial charm

4. ______psychopaths are generally characterized by a lack of anxiety.

a. primary

b. Factor 1

c. secondary

d. successful

5. Which statement is true regarding psychopathy?

  1. About 20% of criminal offenders are psychopaths.
  2. All psychopaths also have antisocial personality disorder.
  3. It is a relatively recent term that was first used in the United States.
  4. It is an officially recognized diagnosis and identified by name in the DSM-IV TR.

6. Which of the following statements is true regarding psychopathic violence?

  1. Non psychopaths are less likely to murder than psychopaths
  2. Psychopaths only commit violence while consuming illicit substances
  3. Psychopaths are more likely to perpetrate instrumental violence than non psychopaths
  4. Psychopaths are more likely to perpetrate instrumental violence than reactive violence

7. ______violence is purposeful and planned.

a. reactive

b. affective

c. instrumental

d. behaviorally controlled

8. In which group is evidence most likely lacking for a clear association between psychopathy and violence?

a. children