PSY 5360G - Forensic Psychology –Spring, 2015
Professor:Dr. Randall E. Osborne
Office:UAC Room 262
Phone:245-8236
Class Time:9:30 – 10:50 a.m. T/Th – UAC Room 205
Office Hours:9:30 – 11:30 a.m. T/Th2:30 – 3:20 p.m. T/Thby Appointment
Email:
Text for Course:
Forensic Psychology and Law by Roesch, Zapf & Hart – ISBN: 978-0-470-09623-9 (John Wiley & Sons Publishing)
Course Overview:
This course will explore the complexities of the role Psychology plays in the outcomes of our legal system. Because Psychology focuses on individuals and how those individuals make assumptions, interpret information and reach conclusions (and make decisions), this course makes the assumption that "if you change the people (be it officer, attorney, judge, eyewitness, testifying expert, defendant or juror), you are likely to get a different outcome." Some of the questions we will explore include:
a.) What dilemmas (contrasting goals) impinge on our system and how can these dilemmas be resolved?
b.) What theories are used to explain crime? What is believed to be the cause(s) of crime?
c.) How does memory affect the courtroom and what determines whether an eyewitness's testimony will be
believed?
d.) Why do we assess an individual's competence to stand trial? Why does this matter?
e.) How do we determine if someone was “sane” at the time of the crime? Why does this matter?
f.) How do juries function as a group and reach decisions?
g.) What is Battered Woman Syndrome, its symptoms and its stages?
h.) How are confessions obtained from suspects and what happens if that confession has been coerced?
i.) How can bias be introduced into jury decision making? How can this kind of bias beminimized?
j.) What is a “best interest” evaluation and what all is factored into this evaluation?
k.) What is an “alienated child” and how is this relevant to Family Court?
l.) What is Police psychology?
m.) What is Corrections psychology?
n.) What is Criminal Profiling and how is it conducted?
o.) How are confessions obtained, what is coercion and how would we know if a confession were coerced?
p.) What is trial consultation, why would we do this and how does one “train” to do it?
Within the content of this course, then, we will explore each of these (and other) questions in detail.
Overall Learning Objectives:
This course is designed to facilitate your progress on some general skills and abilities. I believe:
1. Educated persons should be able to express themselves clearly, completely, and accurately. Effective communication entails sharing ideas through a variety of techniques, such as writing, speaking and technology.
2. Educated persons should have the ability to develop informed opinions, to comprehend, formulate, and critically evaluate ideas, and to identify problems and find solutions to those problems. Effective problem solving involves a variety of skills including research, analysis, interpretation, and creativity.
3. Educated persons should develop the skills to understand, accept, and relate to people of different backgrounds and beliefs. In a pluralistic world, one should not be provincial or ignorant of other cultures; one's life is experienced within the context of other races, religions, languages, nationalities, and value systems.
4. Educated persons should be expected to have some understanding of and experience in thinking about moral and ethical problems. A significant quality in educated persons is the ability to question and clarify personal and cultural values, and thus to be able to make discriminating moral and ethical choices.
Course Objectives:
By the time you complete the course, you should be able to develop verbal and written comments that demonstrate competence on the following objectives:
1.) explain the dilemmas that exist within psychology and the law
2.) define in detail "legality", "morality", and "justice" from a psychological perspective
3.) describe the major theories of crime
4.) explain the use and relative accuracy of eyewitnesses
5.) describe the process of interrogating witnesses
6.) define criteria by which confessions are deemed "coerced"
8.) explain why "competence" is assessed within the legal system
9.) describe the trial process in detail
10.) describe the process of jury selection noting, in particular, the role(s) that psychologists play in this process
11.) describe Battered Woman Syndrome and explains its 3 categories of symptoms and its stages
12.) explain child custody evaluations, alienated children, and research on psychosomatic families as
these issues relate to Family Court.
13.) discuss improvements that can be made to our legal system based on course concepts
14.) describe Police psychology and how one trains to perform this function.
15.) describe Corrections psychology and how one trains to perform this function.
16.) explain Criminal profiling, different methods for conducting such profiles and how such processes could
increase the likelihood of locating a viable suspect.
Grades for the Course:
Your final grade for this course will be based on performance on the quizzes, two exams and out of class assignments. Points:
3 Exams X 100 points each = 300 points
Group Project = 100 points
Thought Questions = 50 points
______
Total = 450 points
Thought Questions
Students are expected to bring thought questions about the reading and/or lecture for the day (minimum of 2) to the beginning of class on the days designated in the syllabus. These thought questions (they cannot be “yes/no” type questions) will be used to guide the class discussion that day (you will earn a little over 11% of your course grade by turning in these questions. Each set of two (or more) questions is worth 5 points x 10 days = 50 points).
Thought Questions are due at the beginning of class on the following dates (note that there are 2 extra days than needed to “max” out the thought question points so you can forget twice and still be okay, point wise):
1.) January 29 (two questions based on Powerpoint on Ethical Issues and/or Chapter 12 in text)
2.) February 5 (two questions based on Powerpoint on Memory)
3.) February 12 (two questions based on Powerpoint on Eyewitness Testimony and/or Chapter 5 in text)
4.) February 19 (two questions based Competency & Insanity Powerpoint and/or Chapter 2 in text)
5.) February 24 (two questions based on Jury Trials Powerpoint and/or Chapter 7 in text)
6.) March 5 (two questions based on Confessions Powerpoint and/or Chapter 6 in text)
7.) March 12 (two questions based on the Trial Process Powerpoint)
8.) March 26 (two questions based on Psychological Assessment Powerpoint and/or Chapter 3 in text)
9.) April 9 (two questions based on Battered Woman Syndrome Powerpoint)
10.) April 16 (two questions based on Criminal Profiling Powerpoint)
11.) April 23 (two questions based on Family Court Powerpoint and/or Chapter 8 in text)
12.) April 30 (two questions based on Police & Corrections Psychology Powerpoint and/or Chapters 9 & 10 in text).
Make-up Exam Policy:
A make up for the exams will only be made with a documented and justifiable reason for missing it. These include a documented illness, a documented death in the family, or some other documented and substantial circumstance. The request for a make-up exam MUST be made in person (no emails please) AND documentation to substantiate the reason for your miss MUST be presented at the time you make the request for the makeup exam. A missed exam that is NOT excused will count as a 0.
Exams:Exams will short answer/essay questions and will be take home.
Group Projects:
At the beginning of the semester, I will assign students to Group Projects. Students will submit preferences for projects to me (see list below). From those preferences, I will create groups of 3-4 students to work on specific projects. Once students have been assigned a project and a group, a group leader will be chosen by that group. That person will work with the group to divide the project into tasks and each person will be assigned a task. A Group Project Form will be completed on which each person's name and task(s) will be recorded. At the end of the semester, ONE Group Project per group will be submitted. Additionally, a project contribution evaluation form will be completed by each group member assessing the contribution of EACH group member and recommending a grade based on contribution and effort. I will take these evaluations into account during the assignment of project grades. Possible assignments for tasks could include:
1.) tracking down /critiquing reference material and supplying to all group members
2.) generating interview questions based on literature
3.) conducting interviews and writing up summaries
4.) leading the group/conducting group meetings (could create a timeline and due dates)
5.) being part of a 2-person writing team to integrate material and write draft of paper
Final projects must also be posted to the “Final Projects” Discussion board on TRACS for all students to view. Products must be in Word or Powerpoint only.
Possible Group Project topics (Groups can also generate their own - see # 7):
1.) (1) Take course principles and propose a 4-hour workshop for "want-to-be" attorneys. (2) Based on what you have learned in this course, what are the 5 most important concepts on which to incorporate into this course? (3) Why have you chosen each concept that you have chosen? (4) Based on what you have learned, create course materials (including handouts and a Powerpoint presentation) that could be used to teach this 4-hour course. (5) Be sure and describe each concept well enough that someone not taking this course can understand that concept and the importance of you having chosen it.
2.) (1) You have been hired to train a new group of police officers that have just been promoted to "Detective." This means they will be the first to investigate crime scenes, will conduct line-ups, will be called to testify at trials, etc. (2) Based on what you have learned in this course, what are the 5 most important concepts on which to train these new detectives? (3) Why have you chosen each concept that you have chosen? (4) Based on what you have learned, create a training manual (including handouts and a Powerpoint presentation) that can assist you with this training. (5) Be sure and describe each concept well enough that someone not taking this course can understand that concept and the importance of you having chosen it.
3.) (1) You are a children's advocate for the court. (2) What are the major issues that come into play when considering dealing with a child witness in the courtroom versus an adult witness? (3) How can the impact of these issues be minimized? (4) What are the major issues that come into play when considering dealing with a child suspect (or witness) in the courtroom versus an adult suspect (or witness)? (5) How can the impact of these issues be minimized? (6) Be sure that whatever product your group produces demonstrates an understanding (at a minimum) of the following issues:
● moral development (be sure and incorporate a description of Kohlberg's theory)
● fact from fiction
● right versus wrong
● cognitive development (be sure and incorporate a description of Piaget's theory)
● susceptibility to influence.
4.) (1) Pros and cons of Plea-Bargaining debate. (2) Arguing for your side of the issue, what evidence is there on both sides about the effectiveness of plea-bargaining? (3) Based on your side of the argument, are there certain types of crimes where plea-bargaining makes “more sense”? (4) Why or why not? (5) In the paper, present both sides of the argument as effectively as you can. (6) What course concepts are most relevant to each side of the issue? (7) Be sure and describe each concept well enough that someone not taking this course can understand that concept and the importance of you having chosen it. (8) Now that you have argued both sides, create a compromise.
5.) You are writing a thought paper for a “Citizens Care” group. Their goal is to become more active in helping citizens understand our legal system in light of the popularity of such television shows as Law and Order and CSI. You have been asked to focus your work on the issue of Civil vs. Criminal Trials. As you write this paper, incorporate the following issues into what you write:
● Describe differences between civil and criminal trials (e.g., types of crimes, burden of
proof, types of evidence, etc.)
● Compare to other countries
● Choose one famous case where the criminal trial led to an acquittal and the civil trial led
to a conviction. Explore the details of this case and discuss why you think that difference
occurred.
● Has this dichotomy between Civil and Criminal trials ever been challenged at Supreme Court?
● If the answer to the above is “yes”, when did this occur and what were the outcomes?
6.) You are writing a thought paper for a “Citizen’s Care” group. Their goal is to become more active in helping citizens understand our legal system in light of the popularity of such television shows as Law and Order and CSI. You have been asked to focus your work on the issue of Grand Jury. As you write this paper, incorporate the following issues into what you write:
● What is a “Grand Jury?”
● Compare to other countries. What is the equivalent (if any) in at least 3 other countries –
2 of which must NOT be from the Western Hemisphere or Western Europe
● How are jurors selected for a Grand Jury in the U.S.?
● What is an indictment? Legally, what does it mean? Publically and psychologically,
what does it mean? Discuss the following phrase – “the power of the indictment” as it
relates to concepts such as “innocent until proven guilty”, “burden of proof” and “tried
in the court of public opinion”
7.) Develop your own idea - more than one person can choose this. If you want to be in this group, write “I would like to be in the ‘develop our own idea’ group” on your note card. I will place all who choose this in one group and you will develop a project idea through consensus.
Your Group Project Papers are due no later than class time on Thursday,April 23, in class. YOU CAN turn these in at any time prior to that. I encourage you to do these ahead of time rather than waiting until right before the final due date of April23rd.
Please follow the following guidelines in submitting projects:
1.) they MUST be typed, in a font size and style that is easily readable,
2.) they MUST be double-spaced,
3.) they CANNOT be turned in electronically – they must be turned in at the beginning of the class period at which they are due,
4.) they MUST be clearly marked with the names of ALL groups members who contributed to that project, and
5.) Group members MUST submit group member evaluation forms evaluating the performance of EACH student in the group. These MUST be submitted electronically to the TRACS Dropbox and MUST be submitted by April 23rdat 5:00 p.m.
NOTE: If forms are not submitted, I will assume ALL students contributed equally to the product.
Academic Honesty Policy:
"Academic work" means the preparation of an essay, thesis, report, problem, assignment or other project submitted for purposes of grade determination.
"Violation of Academic Honesty" includes, but is not limited to, cheating on an examination or other academic work, plagiarism, collusion and the abuse of resource materials.
a."Cheating" means engaging in any of the following activities.
1)Copying from another student's test paper, laboratory report, other report, or computer file, data listings, and/or programs.
2)Using, during a test, materials not authorized by the person giving the test.
3)Collaborating, without authorization, with another person during an examination or in preparing academic work.
4)Knowingly, and without authorization, using, buying, selling, stealing, transporting, soliciting, copying or possessing, in whole or in part, the contents of an unadministered test.
5)Substituting for another student or permitting another person to substitute for oneself in taking an examination or preparing academic work.
6)Bribing another person to obtain an unadministered test or obtain information about an unadministered test.
b."Plagiarism" means the appropriation of another's work and the unacknowledged incorporation of that work in one's own written work offered for credit.
c."Collusion" means the unauthorized collaboration with another person in preparing written work offered for credit.
d."Abuse of resource materials" means the mutilation, destruction, concealment, theft or alteration of materials provided to assist students in the mastery of course materials.
Students caught engaging in any of the forms of academic misconduct described on these pages will be disciplined according to the procedures outlined in the Texas State Student Handbook.
The study of psychology is done best in an atmosphere of mutual trust and respect. Academic dishonesty, in any form, destroys this atmosphere. Academic dishonesty consists of any of a number of things that spoil a good student-teacher relationship. A list of academically dishonest behaviors include, but is not limited to: (1) passing off others' work as one's own, (2) copying off of another person's work, (3) doing work for another student, (4) paraphrasing from an outside source while failing to credit the source or copying more than four words in sequence without quotation marks and appropriate citation, (5) turning in the same assignment for credit in two different courses, (6) fabrication of excuses for missing exams or failing to complete an assignment on time.
The Psychology Department faculty believes that appropriate penalties for academic dishonesty should be applied, including penalties of up to an "F" in the course and/or prosecution through the Student Justice System (which might result in suspension from the university).
Students are reminded of the University policy for academic misconduct regarding cheating and the Honor Code.
Texas State University-San Marcos
Honor Code
As members of a community dedicated to learning, inquiry, and creation, the students, faculty, and administration of our University live by the principles in this Honor Code. These principles require all members of this community to be conscientious, respectful, and honest.
WE ARE CONSCIENTIOUS. We complete our work on time and make every effort to do it right. We come to class and meetings prepared and are willing to demonstrate it. We hold ourselves to doing what is required, embrace rigor, and shun mediocrity, special requests, and excuses.