FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGY

Introducing a forensic psychology text written from the scientist-practitioner perspective, this text introduces the reader to the practice of forensic psychology. Forensic psychology, as defined by the American Psychological Association, is the application of clinical specialities to the legal arena. The emphasis of the book is to help students understand the practice of forensic psychology along with career opportunities in this rapidly evolving speciality. Included in it are several chapters on the area of legal psychology. Areas covered in forensic psychology include a chapter on the ethics of psychology and law, an extensive chapter on assessment in forensic practice, criminal responsibility and competency evaluations, child custody evaluations, police psychology, correctional psychology, and evaluations of psychological injury. Areas covered in the speciality of legal psychology include trial consultation, criminal investigative psychology (detection of deception, criminal profiling, psychological autopsies and use of hypnosis) and eyewitness memory and recovered memories. A final chapter identifies emerging trends in the area of forensic psychology. Instructor's ancillary materials are also available, including Power Point[copyright] slides to accompany each chapter, a test bank with over 600 multiple choice, true/false questions, review questions for each chapter and sample syllabi complete with learning objectives for each chapter. The features include: every chapter offers an overview of a particular area of practice and then provides details on the specific practices within that area of forensic psychology; key concepts at beginning of each chapter to orient readers to the new material; case examples when appropriate, including examples from the author s clinical work; definitions of new terms in the page margins where the concept first appears; career information for each area of practice including necessary training and average starting salaries; brief summary at the end of each chapter; an extensive list of nearly 200 web sites to professional organizations with a brief description of each site; and, the text is softcover, helping to keep costs low; 12 chapters can be adequately covered during the academic semester.

Table of Contents:
Preface ix Acknowledgments xiii About the Author xv 1 Introduction to the Field of Forensic Psychology 1 Definition of Forensic Psychology 2 Areas in Legal Psychology 6 Training in Forensic Psychology 8 Doctoral Degrees 9 Practicing Forensic Psychology at the Master's Level 14 Full Time versus Part-Time Forensic Work 14 Overview of the Textbook 15 2 Ethical Issues Related to the Practice of Forensic Psychology 23 Ethics, Morality, Competence, Professionalism, Character, and Law 25 A Clash of Cultures: Ethics, Psychology, and the Legal Profession 33 Expert Witness Testimony 36 Who Can Be Qualified as an Expert Witness? 37 Admissibility of Expert Testimony 37 Case Law Regarding Admissibility of Expert Testimony 38 Federal Rules of Evidence 39 Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals (1993) 41 Ultimate Issue and Penultimate Issue 43 The Three Possible Roles for an Expert Witness 45 Possible Pitfalls for the Expert Witness 47 Surviving the Witness Stand 49 A Clash of Cultures: Knowledge, Psychology, and the Legal Profession 51 3 Psychological Assessment 53 Types of Assessment Activities 54 Forensic Assessment in Criminal Proceedings 54 Forensic Assessment in Civil Proceedings 58 Psychological Assessment and Psychological Testing 61 Purpose of the Evaluation 62 Examiner-Examinee Relationship 62 Who Is the Client? 63 Motivation of the Examinee 63 Written Report 63 The Psychologist's Cognitive Set 64 Professional Accountability 64 Temporal Focus of the Assessment 64 Assessment Instruments 65 Assessment Tools: The Interview 65 Assessment Tools: Psychological Tests 66 Psychometric Properties of Assessment Instruments 69 Reliability 69 Validity 71 Normative Group 73 Standard Error of Measurement 73 Assessment Instruments 74 Measures of Intellectual Ability 74 Measures of Personality General 76 Projective Techniques 77 Objective Techniques 79 Measures of Personality Forensically-Relevant Instruments 84 Forensic Assessment Instruments 87 Summary 88 4 Insanity Pleas and Competency Evaluations 89 Criminal Responsibility 90 Mens Rea 91 Myths Regarding the Insanity Defense 93 Historical Perspectives of the Insanity Defense 93 Evaluation of Insanity 101 Competency to Stand Trial 118 Defining Competency 119 Competency to Stand Trial (CST) Evaluation 121 Forensic Instruments Used in CST Evaluations 123 Summary 133 5 Police Psychology 135 Police Department s History with Psychology 136 Police Officer Evaluations 142 Pre-employment Evaluations 143 Pre-employment Assessment Instruments 145 Pre-employment Interview 151 Fitness-for-Duty-Evaluations 154 Special Assignment Assessments 157 Psychological Counseling 158 Health and Wellness Counseling 161 Critical Incident Counseling 161 Training 164 Consultation 165 Management Consultation 168 Careers in Police Psychology 168 Summary 169 6 Correctional Psychology 171 Definition of Correctional Psychology 172 Recent Growth in the Field of Correctional Psychology 173 Theories of Punishment and the Goals of Incarceration 177 Retribution 178 Incapacitation 178 Deterrence 181 Rehabilitation/Treatment 182 Restorative Justice 183 Correctional Facilities: Jails and Prisons 183 Psychologists' Duties in Correctional Facilities 184 Assessment in Correctional Facilities 185 Treatment in Correctional Facilities 189 Unique Challenges for the Correctional Psychologist 192 Court Decisions Regarding the Rights of Inmates 194 Unique Aspects of Working in a Correctional Facility: Tips for the Beginning Clinician 195 Careers in Correctional Psychology 197 Summary 198 7 Assessment of Psychological Injury 199 Criminal Law versus Civil Law 200 Criminal Law 201 Civil Law 202 The Civil Court System 204 Federal Courts 204 State Courts 204 Appellate Process 205 The Law of Torts 205 Elements of a Tort 206 Role of the Forensic Psychologist 210 Employment Litigation Involving Psychological Injury 216 Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 217 Sexual Harassment 218 Assessment of Psychological Injuries in Discrimination and Harassment Claims 222 Legal Psychology s Contribution 224 Use of Syndrome Evidence 224 Battered Woman Syndrome 226 Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder 228 Summary 229 8 Child Custody Evaluations 231 The Challenge of Child Custody Evaluations 233 Multiple Participants 234 The Psycholegal Question 236 Confusion Regarding the Assessment Process and Instruments 236 Adversarial Nature of Child Custody Evaluations 238 Attitudes and Biases of Those Involved 240 Psychologist's Roles 241 The Current Trend in Child Custody 244 Child Custody Laws 245 The Legal Relevance of Recommendations 247 Types of Custody Arrangements 249 Professional Organizations Guidelines 250 The Evaluation Process 253 Assessment Interviews 254 Direct Observation 256 Collateral Sources 256 Psychological Testing 257 The Custody Report 259 Training 260 Summary 260 9 Trial Consultation 263 Qualifications of Trial Consultants 264 Services Offered by Trial Consultants 266 Voir Dire and Jury Selection 267 The Technique of Jury Selection 271 Characteristics Used to Predict Verdicts 274 Demographic Variables 274 Personality Traits and Attitudinal Predictors 276 Effectiveness of Scientific Jury Selection 276 Change of Venue Requests 277 Witness Preparation 278 Other Activities the Trial Consultant May Perform 280 Ethical Issues in Trial Consultation 281 Training 283 Summary 285 10 Criminal Investigative Techniques 287 Criminal Profiling 288 Definition of Criminal Profiling 289 The Process of Generating a Criminal Profile 296 The Effectiveness of Criminal Profiling 297 The Polygraph 298 The Polygraph Instrument 299 The Relevant/Irrelevant Technique (R/I) 302 The Control Question Technique (CQT) 302 The Concealed Information or Guilty-Knowledge Test 303 The Uses and Accuracy of the Polygraph 304 Brain Activity 306 Autonomic Measures 307 Demeanor 308 Direct Investigation 310 Hypnosis 311 Psychological Autopsies 314 Status of Expert Testimony for Psychological Autopsies 318 11 Eyewitness Memory and Recovered Memory 319 Eyewitness Memory Fallibility 321 Admissibility of Expert Testimony on the Fallibility of Eyewitness Memory 327 Recommended Procedures to Improve Eyewitness Memory 327 Initial Report of a Crime 330 Mug Books and Composite Images 330 Lineup Procedures 331 Supreme Court Rulings of the Admissibility of Eyewitness Identifications 336 Recovered Memory versus False Memory 338 Summary 342 12 Emerging Trends in the Field of Forensic Psychology 345 Increased Growth and Sophistication 346 Increased Cooperation between Law and Psychology 349 Influencing Public Policy 350 Future Training Models for Forensic Psychology 352 Training in Legal Psychology 359 Summary Regarding Training 361 Therapeutic Jurisprudence 361 Summary 364 Appendix 375 References 401 Index 433