Chapter 3: Psychology of Investigations

Test Bank

Multiple Choice

1. Why do many professionals prefer the term behavioral analysis to profiling?

A. Behavioral analysis has five distinct categories, while profiling has one category.

B. Behavioral analysis is considered a more scientific activity than profiling.

C. Behavioral analysis refers to a broad range of crimes, while profiling refers to violent crimes only.

D. Behavioral analysis requires a doctorate degree and extensive training.

Learning Objective: 3-1: Explore the many ways psychology contributes to investigations of crime.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Profiling

Difficulty Level: Hard

2. The United Kingdom’s Centre for Investigative Psychology focuses on a(n) ______ approach to criminal scene profiling, while the Federal Bureau of Investigation focuses on a(n) ______ approach.

A. behavioral; geographical

B. geographical; behavioral

C. clinical; actuarial

D. actuarial; clinical

Learning Objective: 3-1: Explore the many ways psychology contributes to investigations of crime.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Crime Scene Profiling

Difficulty Level: Medium

3. While crime scene profiling is based on a(n) ______ individual; psychological autopsy is based on a(n) ______ individual.

A. unknown; known

B. organized; disorganized

C. first-time; repeat

D. violent; nonviolent

Learning Objective: 3-2: Define and distinguish among five types of profiling.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Crime Scene Profiling

Difficulty Level: Medium

4. Which statement most accurately summarizes crime scene profiling?

A. It involves entering the evil mind of a serial killer.

B. It involves predictions about the offender’s personality.

C. It involves discovering how victims are selected.

D. It involves identifying a perpetrator beyond a reasonable doubt.

Learning Objective: 3-2: Define and distinguish among five types of profiling.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Crime Scene Profiling

Difficulty Level: Hard

5. All of the following are profiling types discussed in the chapter except ______.

A. crime scene profiling

B. geographical profiling

C. juvenile analysis

D. psychological autopsy

Learning Objective: 3-2: Define and distinguish among five types of profiling.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Profiling

Difficulty Level: Easy

6. A method of identifying crimes that are likely to have been committed by the same offender because of similarities across the crimes is referred to as ______.

A. psychological autopsy

B. modus operandi

C. criminal investigation

D. linkage analysis

Learning Objective: 3-2: Define and distinguish among five types of profiling.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Crime Scene Profiling

Difficulty Level: Easy

7. Devin is a 16-year-old who confessed to burglary because he just wanted to go home after a long interrogation. Devin is displaying ______.

A. reward sensitivity

B. rectification

C. false deception

D. stratification

Learning Objective: 3-2: Define and distinguish among five types of profiling.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Interrogation of Juveniles

Difficulty Level: Hard

8. Racial profiling is an example of ______.

A. suspect-based profiling

B. geographical profiling

C. juvenile analysis

D. psychological autopsy

Learning Objective: 3-2: Define and distinguish among five types of profiling.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Suspect-Based Profiling

Difficulty Level: Medium

9. Risk assessment is a type of ______ profiling.

A. geographical

B. suspect-based

C. juvenile

D. psychological

Learning Objective: 3-2: Define and distinguish among five types of profiling.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Suspect-Based Profiling

Difficulty Level: Medium

10. Jacob was a 23-year-old male with a history of depression who died after jumping from the third floor of the Pine Hills indoor mall. The death occurred on a Saturday morning and many shoppers witnessed the entire incident. Which type of psychological autopsy will most likely be performed on Jacob?

A. equivocal death autopsy

B. critical incident autopsy

C. physical reconstructive autopsy

D. suicide psychological autopsy

Learning Objective: 3-2: Define and distinguish among five types of profiling.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: The Psychological Autopsy

Difficulty Level: Hard

11. Which type of profiling is often performed for insurance purposes?

A. geographical profiling

B. suspect-based profiling

C. juvenile analysis

D. psychological autopsy

Learning Objective: 3-2: Define and distinguish among five types of profiling.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: The Psychological Autopsy

Difficulty Level: Medium

12. Which type of information, critical to a psychological autopsy, is most difficult to obtain?

A. educational records

B. family relationships

C. firearm history

D. toxicological profile

Learning Objective: 3-2: Define and distinguish among five types of profiling.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: The Psychological Autopsy

Difficulty Level: Medium

13. One of the major consumers of psychological autopsies is the ______.

A. Central Intelligence Agency

B. Centers for Disease Control

C. U.S. military

D. Federal Bureau of Investigations

Learning Objective: 3-2: Define and distinguish among five types of profiling.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The Psychological Autopsy

Difficulty Level: Easy

14. According to the text, criminal profiling is often depicted in the media as more ______ than it is in reality.

A. complex

B. lucrative

C. scientific

D. interesting

Learning Objective: 3-3: Examine the history, methods, limitations, and problems of profiling.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Profiling

Difficulty Level: Medium

15. Why is Colleen R. LaRose significant to profiling?

A. She was known as Jihad Jane and didn’t fit the terrorist profile.

B. She was the first person to falsely confess to a crime.

C. She was the only person able to deceive the most-renowned polygraph examiner.

D. She was the first female serial killer.

Learning Objective: 3-3: Examine the history, methods, limitations, and problems of profiling.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Suspect-Based Profiling

Difficulty Level: Hard

16. Kim Rossmo developed a program that attempts to pinpoint the location of an offender’s residence and/or base of operations. This program is called ______.

A. CompStat

B. Criminal Geographic Targeting

C. Risk-Needs-Responsivity

D. Global Positioning System

Learning Objective: 3-2: Define and distinguish among five types of profiling.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Geographical Profiling

Difficulty Level: Easy

17. The term ______ refers to the tendency of investigators to prefer information that supports their own perspective, while ignoring other aspects that may not fit.

A. confirmation bias

B. suspect bias effect

C. contagion effect

D. selective perspective

Learning Objective: 3-2: Define and distinguish among five types of profiling.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Crime Scene Profiling

Difficulty Level: Easy

18. For unconscious transfer to occur, previous encounters with the innocent person must have been ______.

A. meaningful

B. brief

C. extraordinary

D. painful

Learning Objective: 3-5: Review methods of police interviewing and interrogation.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Unconscious Transference

Difficulty Level: Medium

19. Which polygraph test is viewed the most favorably by researchers?

A. Comparison Question Test

B. Reflective Accuracy Exam

C. Guilty Knowledge Test

D. Relevant/Irrelevant Exam

Learning Objective: 3-8: Review the psychology of detecting deception.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Research on the Polygraph

Difficulty Level: Medium

20. Which individual would be the most affected by the passage of the Employee Polygraph Protection Act?

A. a suspected child sex offender

B. a suspected terrorist who is planning to board a plane

C. a job candidate applying for a job at Harris and Smith Accounting

D. a job candidate at the Federal Bureau of Investigation

Learning Objective: 3-8: Review the psychology of detecting deception.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: The Polygraph

Difficulty Level: Hard

21. Which hypothesis is a possible explanation for own-race bias?

A. false alarm hypothesis

B. differential experience hypothesis

C. unconscious transfer hypothesis

D. double-blind hypothesis

Learning Objective: 3-4: Review research on eyewitness identification.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Own-Race Bias (ORB) or Cross-Race Effect (CRE)

Difficulty Level: Medium

22. Before viewing a lineup, it is important that a witness be told that ______.

A. the suspect is definitely in the lineup

B. identification of the suspect is crucial to the case

C. the suspect may not be in the lineup

D. the suspect is over age 18

Learning Objective: 3-6: Examine the psychology of pretrial identification methods, such as lineups and show-ups.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Lineups and Photo Spreads

Difficulty Level: Medium

23. In order to be legal in the United States, a show-up must ______.

A. occur immediately after the offense

B. involve at least two suspects

C. occur after a designated waiting period

D. involve photographs of both the suspect and distractors

Learning Objective: 3-6: Examine the psychology of pretrial identification methods, such as lineups and show-ups.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Lineups and Photo Spreads

Difficulty Level: Medium

24. Asking questions that the suspect does not anticipate, or asking for more detail, is an example of ______.

A. emotional interviewing

B. cognitive lie detection

C. behavioral administration

D. full complexity regulation

Learning Objective: 3-8: Review the psychology of detecting deception.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Detection of Deception

Difficulty Level: Medium

25. Which two adjectives most accurately describe the process of eyewitness identification?

A. scientific and stable

B. inadequate and deceptive

C. neutral and precise

D. complex and error-ridden

Learning Objective: 3-4: Review research on eyewitness identification.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Identifying the Face

Difficulty Level: Hard

26. Which statement is correct about the five categories of profiling discussed in the chapter?

A. They are mutually exclusive in that only one type can occur per case.

B. They can be practiced by licensed profilers only.

C. They often overlap, in that more than one may be relevant in a case.

D. They have been designated as such by the American Psychological Association.

Learning Objective: 3-2: Define and distinguish among five types of profiling.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Profiling

Difficulty Level: Medium

27. Which form of profiling has raised the most concerns about racial, ethnic, or religious discrimination?

A. crime scene profiling

B. suspect-based profiling

C. psychological profiling

D. geographical profiling

Learning Objective: 3-2: Define and distinguish among five types of profiling.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Suspect-Based Profiling

Difficulty Level: Medium

28. What does survey research tell us about the relationship between police psychologists and profilers?

A. Many police psychologists pursue certification in profiling early in their careers.

B. Many police psychologists engage in profiling activities on a frequent basis.

C. Many police psychologists do not wish to be considered profilers.

D. Many police psychologists earn most of their income through private consultation as profilers.

Learning Objective: 3-2: Define and distinguish among five types of profiling.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Crime Scene Profiling

Difficulty Level: Hard

29. An interrogator who wants to increase cognitive load on a suspect would take which of the following actions?

A. play loud music during the interview

B. ask the suspect to recount events in reverse order of when they occurred

C. challenge the suspect by asserting the story makes no sense

D. request a second interrogator in front of the suspect

Learning Objective: 3-8: Review the psychology of detecting deception.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Detection of Deception

Difficulty Level: Hard

30. Law enforcement agencies report the most commonly used method for eyewitness identification is the ______.

A. polygraph

B. show-up

C. photo lineup

D. composite sketch

Learning Objective: 3-6: Examine the psychology of pretrial identification methods, such as lineups and show-ups.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Lineups and Photo Spreads

Difficulty Level: Easy

31. Professional polygraphers prefer the ______, while researchers are more favorably disposed to the ______.

A. Control Question Test; Comparison Question Test

B. Guilty Knowledge Test; Comparison Question Test

C. Control Question Test; Guilty Knowledge Test

D. Guilty Knowledge Test; Control Question Test

Learning Objective: 3-8: Review the psychology of detecting deception.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Research on the Polygraph

Difficulty Level: Medium

32. Research suggests that the best way to detect deception is through ______ cues.

A. emotional

B. behavioral

C. physiological

D. verbal

Learning Objective: 3-8: Review the psychology of detecting deception.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Detection of Deception

Difficulty Level: Medium

33. Which statement about detecting deception is correct?

A. Nonverbal emotional cues are the best indicator that a person is lying.

B. Law enforcement officers have been successfully trained in detecting deception.

C. A person’s lack of eye contact with the questioner is the only sure way to determine that the person is lying.

D. Detecting deception is a complex activity.

Learning Objective: 3-8: Review the psychology of detecting deception.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Detection of Deception

Difficulty Level: Medium

34. All of the following are types of false confessions as identified by Kassin and his colleagues except ______ confessions.

A. voluntary

B. coerced compliant

C. coerced internalized

D. externalized

Learning Objective: 3-7: Discuss types and incidents of false confessions.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Police Interviewing and Interrogation

Difficulty Level: Easy

35. Which statement about police interrogation is correct?

A. If a suspect is in custody, police must inform him of the right to remain silent before beginning to question him.

B. Police are not allowed to deceive suspects during the questioning process.

C. Police may not coerce a confession through physical means, but they may coerce one through psychological means.

D. Police cannot legally interrogate suspects for more than 6 hours.

Learning Objective: 3-7: Discuss types and incidents of false confessions.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Police Interviewing and Interrogation

Difficulty Level: Medium

36. What is the predominant method of interviewing and interrogation used by police in the United States?

A. the Reid method

B. the Kassin method

C. the PEACE model of interviewing

D. the Canter method

Learning Objective: 3-7: Discuss types and incidents of false confessions.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Police Interviewing and Interrogation

Difficulty Level: Medium

37. What is one criticism with the predominant method of interrogation used in the United States?

A. It rarely produces a true confession.

B. It is insufficiently accusatorial.

C. It has a high risk of producing false confessions.

D. It fails to obtain information about a crime.

Learning Objective: 3-7: Discuss types and incidents of false confessions.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Police Interviewing and Interrogation

Difficulty Level: Hard

38. Which of the following is NOT measured by a polygraph?

A. Body mass index

B. Skin conductance

C. Breathing rate

D. Blood pressure

Learning Objective: 3-5: Review methods of police interviewing and interrogation

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The Polygraph

Difficulty Level: Easy

39. Which statement MOST accurately summarizes research findings on eyewitness testimony?

A. The more certain a witness is, the more accurate the ID

B. Eyewitness testimony is often inaccurate

C. Eyewitness testimony is often fabricated

D. The less detailed the testimony, the more accurate the information

Learning Objective: 3-4: Review research on eyewitness identification

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Eyewitness Evidence

Difficulty Level: Medium

40. If a weapon is present at a crime, we tend to focus on ______, thereby ______ our memory of the offender and the event.

A. The person holding the gun; increasing

B. The weapon, not the offender; worsening

C. The ongoing events in real time; improving

D. The weapon, not the offender; improving

Learning Objective: 3-4: Review research on eyewitness identification

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Weapon Focus

Difficulty Level: Easy

41. Crime scene profiling has to do with ______.

A. Discovering how victims are chosen

B. What forensic evidence is left at the scene

C. Entering the mind of the killer

D. Discovering how victims are chosen

Learning Objective: 3-2: Define and distinguish among five types of profiling

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Crime Scene Profiling

Difficulty Level: Medium

42. A profiler who analyzes spatial patterns of crimes committed by numerous offenders over time is conducting ______.

A. geographical profiling

B. psychological profiling

C. crime scene profiling

D. offender profiling

Learning Objective: 3-2: Define and distinguish among five types of profiling

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Geographical Profiling

Difficulty Level: Easy

43. The two primary procedures used in psychological profiling are ______.

A. Threat and risk assessments

B. Violence and need assessments

C. Cognitive and risk assessments

D. Mental and threat assessments

Learning Objective: 3-2: Define and distinguish among five types of profiling

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Psychological Profiling

Difficulty Level: Easy

44. The decreased ability to notice and remember features of a person of a race different than your own is called ______.

A. Race blindness

B. Discrimination

C. Racism

D. Own-race bias

Learning Objective: 3-4: Review research on eyewitness identification

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Own-Race Bias (ORB) or Cross-Race Effect (CRE)

Difficulty Level: Easy

True/False

1. The majority of police investigators believe that profiling can be useful.

Learning Objective: 3-1: Explore the many ways psychology contributes to investigations of crime.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Profiling

Difficulty Level: Medium

2. The goal of profiling is to predict who will commit a crime.

Learning Objective: 3-1: Explore the many ways psychology contributes to investigations of crime.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Profiling

Difficulty Level: Medium

3. Profiling is based on the assumption that human behavior is consistent across time and place.

Learning Objective: 3-1: Explore the many ways psychology contributes to investigations of crime.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Profiling

Difficulty Level: Medium

4. Crime scene profiling was developed by the Central Intelligence Agency.

Learning Objective: 3-2: Define and distinguish among five types of profiling.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Profiling

Difficulty Level: Easy

6. Commitment bias refers to the idea that a witness who has initially identified a face, even an incorrect one, will be more likely to choose that face again.

Learning Objective: 3-8: Review the psychology of detecting deception.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Lineups and Photo Spreads

Difficulty Level: Medium

7. Research suggests that the great majority of individuals who confess to crimes are innocent.

Learning Objective: 3-7: Discuss types and incidents of false confessions.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: False Confessions

Difficulty Level: Medium

8. Polygraphs are no longer used in law enforcement.

Learning Objective: 3-8: Review the psychology of detecting deception.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The Polygraph

Difficulty Level: Easy

9. In a sequential lineup, neither the witness nor the person administering the lineup is aware of the identity of the suspect.

Learning Objective: 3-6: Examine the psychology of pretrial identification methods, such as lineups and show-ups.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Lineups and Photo Spreads

Difficulty Level: Easy

10. The psychological autopsy attempts to reconstruct the deceased person’s state of mind prior to his or her death.

Learning Objective: 3-2: Define and distinguish among five types of profiling.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: The Psychological Autopsy

Difficulty Level: Medium

11. Highly unique faces are easier to identify than plain or average faces.

Learning Objective: 3-4: Review research on eyewitness identification.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Identifying the Face

Difficulty Level: Easy

12. The earliest forms of crime scene profiling were based on clinical data.

Learning Objective: 3-1: Explore the many ways psychology contributes to investigations of crime.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Profiling

Difficulty Level: Medium

13. Developmental and forensic psychologists have long known that adolescents are fundamentally the same as adults biologically, cognitively, and psychologically.

Learning Objective: 3-7: Discuss types and incidents of false confessions.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Interrogation of Juveniles

Difficulty Level: Medium

14. Police officers and psychologists are often no more accurate than laypersons in detecting deception in adults.

Learning Objective: 3-8: Review the psychology of detecting deception.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Detection of Deception

Difficulty Level: Medium

15. Case linkage analysis is a method of identifying crimes that are likely to have been committed by the same offender because of similarities across the crimes.

Learning Objective: 3-2: Define and distinguish among five types of profiling

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Crime Scene Profiling

Difficulty Level: Easy

16. Research indicates that people are better at distinguishing between faces that are different races or ethnicities than their own.

Learning Objective: 3-4: Review research on eyewitness identification

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Own-Race Bias (ORB) or Cross-Race Effect (CRE)

Difficulty Level: Easy

Essay

1. Kassin contends that there are five myths of confessions that are prevalent in the criminal justice system. Identify these myths.

Learning Objective: 3-7: Discuss types and incidents of false confessions.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: False Confessions

Difficulty Level: Medium

2. Describe the three processes involved in deception. What does the research tell us about how investigators can best detect deception in an individual?

Learning Objective: 3-4: Review research on eyewitness identification.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Detection of Deception

Difficulty Level: Hard

3. Identify the three broad categories of investigative psychology.

Learning Objective: 3-1: Explore the many ways psychology contributes to investigations of crime.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Introduction

Difficulty Level: Medium

4. What three fundamental questions are central to the psychology of investigations in their early stages?

Learning Objective: 3-1: Explore the many ways psychology contributes to investigations of crime.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Introduction

Difficulty Level: Hard

5. Explain how the case of the Central Park 5 pertains to the issue of false confessions.

Learning Objective: 3-7: Discuss types and incidents of false confessions.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: False Confessions

Difficulty Level: Hard

6. What is the most controversial type of suspect-based profiling? Explain why this type of profiling is so controversial.

Learning Objective: 3-2: Define and distinguish among five types of profiling.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Suspect-Based Profiling

Difficulty Level: Hard

7. Define sequential lineup, simultaneous lineup, double-blind lineup, and show-up.

Learning Objective: 3-6: Examine the psychology of pretrial identification methods, such as lineups and show-ups.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Lineups and Photo Spreads

Difficulty Level: Medium