Chapter 19: Forensic Psychology

Test Bank

Multiple Choice

1. Forensic psychology is best defined as the application of psychological methods and principles ______.

A. within the legal system

B. to issues related to physical health

C. in an inpatient setting

D. in a private law firm

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Definition and History

Difficulty Level: Easy

2. ______ psychologists can be involved in forensic psychology.

A. Clinical

B. Clinical and cognitive

C. Clinical, cognitive, and social

D. All specializations except clinical

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Definition and History

Difficulty Level: Medium

3. Which of the following statements is NOT true? Forensic psychology training opportunities include ______.

A. elective forensic courses in doctoral programs

B. specialized forensic tracks in doctoral programs

C. joint degree programs in law (JD) and psychology (PhD or PsyD)

D. predoctoral, but not postdoctoral, internships that feature forensic training

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Definition and History

Difficulty Level: Medium

4. Hugo Munsterberg is most closely associated with the field of ______.

A. health psychology

B. pediatric psychology

C. forensic psychology

D. humanistic psychotherapy

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Definition and History

Difficulty Level: Easy

5. Which of the following statements about Hugo Munsterberg is NOT true?

A. He wrote On the Witness Stand.

B. He demonstrated how psychological science could be applied in the legal arena.

C. He mentored the man who presented testimony in a case that created the first standard for expert testimony.

D. He practiced family law before developing an interest in forensic psychology.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Definition and History

Difficulty Level: Medium

6. Clinical psychologists conducting assessments in forensic settings ______.

A. should build rapport by assuring the person being assessed that no information collected during the assessment can be used against him

B. are rarely asked to determine the mental status of a defendant pleading not guilty by reason of insanity

C. may be asked to assess for child custody, personal injury lawsuits, and workers’ compensation hearings

D. must provide copies of the assessment report to the person being assessed, as well as any agency paying for the evaluation

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Assessment Activities

Difficulty Level: Medium

7. The relationship between forensic psychologists and their patients is often described as ______.

A. collaborative

B. adversarial

C. cooperative

D. bifurcated

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Definition and History

Difficulty Level: Medium

8. Which of the following statements is NOT true? When conducting a forensic evaluation, ______.

A. psychologists should make clear the limits of confidentiality

B. test data and results may become public, such as in the case of Mike Tyson

C. it is permissible to disclose test results to the public if the assessed individual works for a national organization, such as the National Football League

D. the person being assessed may not be entitled to see the results of the assessment

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Assessment Activities

Difficulty Level: Medium

9. According to experts in forensic psychology, ______ tend to be considered unacceptable for assessments of defendants or criminals.

A. Wechsler intelligence tests

B. projective personality tests

C. the MMPI-2 and MCMI-IV

D. objective personality tests

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Assessment Activities

Difficulty Level: Medium

10. According to experts in forensic psychology, ______ tend to be endorsed most strongly for use in forensic evaluations.

A. Wechsler intelligence tests

B. projective personality tests

C. the TAT and RAT

D. objective personality tests

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Assessment Activities

Difficulty Level: Medium

11. According to Sageman (2003), forensic psychologists should possess specialized assessment skills, including ______.

A. skill related to litigation

B. neuropsychological acumen

C. mastery of projective assessment scoring

D. training in interpretation of the Rorschach

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Assessment Activities

Difficulty Level: Medium

12. ______, an issue that can arise in forensic psychology, occurs when the person being evaluated exaggerates or “fakes” symptoms in order to achieve some external benefit.

A. Confabulation

B. Blindsiding

C. Malingering

D. Echopraxia

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Assessment Activities

Difficulty Level: Easy

13. In forensic psychology, a method of predicting dangerousness that involves a statistical prediction based on objective variables, with little to no subjective data, is the ______ prediction method.

A. clinical

B. historical

C. actuarial

D. individual

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Predicting Dangerousness

Difficulty Level: Easy

14. Regarding the prediction of dangerousness, it is generally TRUE that ______.

A. individuals with more extensive arrest records are more likely to be dangerous than individuals with less extensive arrest records

B. individuals with more social support are more likely to be dangerous than individuals with less social support

C. clinical prediction methods are more accurate than statistical prediction methods

D. past drug and alcohol abuse are relatively unimportant factors in predicting future dangerousness

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Predicting Dangerousness

Difficulty Level: Medium

15. The prediction of dangerousness is particularly difficult because it happens so infrequently. This phenomenon is known as ______.

A. the Daubert dilemma

B. the base rate problem

C. voir dire

D. scarceness creep

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Predicting Dangerousness

Difficulty Level: Easy

16. A clinical psychologist conducting an NGRI evaluation is most interested in determining ______.

A. the mental status of the defendant at the time the crime was committed

B. the likelihood that the defendant will behave dangerously in the future

C. the current mental status of the defendant

D. the fitness of the defendant to stand trial

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity (NGRI)

Difficulty Level: Medium

17. The not guilty by reason of insanity defense ______.

A. is used frequently

B. is successful in a majority of the instances in which it is used

C. results in the defendant being released if the defense is successful

D. was successfully used by John Hinckley following his attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity (NGRI)

Difficulty Level: Medium

18. ______ was the first legal standard for the insanity defense in the history of the American legal system.

A. The M’Naghten test

B. Voir dire

C. The Munsterberg criteria

D. The Daubert standards

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity (NGRI)

Difficulty Level: Medium

19. Currently, legal standards for NGRI vary from state to state, but they all require that ______ is present and operating at the time of the offense.

A. schizophrenia

B. a mental disease or defect

C. intellectual disability

D. intoxication with alcohol or another substance

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity (NGRI)

Difficulty Level: Medium

20. In about half of U.S. states, a defendant can be found ______, a provision intended to provide a middle ground for jurors contemplating whether to assign criminal responsibility (and punishment) to defendants whose mental status is in question.

A. guilty but mentally ill

B. not guilty by reason of insanity

C. partially insane

D. unknowably guilty

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity (NGRI)

Difficulty Level: Medium

21. In child custody evaluations, the primary role of the ______ is to make sure that the rights of the child are protected.

A. forensic psychologist

B. guardian ad litem

C. voir dire

D. none of these

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Child Custody Evaluations

Difficulty Level: Easy

22. More than 90% of child custody evaluators use ______ during a typical evaluation.

A. clinical interviews with each parent

B. clinical interviews with the children

C. psychological testing of the parents

D. a child custody evaluator typically uses all of the other response choices

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Child Custody Evaluation

Difficulty Level: Medium

23. The legal case Dusky v. United States (1960) set the standard used throughout most of the United States regarding ______.

A. competency to stand trial

B. NGRI evaluations

C. the prediction of dangerousness

D. child custody evaluation practices

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Competency to Stand Trial

Difficulty Level: Medium

24. Currently, between ______ and ______ of all felony defendants undergo evaluations to determine if they are competent to stand trial.

A. 2%; 8%

B. 19%; 22%

C. 45%; 50%

D. 73%; 81%

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Competency to Stand Trial

Difficulty Level: Hard

25. The process whereby a person is involuntarily hospitalized because it is determined that their behavior is likely to represent a threat to their own welfare or the welfare of others is known as ______.

A. civil commitment

B. functional evaluation

C. actuarial prediction

D. proactive restraint

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Commitment to Mental Institutions

Difficulty Level: Easy

26. Clinical psychologists typically focus on four basic therapy tasks when providing treatment to forensic clients. Which of the following is NOT one of these four tasks?

A. crisis management

B. outpatient psychotherapy

C. interoceptive coping

D. targeted programs

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Treatment of Forensic Clients

Difficulty Level: Hard

27. When serving as expert witnesses, clinical psychologists should ______.

A. provide information that will support the case of the party that hired them

B. accurately provide information based on available data, whether or not that information supports the case of the party that hired them

C. refuse to participate in the voir dire process

D. disregard the standards set forth in the APA ethical code

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Expert Witnesses

Difficulty Level: Medium

28. The process by which an expert witness is approved for the court ______.

A. does not apply to clinical psychologists because they are exempt

B. is called voir dire

C. was established in 1945 by Dundlewood v. Georgia

D. is so costly that most clinical psychologists refuse to serve as expert witnesses

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Expert Witnesses

Difficulty Level: Easy

29. According to the Daubert standards, ______.

A. individuals can be involuntarily hospitalized if they represent a threat to themselves, but not if they represent a threat to others

B. testimony from an expert witness such as a clinical psychologist is admissible in court if it is generally accepted in the field, even if it is not reliable or valid

C. testimony from an expert witness such as a clinical psychologist is admissible in court if it is reliable and valid, even if it is not generally accepted in the field

D. the mental status of a defendant at the time of the trial is a more important factor than the mental status of a defendant at the time of the crime in NGRI evaluations

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Expert Witnesses

Difficulty Level: Medium

29. One challenge for psychologists serving as expert witnesses is ______, in which they are asked to defend their statements while being questioned by an opposing attorney.

A. voir dire

B. cross-examination

C. de novo

D. impeachment

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Expert Witnesses

Difficulty Level: Medium

30. Which of the following statements about the rights of patients who are involuntarily committed is TRUE?

A. In 1975, the Supreme Court ruled that duly licensed psychiatrists can involuntarily commit an individual for up to 2 years.

B. In 1982’s Youngberg v. Romeo, the Supreme Court expanded the rights of involuntarily committed patients to include freedom from unreasonable bodily restraints.

C. An involuntarily committed patient’s right to refuse medication cannot be overridden in any circumstances.

D. Until a ruling by a U.S. Appellate Court in 2007, lobotomies were performed on patients housed in most psychiatric facilities.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Patient’s Rights

Difficulty Level: Medium

31. Clinical psychologists who consult with law enforcement agencies conduct ______.

A. fitness-for-duty evaluations

B. preemployment evaluations

C. psychotherapy

D. psychologists may conduct any of the other response choices with law enforcement agencies

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Consultations With Law Enforcement

Difficulty Level: Easy

32. Surveys of psychologists who conduct child custody evaluations (e.g., Bow, 2006) suggest that ______.

A. psychological tests are rarely used

B. interviews with parents and children are considered less important than psychological tests

C. parent and child interviews are deemed less important that projective testing results

D. more than 60% of evaluators conduct psychological testing with the children involved in such cases

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Child Custody Evaluations

Difficulty Level: Medium

33. Fitness-for-duty evaluations are most typically conducted by clinical psychologists ______.

A. on applicants to the police force who are seriously being considered for employment

B. on current police officers who have experienced a traumatic incident or who are struggling with a psychological disorder

C. on current police officers who are being considered for promotion to a higher rank

D. on current police officers whose weight has significantly increased in recent months

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Consultations With Law Enforcement

Difficulty Level: Medium

Short Answer

1. The application of psychological methods and principles within the legal system is known as ______.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Definition and History

Difficulty Level: Easy

2. Who wrote On the Witness Stand and presented testimony in a case that established the first standard for expert testimony?

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Definition and History

Difficulty Level: Easy

3. What name is given to statistical prediction methods used to predict dangerous?

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Forensic Activities of Clinical Psychologists

Difficulty Level: Easy

4. What case established the competency-to-stand-trial standard that is used throughout most of the United States?

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Forensic Activities of Clinical Psychologists

Difficulty Level: Easy

5. What is the name of the process through which an expert witness is approved for the court?

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Forensic Activities of Clinical Psychologists

Difficulty Level: Easy

6. What is the current standard for the admissibility of expert testimony as evidence in the United States?

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Forensic Activities of Clinical Psychologists

Difficulty Level: Easy

7. Forensic psychologists may conduct ______ evaluations with police personnel following an extremely stressful experience by an officer, such as being shot.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Forensic Activities of Clinical Psychologists

Difficulty Level: Easy

8. The prediction of dangerousness is particularly difficult because it happens so infrequently, a phenomenon known as the ______ problem.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Forensic Activities of Clinical Psychologists

Difficulty Level: Easy

Essay

1. What are at least two ways in which forensic psychologists must be sensitive to their patients’ varying abilities, knowledge, and beliefs stemming from diverse cultural backgrounds? Describe each.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Forensic Activities of Clinical Psychologists

Difficulty Level: Medium

2. Generally, how do the goals of clinical psychologists in forensic settings tend to differ from the goals of clinical psychologists in more traditional (e.g., therapy, assessment) settings?

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Forensic Activities of Clinical Psychologists

Difficulty Level: Medium

3. How do clinical prediction methods of predicting dangerousness differ from actuarial prediction methods of predicting dangerousness?

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Forensic Activities of Clinical Psychologists

Difficulty Level: Medium

4. What is the difference between the Frye standards and the Daubert standards regarding the admissibility of expert testimony?

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Forensic Activities of Clinical Psychologists

Difficulty Level: Medium