Psychology & Law
the 3 stages of memory
Encoding, storage, retrieval
What race uses illegal drugs more?
all races equally abuse illegal drugs
Can biases in an investigation sometimes be completely unintentional?
yes
What is a sequential lineup?
The process of having an eyewitness looking at one person or photograph at a time
Obie Anthony's talk (2 things you remember)
1995 framed for murder, 3 attempted robberies with special circumstances, life plus 50 years with no parole, served 17yrs, northern. ca. innocence proj., 19 years old at the time, grew up in south central LA, rough upbringing, case involved a false testimony, & prosecutorial misconduct
Name some roles of legal psychologists
reformers, advisors, evaluators
What is the cross race-effect?
It is harder for people to recognize and differentiate between faces of people of a different race compared to those of the same race.
What is the difference between hindsight and outcome bias?
Outcome bias focuses on the outcome of the event and Hindsight bias focuses on the belief that they knew that event was going to happen
What is one example of a system variable?
Interviewing techniques, Lineup instructions, Lineup composition, Lineup administration, etc.
Name a traditional legal safeguard for eyewitness evidence?
Expert testimony, Presence of counsel during ID procedures, Motions to suppress eyewitness evidence, Use of voir dire, Cross-examination of eyewitnesses/administrators, Judicial instructions
What is the primary goal of psychological science?
to provide accurate explanations of human behavior
how many years does an innocent black man serve time in prison before being exonerated vs. an innocent white man?
The average is 14 years for an innocent black man & 11 years for an innocent white man
Give one example of how tunnel vision can impact an investigating officer
not consider contrary evidence, misinterpret the forensic evidence, purposely gear evidence one way
What is eyewitness confidence strongly correlated with?
persuasiveness
what is an estimator variable and give one example
Factors that are outside the control of the legal system (e.g., weapon focus, lighting conditions, distance between the perp etc.) witness attributes, Event Attributes, Offender Attributes
What area Amicus Curiae Briefs?
The relevant psychological research summarized to educate the courts
What is the % of life sentences given to an innocent black man vs. an innocent white man in sexual assault crimes?
Black: 28%
White: 17%
How can tunnel vision impact prosecution?
Once police have identified the “right” individual, the prosecutors face pressure to get the conviction, ignore new evidence brought to light, Conviction rates are often the benchmark of a prosecutor’s success, Can even further encourage tunnel vision because a good prosecutor MUST be convinced of guilt before proceeding with the prosecution
What is the post-identification feedback effect?
The tendency for feedback to boost an eyewitness confidence in his/her identification
The suspect’s DNA does not match the perpetrator’s DNA found at the crime scene. However, police are still moving forward with him as the sole suspect in the case. What cognitive bias is seen here?
belief preserverance
Which criterion is the most problematic one in The Manson criteria?
The witness’s degree of certainty about his or her memory of the event.
What are the three types of crimes that have the largest numbers of exonerations?
Murder, sexual assault, and drug crimes
State and explain one possible remedy/counter measure to tunnel vision
(Education and Training, consider contrary evidence, investigate alibis, Minimizing cognitive and behavioral confirmation biases, Procedures and protocols for collecting evidence, Doctrinal reform)
What does research say between simultaneous and sequential lineups?
some r.s shows an advantage for simultaneous lineups while other research shows an advantage for sequential ones
what's at least one thing that's problematic about current procedures at Fresno PD?
Fresno pd still conducts in-field lineups & live line ups. (id less accurate--> lack of protection, no fillers, biasing effects in the presentation method; clothing bias, can false i.d someone innocent with similar clothing, seeing someone in police custody increases choosing rates & witness confidence)