PSYC 241 Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: Eyewitness Testimony, Expert Witness, Child Custody
17 May 2017
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
P s yc 241 we e k 11 (lec ture) What is forens ic p s yc holog y: broadly: the intersection between the law and psychology, 2 main fields, research which aims to investigate human behaviours as they relate to the legal process. Examples: risk assessment (how likely are they to re-offend, eyewitness testimony (how good is it?, false confessions (how likely are people to confess to a crime they didn(cid:495)t commit(cid:524, clinical practice informs legal-decision making. E xamples of areas that fall under the forens ic p s yc holog y umbrella. Involuntary hospitalization/treatment (civil commitment: risk assessment, fitness to stand trial, criminal responsibility (the insanity defence, child custody and access, tort law (did an accident actually impair your functioning?, expert testimony, investigative bias, eye-witness testimony. Jury decision-making: fact witness (cid:523)testimony to direct experience. Ex. someone(cid:495)s alibi(cid:524: expert witness (providing expert opinion on a particular area. Educating the courts about particular issues as an expert in the field)
