Forensic Psychology

Question 1

What is forensic psychology?

Answer 1

Forensic psychology is a field that combines the practice of psychology and the law.

Question 2

What do forensic psychologists do?

Answer 2

A Forensic Psychologist works with law enforcement agencies to develop a brief profile of criminals, based on common psychological traits.

Question 3

Criminal Profiling

Answer 3

Criminal profiling is a technique used to assist in the identification of a likely criminal offender.

Question 4

Behavioural Evidence Analysis method of criminal profiling.

Answer 4

Step 1 - Analyse the forensic evidence
Step 2 - Analyse the victim’s characteristics
Step 3 - Analyse the crime scene characteristics
Step 4 - Develop a criminal profile
Step 5 - The Apprehension (interviewed, investigated, and compared to the profile).

Question 5

Expert Witness

Answer 5

An expert witness is defined as a “person who has specialised knowledge based on the person’s training, study or experience and who give evidence of an opinion based wholly or substantially on that knowledge.”

Question 6

Mental Fitness

Answer 6

Mental fitness can be defined as having and maintaining a state of well-being and cultivating awareness of how we think, behave and feel.

Question 7

Criminal Responsibility Age

Answer 7

The criminal responsibility age is 10 years old.

Question 8

Diminished criminal responsibility (due to age and/or mental impairment)

Answer 8

Diminished responsibility is a legal doctrine that absolves an accused person of part of the liability for their criminal act if they suffer from mental impairment.

Question 9

Factors that impact accurate memory

Answer 9

Factors that impact accurate memory are

• lack of sleep
• stress, anxiety and depression
• thyroid problems
• alcohol abuse
• medication

Question 10

Assessing Dangerousness

Answer 10

Dangerousness refers to the likelihood of a person committing a serious act of violence, with little provocation, in a variety of real-life situations.

Question 11

Stalking

Answer 11

Stalking is a person’s persistent attempts to force unwanted communications or contact on another person that causes the victim fear or distress.

Question 12

Types of stalkers

Answer 12

• Rejected
• Intimacy-Seeking
• Predatory
• Resentful

Question 13

Three stages of memory

Answer 13

• Encoding
• Storage
• Retrieval

Question 14

Actus reus

Answer 14

The physical act of committing the crime.

Question 15

Mens rea

Answer 15

The offender’s mental intention to commit the criminal act.