Forensic Psychology

Catalog description

This course will explore social, cognitive, civil and criminal issues related to forensic psychology. PSYC 525 Forensic Psychology (3) The purpose of PSYC 525Forensic Psychologywill be to explore the general principles of forensic psychology. Social Psychological, clinical and cognitive processing theories will be examined as they pertain to the legal system. This course will include a brief overview of the judicial system. Competency issues will be defined, and the clinical assessment of competency will be examined in the course. Specific competency issues will include competency to stand trial, to plead, to confer and to testify. There will be an overview of the insanity defense, describing the history and contemporary status of the defense. Issues such as automatism, unconsciousness and diminished capacity will be explored. The contribution of the mens rea and intoxication will be described. M'Naughton rules and the ALI rules for insanity will be described. Evaluation techniques for forensic assessments will be described and role- played by the course participants. Interview techniques, developmental and historical information gathering, and psychological testing will be reviewed in terms of utility for the forensic evaluation. Special issues such as amnesia, recovered memories, and malingering will also be covered in the course. Other issues including assessment of dangerousness, and civil commitment will be reviewed. The rule of the expert and the status of scientific information in the forensic context will be described.