IA Psych Juris key terms

A federal evidentiary test asking whether a scientific technique rests on testable theory, peer review, known error rates, and general acceptance; judges act as gatekeepers deciding whether expert testimony is admitted.

An older admissibility rule holding that a scientific method must be sufficiently established to have gained general acceptance in its relevant field before expert testimony based on it may be admitted.

Expert testimony that speaks directly to the legal question the fact finder must decide, such as whether a defendant was sane; many jurisdictions restrict or prohibit such testimony.

The mental state element of an offense, such as intent, knowledge, recklessness, or negligence, that the prosecution must prove alongside the prohibited act.

The prohibited physical act or omission that, combined with the required mental state, constitutes a criminal offense.

A psychologist or other professional who provides courts with specialized opinion testimony based on training and data, while owing a duty of impartiality rather than loyalty to the retaining party.

A framework examining how legal rules and procedures affect participants' psychological well-being, used to evaluate whether laws and court practices help or harm the people they govern.

The process of telling an evaluee, in understandable terms, the purpose of an examination, who will receive the report, limits of confidentiality, and that the evaluator is not a treating clinician.

The tension that arises when a clinician serves both treatment and evaluation functions for the same person, because therapeutic rapport and objectivity can compromise each other; dual roles are generally discouraged.

Choosing instruments based on their relevance to the legal question, normative appropriateness for the population, reliability, validity, and known susceptibility to feigning or response bias.

Use of forced-choice or embedded measures to detect exaggerated, feigned, or inconsistent symptom reporting, protecting the accuracy of forensic conclusions.

The intentional production or exaggeration of symptoms for an external goal such as avoiding prosecution, obtaining compensation, or securing medication, distinguished from factitious disorder and genuine illness.

External benefits, such as money, avoidance of work, or leniency, that may motivate symptom presentation; relevant to interpreting effort and validity test results.

A defendant's present ability to understand the proceedings and to assist counsel in a defense, a legal standard derived from Dusky v. United States and evaluated by mental health professionals.

The constitutional test requiring that a defendant have sufficient present ability to consult with a lawyer with a reasonable degree of rational understanding and a rational as well as factual understanding of the proceedings.

Treatment, usually psychiatric and often inpatient, aimed at returning an incompetent defendant to a condition in which trial may proceed; involves monitoring and periodic reassessment.

Structured tools such as the MacArthur Competence Assessment Tool–Criminal Adjudication and the Evaluation of Competency to Stand Trial–Revised that standardize inquiry into understanding, reasoning, and appreciation.

A legal doctrine excusing criminal responsibility when mental disease or defect at the time of the offense impaired the defendant's capacity to understand conduct or know it was wrong, depending on the jurisdiction's test.

An insanity standard asking whether, because of mental disease, the defendant did not know the nature and quality of the act or did not know it was wrong.

A standard excusing conduct when mental disease or defect substantially impaired the defendant's capacity to appreciate wrongfulness or to conform behavior to the law.

A retrospective forensic examination addressing the defendant's mental state at the time of the offense, including diagnosis, functional impairment, and its relationship to the alleged conduct.

A suspect's ability to knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily waive the right to remain silent and to counsel during custodial interrogation, assessed with attention to comprehension and reasoning.

A person's tendency to accept and internalize misleading information or pressure during questioning, increasing risk of false confession, especially among juveniles and people with intellectual disability.

An admission to a crime a person did not commit, which may be voluntary, compliant, or internalized, and which research links to coercive interrogation tactics and vulnerability factors.

The structured process of estimating the likelihood of future violent behavior using actuarial instruments, structured professional judgment, and idiographic information about the individual and context.

A risk assessment approach in which evaluators rate empirically supported risk factors using guided criteria and then form a final judgment incorporating case-specific circumstances and management plans.

Estimating risk by mechanically combining scores on fixed risk factors using an algorithm with known accuracy, producing probability estimates rather than individualized narrative opinions.

The prevalence of a behavior, such as violence, in a specified population over a specified period; essential for interpreting the predictive value of risk scores.

Conditions such as social support, employment, treatment engagement, and stable housing that reduce the likelihood of future violence and inform risk management planning.

A concrete set of monitoring, treatment, supervision, and environmental measures designed to reduce identified risks and specify who is responsible for each action.

A personality construct marked by affective shallowness, manipulativeness, impulsivity, and antisocial behavior, measured by instruments such as the Hare Psychopathy Checklist–Revised and associated with elevated violence risk.

A DSM diagnosis characterized by a pervasive pattern of disregard for and violation of others' rights, appearing in adulthood with evidence of conduct problems before age fifteen.

Civil commitment of a person after criminal sentence completion when a statute permits detention of those with a mental abnormality or personality disorder making them likely to engage in predatory sexual violence.

The legal criteria, typically mental disorder plus dangerousness to self or others, that must be proven, often by clear and convincing evidence, before a person may be involuntarily detained.

Actuarial tools, such as the Static-99R and Stable-2007, that estimate the probability of further sexual offending using static or dynamic risk factors and require careful communication of limits.

The legal standard guiding custody decisions, weighing factors such as each parent's caregiving capacity, the child's needs and preferences, stability, and the quality of relationships with each parent.

A forensic assessment of a caregiver's abilities, deficits, and circumstances relevant to meeting a child's developmental, emotional, and safety needs, typically addressing specific referral questions.

The requirement that a custody evaluator serve the court rather than either parent, avoiding advocacy, dual treatment roles, and bias while disclosing any prior relationships with family members.

A claim that one parent has unjustifiably turned a child against the other; evaluators must assess it cautiously because the construct is contested and can distract from abuse or other explanations.

A civil forensic assessment of claimed psychological injury and its cause, functional impact, prognosis, and treatment needs, often addressing causation and consistency with documented events.

Assessment of whether a claimant's mental impairment prevents substantial gainful activity, requiring evidence of medically determinable impairment, functional limitations, and duration.

Practice within jails and prisons covering suicide risk screening, mental health treatment, segregation monitoring, reentry planning, and management of behavior while respecting inmates' limited constitutional rights.

Application of psychology to law enforcement, including pre-employment screening, fitness-for-duty evaluations, crisis negotiation support, stress and trauma services, and consultation on investigative practices.

An administrative examination, usually requested by an employer, to determine whether an officer can safely and competently perform essential job functions, distinct from treatment and confidential counseling.