MA Psych Juris cheat sheet

Two-cultures distinction: psychology seeks general lawful regularities through empirical method; law seeks final, binding resolution of individual disputes through precedent and authority.

Daubert (1993) reliability factors: testability/falsifiability, known or potential error rate, peer review and publication, general acceptance, and standards controlling technique operation.

Frye rule (1923) admits evidence only if the technique is generally accepted in its relevant scientific field; Daubert superseded it in federal court and many states.

Federal Rule of Evidence 702 (as amended 2000) requires that testimony rest on sufficient facts or data and be the product of reliable principles and methods reliably applied.

General acceptance is only one Daubert factor; appellate courts review the admissibility ruling, not the scientific merits, for abuse of discretion (General Electric v. Joiner, 1997).

Bradford Hill viewpoints for causal inference: strength, consistency, specificity, temporality, biological gradient, plausibility, coherence, experiment, analogy.

Therapeutic jurisprudence examines whether laws and legal processes produce therapeutic or anti-therapeutic consequences, treating law itself as a social force.

Legal standards are binary and adjudicative; psychological constructs are dimensional and probabilistic, so translation between them is the central boundary problem of the field.

Base-rate formula: PPV = (sensitivity x prevalence) / [(sensitivity x prevalence) + ((1 - specificity) x (1 - prevalence))].

Likelihood ratio = sensitivity / (1 - specificity); it converts pretest odds to posttest odds via Bayes' theorem (posterior odds = prior odds x LR).

Cohen's d benchmarks: 0.20 small, 0.50 medium, 0.80 large; r of .10, .30, .50 correspond to the same small/medium/large thresholds.

Statistical significance is sample-size dependent; report effect sizes and confidence intervals rather than relying on p < .05 alone.

Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis plots true-positive rate against false-positive rate; area under the curve (AUC) of .50 is chance and 1.0 is perfect discrimination.

Interrater reliability indices: Cohen's kappa for two raters, Fleiss' kappa for more than two; kappa corrects agreement for chance.

Internal validity threats include selection, history, maturation, instrumentation, regression to the mean, attrition, and testing effects.

Survey research on legal populations must address sampling frame bias; incarcerated and adjudicated samples are non-representative convenience populations.

Forensic assessment differs from therapeutic assessment: the client is the court or retaining party, the evaluee is not the client, and informed consent must state limits of confidentiality.

Miller Forensic Assessment of Symptoms Test (M-FAST) is a 25-item screen for feigned psychiatric symptoms; the Structured Interview of Reported Symptoms (SIRS, 2nd ed.) is the comprehensive feigning measure.

Test of Memory Malingering (TOMM) uses forced-choice visual recognition over two learning trials plus a retention trial; scores below cutoff suggest invalid effort.

Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI) and MMPI-2/MMPI-3 include validity scales (e.g., infrequency, defensiveness, inconsistency) that must be interpreted before clinical scales.

Competency assessment instruments include the MacArthur Competence Assessment Tool (MacCAT-CA, MacCAT-T) and the Evaluation of Competency to Stand Trial-Revised (ECST-R).

Risk instruments: HCR-20 (structured professional judgment), PCL-R (psychopathy, not a standalone risk tool), Static-99R (actuarial sexual recidivism), VRAG.

Psychopathy is not equivalent to antisocial personality disorder: PCL-R emphasizes affective/interpersonal traits (grandiosity, callousness, lack of remorse) beyond behavioral deviance.

Test selection must consider normative fit (age, gender, ethnicity, literacy), and forensic reports must state limits of the data and avoid ultimate-issue conclusions where prohibited.

Dusky v. United States (1960): defendant must have sufficient present ability to consult with counsel with a reasonable degree of rational understanding and a rational and factual understanding of the proceedings.

Competency is a present-state, functional inquiry; it is distinct from criminal responsibility, which is a retrospective inquiry at the time of the offense.

Four Dusky/MacCAT-CA prongs: understanding, appreciation, reasoning, and ability to communicate/consult with counsel.

M'Naghten test: at the time of the act, the defendant did not know the nature and quality of the act or did not know it was wrong.

ALI Model Penal Code test: lack of substantial capacity to appreciate wrongfulness or to conform conduct to law; federal law (Insanity Defense Reform Act 1984) uses a cognitive-only variant and places burden on the defendant by clear and convincing evidence.

Competency to be executed (Ford v. Wainwright, 1986; Panetti v. Quarterman, 2007) requires rational understanding of the reason for execution, not merely factual awareness.

Restoration typically involves antipsychotic medication; involuntary treatment of a competent defendant raises due-process concerns (Sell v. United States, 2003) requiring important government interests and medical appropriateness.

Competency is usually treated as a threshold legal question; evaluators provide data and opinions, but the court makes the final determination.

Tort damages categories: compensatory (economic and non-economic) and punitive; psychological injury claims typically involve negligent or intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Emotional distress claims require proof of severe distress; physical manifestations or corroborating evidence strengthen causation and damages.

Daubert/FRE 702 governs admissibility of expert psychological testimony on causation and damages in civil cases.

Malingering and symptom exaggeration are elevated in civil litigation contexts; use validity scales and structured symptom validity tests.

Workers' compensation and disability evaluations assess functional capacity and causation using the jurisdiction's impairment guides (e.g., AMA Guides).

Posttraumatic stress disorder requires exposure to actual or threatened death, serious injury, or sexual violence, plus intrusion, avoidance, negative cognition/mood, and arousal symptoms lasting more than one month.

Psychiatric injury in wrongful death and personal injury cases requires establishing the injury would not have occurred but for the defendant's conduct (but-for causation).

Informed consent doctrine in clinical and research contexts requires disclosure of material risks, benefits, alternatives, and the right to withdraw.

Best interests of the child standard governs custody; factors typically include stability, parental fitness, child's needs, and history of caregiving.

Child custody evaluations should use multiple methods (interviews, observations, collateral sources, records) and avoid recommendations beyond the data.

Allegations of child sexual abuse require forensic interviewing following a structured protocol (e.g., NICHD) that uses open-ended prompts and avoids suggestive questioning.

Children's suggestibility increases with repeated, leading, or coercive questioning; source-monitoring errors are common in preschool-aged children.

Termination of parental rights requires clear and convincing evidence of parental unfitness or harm (Santosky v. Kramer, 1982).

Parental alienation is a contested construct; courts increasingly require empirical support and caution against unsupported diagnoses.

Attachment theory informs parenting capacity evaluations, but attachment classifications are not direct measures of parenting fitness.

Guardians ad litem and child's counsel serve distinct roles; evaluators must clarify role boundaries to avoid role conflict.

Eyewitness identification: estimator variables (witness, perpetrator, event) affect accuracy; system variables (lineup procedure) are controllable by police.

Double-blind sequential lineups reduce false identifications relative to simultaneous lineups in many studies; the confidence-accuracy relationship is stronger when confidence is taken immediately.

Weapon focus, stress, cross-race effect, and post-event information degrade eyewitness accuracy.

Cognitive interview techniques: context reinstatement, report everything, reverse order, change perspective; they increase correct recall with modest increases in errors.

False confessions: voluntary, compliant, and internalized types; risk factors include lengthy interrogation, isolation, minimization, false evidence ploys, and juvenile or intellectually disabled status.

Reid technique emphasizes confrontation and minimization; PEACE model emphasizes information gathering and is used in the UK and increasingly elsewhere.

Geographic profiling and linkage analysis use crime scene patterns to estimate offender residence or connected series; they are investigative aids, not proof.

Police selection and fitness-for-duty evaluations assess psychological suitability, stress tolerance, and integrity using structured interviews and personality measures.

Risk-need-responsivity (RNR) model: match service intensity to risk level, target criminogenic needs, and deliver services in a way responsive to learning style and motivation.

Central eight criminogenic needs: criminal history, antisocial personality pattern, antisocial cognition, antisocial associates, family/marital, school/work, leisure/recreation, substance abuse.

Risk assessment instruments: Level of Service Inventory-Revised (LSI-R), HCR-20, Static-99R, Violence Risk Appraisal Guide (VRAG).

Psychopathy (PCL-R) predicts institutional violence and recidivism but should not be used alone to justify indefinite detention.

Contingency management and cognitive-behavioral programs (e.g., Reasoning and Rehabilitation, Aggression Replacement Training) show modest reductions in recidivism.

Sex offender treatment often uses relapse prevention and CBT models; actuarial risk tools outperform unstructured clinical judgment.

Solitary confinement is associated with psychological deterioration; courts and professional bodies increasingly require limits and monitoring.

Therapeutic communities and medication-assisted treatment for substance use disorders reduce relapse in correctional settings.

Juveniles show heightened impulsivity and susceptibility to peer influence and reduced future orientation; these developmental factors inform culpability.

Roper v. Simmons (2005) barred the death penalty for offenders under 18; Graham v. Florida (2010) barred life without parole for non-homicide juveniles.

Miller v. Alabama (2012) required individualized sentencing for juveniles facing life without parole; Montgomery v. Louisiana (2016) made Miller retroactive.

Competency to stand trial in juveniles must account for developmental immaturity, not just mental disorder.

Juvenile waiver/transfer to adult court should consider maturity, amenability to treatment, and developmental research.

Adolescent brain development: prefrontal cortex maturation continues into the mid-20s; reward-seeking peaks in adolescence.

Juvenile risk assessment tools include the Youth Level of Service/Case Management Inventory (YLS/CMI) and Structured Assessment of Violence Risk in Youth (SAVRY).

Status offenses (truancy, running away, curfew violations) are noncriminal behaviors unique to juvenile jurisdiction.

APA Ethics Code principles: beneficence and nonmaleficence, fidelity and responsibility, integrity, justice, and respect for people's rights and dignity.

Standard 3.05 (multiple relationships) prohibits relationships that could impair objectivity or exploit others; forensic roles create inherent conflicts with therapeutic roles.

Standard 4.02 requires informed consent for assessment; forensic evaluees must be told the purpose, limits of confidentiality, and who will receive the report.

Standard 9.01 requires that opinions be based on sufficient information and techniques; evaluators must state limits of their data.

Test security (Standard 9.11) prohibits releasing test materials to nonqualified persons; courts may order disclosure but protective orders should be requested.

Confidentiality exceptions: danger to self or others (Tarasoff duty to protect), child/elder abuse reporting, court order, and client waiver.

Forensic reports should distinguish observations, test data, and opinions, and avoid ultimate legal conclusions unless the jurisdiction permits them.

Continuing education and competence (Standard 2.01) require that psychologists practice only within their boundaries of competence.

Civil commitment generally requires mental disorder plus danger to self or others or grave disability; standards vary by state.

Involuntary commitment procedures must satisfy due process (Addington v. Texas, 1979) using at least clear and convincing evidence.

Right to treatment (Wyatt v. Stickney, 1972) established minimum standards for involuntary confinement facilities.

O'Connor v. Donaldson (1975): a state cannot confine a nondangerous person capable of surviving safely in freedom solely because of mental illness.

Least restrictive alternative doctrine requires consideration of less restrictive treatment settings before commitment.

Informed consent to treatment requires capacity, disclosure, and voluntariness; emergency doctrine permits treatment without consent when imminent harm exists.

Confidentiality of mental health records is protected by HIPAA and state law, with exceptions for court orders and safety.

Tarasoff v. Regents (1976) established a duty to protect identifiable third parties from a patient's serious threat of violence.

Two-cultures distinction: psychology seeks general lawful regularities through empirical method; law seeks final, binding resolution of individual disputes through precedent and authority.

Daubert (1993) reliability factors: testability/falsifiability, known or potential error rate, peer review and publication, general acceptance, and standards controlling technique operation.

Frye rule (1923) admits evidence only if the technique is generally accepted in its relevant scientific field; Daubert superseded it in federal court and many states.

Federal Rule of Evidence 702 (as amended 2000) requires that testimony rest on sufficient facts or data and be the product of reliable principles and methods reliably applied.

General acceptance is only one Daubert factor; appellate courts review the admissibility ruling, not the scientific merits, for abuse of discretion (General Electric v. Joiner, 1997).

Bradford Hill viewpoints for causal inference: strength, consistency, specificity, temporality, biological gradient, plausibility, coherence, experiment, analogy.

Therapeutic jurisprudence examines whether laws and legal processes produce therapeutic or anti-therapeutic consequences, treating law itself as a social force.

Legal standards are binary and adjudicative; psychological constructs are dimensional and probabilistic, so translation between them is the central boundary problem of the field.

Base-rate formula: PPV = (sensitivity x prevalence) / [(sensitivity x prevalence) + ((1 - specificity) x (1 - prevalence))].

Likelihood ratio = sensitivity / (1 - specificity); it converts pretest odds to posttest odds via Bayes' theorem (posterior odds = prior odds x LR).

Cohen's d benchmarks: 0.20 small, 0.50 medium, 0.80 large; r of .10, .30, .50 correspond to the same small/medium/large thresholds.

Statistical significance is sample-size dependent; report effect sizes and confidence intervals rather than relying on p < .05 alone.

Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis plots true-positive rate against false-positive rate; area under the curve (AUC) of .50 is chance and 1.0 is perfect discrimination.

Interrater reliability indices: Cohen's kappa for two raters, Fleiss' kappa for more than two; kappa corrects agreement for chance.

Internal validity threats include selection, history, maturation, instrumentation, regression to the mean, attrition, and testing effects.

Survey research on legal populations must address sampling frame bias; incarcerated and adjudicated samples are non-representative convenience populations.

Forensic assessment differs from therapeutic assessment: the client is the court or retaining party, the evaluee is not the client, and informed consent must state limits of confidentiality.

Miller Forensic Assessment of Symptoms Test (M-FAST) is a 25-item screen for feigned psychiatric symptoms; the Structured Interview of Reported Symptoms (SIRS, 2nd ed.) is the comprehensive feigning measure.

Test of Memory Malingering (TOMM) uses forced-choice visual recognition over two learning trials plus a retention trial; scores below cutoff suggest invalid effort.

Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI) and MMPI-2/MMPI-3 include validity scales (e.g., infrequency, defensiveness, inconsistency) that must be interpreted before clinical scales.

Competency assessment instruments include the MacArthur Competence Assessment Tool (MacCAT-CA, MacCAT-T) and the Evaluation of Competency to Stand Trial-Revised (ECST-R).

Risk instruments: HCR-20 (structured professional judgment), PCL-R (psychopathy, not a standalone risk tool), Static-99R (actuarial sexual recidivism), VRAG.

Psychopathy is not equivalent to antisocial personality disorder: PCL-R emphasizes affective/interpersonal traits (grandiosity, callousness, lack of remorse) beyond behavioral deviance.

Test selection must consider normative fit (age, gender, ethnicity, literacy), and forensic reports must state limits of the data and avoid ultimate-issue conclusions where prohibited.

Dusky v. United States (1960): defendant must have sufficient present ability to consult with counsel with a reasonable degree of rational understanding and a rational and factual understanding of the proceedings.

Competency is a present-state, functional inquiry; it is distinct from criminal responsibility, which is a retrospective inquiry at the time of the offense.

Four Dusky/MacCAT-CA prongs: understanding, appreciation, reasoning, and ability to communicate/consult with counsel.

M'Naghten test: at the time of the act, the defendant did not know the nature and quality of the act or did not know it was wrong.

ALI Model Penal Code test: lack of substantial capacity to appreciate wrongfulness or to conform conduct to law; federal law (Insanity Defense Reform Act 1984) uses a cognitive-only variant and places burden on the defendant by clear and convincing evidence.

Competency to be executed (Ford v. Wainwright, 1986; Panetti v. Quarterman, 2007) requires rational understanding of the reason for execution, not merely factual awareness.

Restoration typically involves antipsychotic medication; involuntary treatment of a competent defendant raises due-process concerns (Sell v. United States, 2003) requiring important government interests and medical appropriateness.

Competency is usually treated as a threshold legal question; evaluators provide data and opinions, but the court makes the final determination.

Tort damages categories: compensatory (economic and non-economic) and punitive; psychological injury claims typically involve negligent or intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Emotional distress claims require proof of severe distress; physical manifestations or corroborating evidence strengthen causation and damages.

Daubert/FRE 702 governs admissibility of expert psychological testimony on causation and damages in civil cases.

Malingering and symptom exaggeration are elevated in civil litigation contexts; use validity scales and structured symptom validity tests.

Workers' compensation and disability evaluations assess functional capacity and causation using the jurisdiction's impairment guides (e.g., AMA Guides).

Posttraumatic stress disorder requires exposure to actual or threatened death, serious injury, or sexual violence, plus intrusion, avoidance, negative cognition/mood, and arousal symptoms lasting more than one month.

Psychiatric injury in wrongful death and personal injury cases requires establishing the injury would not have occurred but for the defendant's conduct (but-for causation).

Informed consent doctrine in clinical and research contexts requires disclosure of material risks, benefits, alternatives, and the right to withdraw.

Best interests of the child standard governs custody; factors typically include stability, parental fitness, child's needs, and history of caregiving.

Child custody evaluations should use multiple methods (interviews, observations, collateral sources, records) and avoid recommendations beyond the data.

Allegations of child sexual abuse require forensic interviewing following a structured protocol (e.g., NICHD) that uses open-ended prompts and avoids suggestive questioning.

Children's suggestibility increases with repeated, leading, or coercive questioning; source-monitoring errors are common in preschool-aged children.

Termination of parental rights requires clear and convincing evidence of parental unfitness or harm (Santosky v. Kramer, 1982).

Parental alienation is a contested construct; courts increasingly require empirical support and caution against unsupported diagnoses.

Attachment theory informs parenting capacity evaluations, but attachment classifications are not direct measures of parenting fitness.

Guardians ad litem and child's counsel serve distinct roles; evaluators must clarify role boundaries to avoid role conflict.

Eyewitness identification: estimator variables (witness, perpetrator, event) affect accuracy; system variables (lineup procedure) are controllable by police.

Double-blind sequential lineups reduce false identifications relative to simultaneous lineups in many studies; the confidence-accuracy relationship is stronger when confidence is taken immediately.

Weapon focus, stress, cross-race effect, and post-event information degrade eyewitness accuracy.

Cognitive interview techniques: context reinstatement, report everything, reverse order, change perspective; they increase correct recall with modest increases in errors.

False confessions: voluntary, compliant, and internalized types; risk factors include lengthy interrogation, isolation, minimization, false evidence ploys, and juvenile or intellectually disabled status.

Reid technique emphasizes confrontation and minimization; PEACE model emphasizes information gathering and is used in the UK and increasingly elsewhere.

Geographic profiling and linkage analysis use crime scene patterns to estimate offender residence or connected series; they are investigative aids, not proof.

Police selection and fitness-for-duty evaluations assess psychological suitability, stress tolerance, and integrity using structured interviews and personality measures.

Risk-need-responsivity (RNR) model: match service intensity to risk level, target criminogenic needs, and deliver services in a way responsive to learning style and motivation.

Central eight criminogenic needs: criminal history, antisocial personality pattern, antisocial cognition, antisocial associates, family/marital, school/work, leisure/recreation, substance abuse.

Risk assessment instruments: Level of Service Inventory-Revised (LSI-R), HCR-20, Static-99R, Violence Risk Appraisal Guide (VRAG).

Psychopathy (PCL-R) predicts institutional violence and recidivism but should not be used alone to justify indefinite detention.

Contingency management and cognitive-behavioral programs (e.g., Reasoning and Rehabilitation, Aggression Replacement Training) show modest reductions in recidivism.

Sex offender treatment often uses relapse prevention and CBT models; actuarial risk tools outperform unstructured clinical judgment.

Solitary confinement is associated with psychological deterioration; courts and professional bodies increasingly require limits and monitoring.

Therapeutic communities and medication-assisted treatment for substance use disorders reduce relapse in correctional settings.

Juveniles show heightened impulsivity and susceptibility to peer influence and reduced future orientation; these developmental factors inform culpability.

Roper v. Simmons (2005) barred the death penalty for offenders under 18; Graham v. Florida (2010) barred life without parole for non-homicide juveniles.

Miller v. Alabama (2012) required individualized sentencing for juveniles facing life without parole; Montgomery v. Louisiana (2016) made Miller retroactive.

Competency to stand trial in juveniles must account for developmental immaturity, not just mental disorder.

Juvenile waiver/transfer to adult court should consider maturity, amenability to treatment, and developmental research.

Adolescent brain development: prefrontal cortex maturation continues into the mid-20s; reward-seeking peaks in adolescence.

Juvenile risk assessment tools include the Youth Level of Service/Case Management Inventory (YLS/CMI) and Structured Assessment of Violence Risk in Youth (SAVRY).

Status offenses (truancy, running away, curfew violations) are noncriminal behaviors unique to juvenile jurisdiction.

APA Ethics Code principles: beneficence and nonmaleficence, fidelity and responsibility, integrity, justice, and respect for people's rights and dignity.

Standard 3.05 (multiple relationships) prohibits relationships that could impair objectivity or exploit others; forensic roles create inherent conflicts with therapeutic roles.

Standard 4.02 requires informed consent for assessment; forensic evaluees must be told the purpose, limits of confidentiality, and who will receive the report.

Standard 9.01 requires that opinions be based on sufficient information and techniques; evaluators must state limits of their data.

Test security (Standard 9.11) prohibits releasing test materials to nonqualified persons; courts may order disclosure but protective orders should be requested.

Confidentiality exceptions: danger to self or others (Tarasoff duty to protect), child/elder abuse reporting, court order, and client waiver.

Forensic reports should distinguish observations, test data, and opinions, and avoid ultimate legal conclusions unless the jurisdiction permits them.

Continuing education and competence (Standard 2.01) require that psychologists practice only within their boundaries of competence.

Civil commitment generally requires mental disorder plus danger to self or others or grave disability; standards vary by state.

Involuntary commitment procedures must satisfy due process (Addington v. Texas, 1979) using at least clear and convincing evidence.

Right to treatment (Wyatt v. Stickney, 1972) established minimum standards for involuntary confinement facilities.

O'Connor v. Donaldson (1975): a state cannot confine a nondangerous person capable of surviving safely in freedom solely because of mental illness.

Least restrictive alternative doctrine requires consideration of less restrictive treatment settings before commitment.

Informed consent to treatment requires capacity, disclosure, and voluntariness; emergency doctrine permits treatment without consent when imminent harm exists.

Confidentiality of mental health records is protected by HIPAA and state law, with exceptions for court orders and safety.

Tarasoff v. Regents (1976) established a duty to protect identifiable third parties from a patient's serious threat of violence.