Forensic Psychology
Assessment and testimony, criminal responsibility and competence, structured risk assessment, offender profiling and eyewitness memory.
- 102hours
- 33topics
- 10modules
Foundations of Forensic Psychology and the Court Interface
What forensic psychology actually is and how it sits in the criminal-justice system: history and scope (Hugo Münsterberg's 1908 *On the Witness Stand*, James McKeen Cattell 1895, Lightner Witmer; the modern split into clinical, investigative, and experimental branches), the forensic-psychologist's roles + boundaries in court (assessment vs treatment, dual-role conflicts, the expert-witness duty to court), and the ethics + licensing frame (APA Specialty Guidelines for Forensic Psychology 2013, BPS Division of Forensic Psychology Practice Guidelines, India Mental Healthcare Act 2017 and Rehabilitation Council of India registration).
Start module- Forensic Psychology: Foundations, History and ScopeHow forensic psychology grew from early witness-accuracy research into a discipline spanning clinical, investigative and academic branches.13 min
- The Forensic Psychologist in Court: Roles and BoundariesThe professional boundaries a forensic psychologist keeps in court, including the line between treating a client and assessing one for a case.13 min
- Ethics, Licensing and the APA / BPS / MHA 2017 FrameworksThe ethics and licensing rules forensic psychologists follow, including consent and confidentiality, across the US, UK and India.13 min
Forensic Psychological Assessment and Test Batteries
The instrumental backbone of forensic psychological practice: foundations of forensic-assessment validity (Daubert standards applied to psychological instruments, reliability vs validity, base rates, incremental validity); personality assessment batteries (MMPI-2-RF, PAI, MCMI-IV; their validity scales and the F-K / RBS / Lees-Haley response-style indicators); cognitive assessment in forensic context (WAIS-IV, WMS-IV, the Flynn effect and Atkins-eligibility IQ testing); malingering and response-style detection (TOMM, SIRS-2, M-FAST; the Slick-Sherman-Iverson criteria for malingered neurocognitive dysfunction).
Start module- Foundations of Forensic Assessment and Test ValidityWhat makes a psychological test reliable and valid enough for court, and why some instruments survive challenge and others do not.13 min
- MMPI-2-RF, PAI and MCMI-IV Personality BatteriesHow the MMPI-2-RF, PAI and MCMI-IV personality tests work, what their validity scales catch, and why none should stand alone.14 min
- Intelligence and Cognitive Assessment in Forensic ContextHow IQ and cognitive tests are used in forensic cases, including death-penalty and intellectual-disability questions.13 min
- Malingering and Response-Style DetectionHow forensic psychologists detect faked or exaggerated symptoms using tests like the TOMM, SIRS-2 and M-FAST.13 min
Criminal Responsibility and Competence to Stand Trial
The two pillars of mental-state defences: competence to stand trial (the Dusky v. United States 1960 standard, the UK Pritchard 1836 fitness-to-plead test, BNSS 2023 § 367 procedure when the accused is of unsound mind, the Australian Presser test); the insanity defence (M'Naghten Rules 1843, Durham 1954, the Model Penal Code substantial-capacity test, BNS 2023 § 22 replacing IPC § 84, the volitional vs cognitive prongs); diminished responsibility and mitigation (UK CJA 2009 § 52 reform, US capital-penalty mitigation under Atkins v. Virginia 2002 and Hall v. Florida 2014, the Indian battered-woman-syndrome mitigation arc).
Start module- Competence to Stand Trial: Dusky, Pritchard and BNSS § 367What it means to be fit to stand trial, the legal tests used in the US, UK and India, and how competence is assessed.14 min
- The Insanity Defence: M'Naghten, Durham, MPC and BNS § 22How the insanity defence works, the M'Naghten and related legal tests behind it, and how different jurisdictions apply them.14 min
- Diminished Responsibility and MitigationHow a mental condition can reduce criminal responsibility short of insanity, and how it shapes the verdict and sentence.12 min
Risk Assessment and Violence Prediction
The structured-professional-judgement tools that drive forensic risk decisions: general violence risk (HCR-20 V3, VRAG-R, SARA), sex-offender risk (Static-99R, Stable-2007, SRA-FV, ATSA practice standards), and threat assessment for mass-violence and targeted attacks (FBI Behavioral Threat Assessment Unit framework, Reid Meloy TRAP-18 lone-actor protocol, Calhoun + Weston pathway-to-violence). Each tool's actuarial basis, court-admissibility record (Frye / Daubert challenges), and known cross-jurisdictional validation gaps are addressed.
Start module- Structured Risk Assessment: HCR-20 V3, VRAG-R and SAPROFHow structured tools like the HCR-20 and VRAG estimate future-violence risk, and how courts treat that kind of evidence.13 min
- Sex-Offender Risk Assessment: Static-99R, Stable-2007 and SRMHow Static-99R and related tools assess a sex offender's risk of reoffending, and where courts and parole boards use them.12 min
- Threat Assessment for Mass Violence and Active-Shooter IncidentsHow threat-assessment models like TRAP-18 try to spot people on a path to mass violence before an attack happens.13 min
Investigative Psychology: Memory, Identification, and Interrogation
The cognitive-science evidence base for police investigative practice: eyewitness memory (Elizabeth Loftus reconstructive-memory paradigm, the Innocence Project data on misidentification as a leading cause of wrongful conviction), lineup procedures (sequential vs simultaneous, double-blind administration, NIJ 1999 + 2017 recommendations, R v. Turnbull 1976 UK warning), interrogation techniques (Reid technique critique and the PEACE model, the Inbau-Buckley-Jayne manual, false-confession literature from Kassin + Drizin), and investigative interviewing of children and vulnerable witnesses (Memorandum of Good Practice / ABE England and Wales, NICHD protocol, Indian POCSO § 35 child-witness procedure).
Start module- Eyewitness Testimony: Loftus and the Innocence Project DataWhy eyewitness memory is often wrong, what Loftus's research showed, and how misidentification drives wrongful convictions.14 min
- Lineup Procedures: Sequential vs Simultaneous and Double-BlindHow identification lineups are run, why sequential and double-blind methods reduce mistakes, and how India runs its parades.13 min
- Interrogation Techniques: Reid, PEACE and False ConfessionsHow the Reid and PEACE interview methods differ, why suspects falsely confess, and the safeguards that reduce that risk.14 min
- Investigative Interviewing of Children and Vulnerable WitnessesHow children and vulnerable witnesses are interviewed without leading them, and the special rules that protect them.14 min
Criminal Profiling and Behavioural Analysis
The behavioural-analysis arm of forensic psychology applied to unknown-offender investigations: offender profiling (the FBI Behavioral Science Unit organised vs disorganised typology and its empirical critique, David Canter's Investigative Psychology / Liverpool school five-factor model), serial-offending linkage analysis and modus operandi (Hazelwood + Burgess crime-classification taxonomy, ViCLAS, ViCAP), and geographic profiling (Kim Rossmo's Criminal Geographic Targeting formula, Canter behaviour-mapping, the jeopardy-surface output and its operational limits).
Start module- Offender Profiling: FBI BSU vs Canter Investigative PsychologyHow offender profiling works, the difference between the FBI approach and Canter's data-driven method, and its reliability.13 min
- Serial-Offending Linkage Analysis and Modus OperandiHow crimes are linked to one offender by behaviour, the difference between modus operandi and signature, and the method's limits.13 min
- Geographic Profiling: Rossmo, Canter and the Jeopardy SurfaceHow geographic profiling narrows down where an offender likely lives, using the methods and cases behind it.12 min
Psychopathy, Personality Disorders, and Violence
The personality-pathology contributions to forensic risk and culpability: psychopathy (Hervey Cleckley's 1941 *The Mask of Sanity*, Hare PCL-R + PCL:SV court admissibility, the antisocial-personality-disorder vs psychopathy distinction, the Glenn-Raine neuroimaging findings); intimate-partner violence and stalking typologies (Mullen + Pathé five-class stalker taxonomy, the Campbell Danger Assessment, the Indian Domestic Violence Act 2005 frame); extremism, radicalisation, and lone-actor violence (TRAP-18, VERA-2R, the Pittsburgh Synagogue / Christchurch / Pulwama case-study comparative analysis).
Start module- Psychopathy: Cleckley, Hare PCL-R and Its Court UseWhat psychopathy is, how the PCL-R measures it, how it differs from antisocial personality disorder, and its use in court.13 min
- Intimate-Partner Violence and Stalking TypologiesThe patterns behind intimate-partner violence and stalking, the main offender types, and the tools used to gauge danger.13 min
- Extremism, Radicalisation and Lone-Actor ViolenceHow people radicalise toward violence, the warning signs in lone-actor attackers, and the programmes used to prevent it.13 min
Forensic Neuroscience and Deception Detection
The cognitive-neuroscience interface with forensic practice: polygraph + physiological-deception-detection (PDD) methods (Control Question Test, Concealed Information Test, the Daubert and US v. Scheffer 1998 inadmissibility line, the NRC 2003 review, Selvi v. State of Karnataka 2010 Indian consent rule); fMRI lie detection (the Cephos and No Lie MRI court rulings, Greely + Illes critique, the EU Reg 2024/1689 AI Act treatment); neurolaw and frontal-lobe evidence (the Roper v. Simmons / Miller v. Alabama developmental-neuroscience reasoning, the Indian Selvi guidance, the UK R v. Pora frontal-lobe-impairment defence).
Start module- Polygraphy, PDD Methods and the US v. Scheffer Inadmissibility FrameHow the polygraph works, why most courts refuse it as evidence, and the consent and rights issues around lie-detector testing.13 min
- fMRI Lie Detection and the Cephos / No Lie MRI DebateWhether brain scans can detect lies, why fMRI lie detection has failed in court, and the science and ethics behind the debate.13 min
- Neurolaw: Frontal-Lobe Evidence and Criminal ResponsibilityHow brain evidence is used in criminal cases, what frontal-lobe damage can and cannot explain, and how courts weigh it.13 min
Juvenile and Civil Forensic Psychology
Forensic psychology in non-adult-criminal contexts: juvenile forensic psychology (Roper v. Simmons 2005 and Miller v. Alabama 2012 developmental-neuroscience-informed juvenile-sentencing reforms, the Indian Juvenile Justice Care and Protection Act 2015 and § 15 heinous-offence preliminary assessment); mental health in custody (BNSS § 367 procedure, Mental Healthcare Act 2017 § 103 prisoner-rights framework, UK Mental Health Act 1983 § 47 transfer); civil capacity assessment (testamentary capacity per Banks v. Goodfellow 1870, marriage and contract capacity, the Indian Sec 12 Hindu Marriage Act 1955 frame); family court and child custody evaluation (the AFCC Model Standards, custody-evaluation protocol, parental-alienation literature controversy).
Start module- Juvenile Forensic Psychology: Miller v. Alabama and the JJ Act 2015How the law treats young offenders differently, the science of the developing brain, and India's Juvenile Justice Act.14 min
- Mental Health in Custody and BNSS § 367 ProceduresHow mental illness is handled for people in custody and prison, the legal procedures involved, and prisoners' rights to care.12 min
- Civil Capacity: Testamentary, Marriage and ContractHow mental capacity is judged for making a will, marrying or signing a contract, and the legal tests used in each case.12 min
- Family Court and Child Custody EvaluationHow psychologists assess families in custody disputes, what a child's best interests mean in practice, and the pitfalls to avoid.13 min
Treatment, Rehabilitation, and Court Testimony
Closing the forensic psychology loop with treatment and the expert-witness handoff: sex-offender treatment (Andrews-Bonta Risk-Need-Responsivity model, the Good Lives Model, the UK Sex Offender Treatment Programme outcome data, the Indian POCSO + state-FSL referral chain); forensic therapy for mentally disordered offenders (CBT and DBT in secure-hospital settings, the Broadmoor / NIMHANS / Atascadero State Hospital service models, the contested moral-reconation therapy literature); forensic-psychology expert-witness skills and Daubert / Frye challenges to psychological testimony (Federal Rules of Evidence 702 application, the UK Criminal Procedure Rules Part 19, the BSA 2023 § 39 admissibility frame for Indian courts).
Start module- Sex-Offender Treatment: Risk-Need-Responsivity and the Good Lives ModelHow sex-offender treatment works, the Risk-Need-Responsivity and Good Lives models, and what the evidence says helps.14 min
- Forensic Therapy: CBT, DBT and Mentally Disordered OffendersHow therapies like CBT and DBT are used with mentally disordered offenders in secure settings, and what the evidence shows.13 min
- Forensic-Psychology Expert Witness and Daubert / Frye ChallengesHow a forensic psychologist's testimony is admitted in court, the Daubert and Frye standards, and common challenges to it.12 min