Forensic Evaluations: Research in Psychology

Essay by EssaySwap ContributorUniversity, Bachelor's February 2008

download word file, 4 pages 3.0

Forensic evaluations are often very crucial in the outcome of many court cases. This article will discuss the importance of forensic evaluations. It will also explain how and when forensic evaluations are completed. There is also a discussion of the roles in which the psychologist and the lawyer play in the performance of a psychological evaluation.

What is a forensic evaluation? What types of forensic evaluations are there? What is informed consent and how does it apply to forensic evaluations? How is competency defined and how is it tested? What documentation style is used in research reporting in the field of psychology? This paper will explore the different aspects of a forensic evaluation and how it was important in court hearings. It will also discuss what type of formatting is to be used when reporting about it.

In my research of forensic evaluations, I learned that without them there is no way of knowing how much punitive damages a plaintiff should be awarded, or which parent is best suited to have custody of a child.

I also learned that ?questions asked in a forensic evaluation differ from standard clinical or therapeutic evaluations?(Lally, 2003, p. 492).

The first article dealt with informed consent. It explored what parts of the responsibility of gaining informed consent fell on the psychologist performing the evaluation and the litigant?s lawyer. By the end of the article it was found that it was the responsibility of the psychologist to inform the litigant of the details of the psychological evaluation. However, the psychologist is not qualified to give any legal advice, even when it comes to the legal consequences of completing or not completing the evaluation. The lawyer must advise his/her client of all of the legal ramifications involved with the psychological evaluation. (Foote & Shuman, 2006) I...