By the end of this course, students should be able to develop a critical attitude in relation to:
(a) the way of obtaining an expert opinion, particularly in terms of interviews and tests,
(b) the quality and relevance of psychological assessment, and
(c) eye witnesses, both as a clinician and as an expert called to give evidence by an official body (e.g. tribunals).
Main themes
The course is designed to teach students how psychology (clinical, cognitive, neuropsychology, personality, social) can make a contribution to
(a) producing a reliable and valid psychological or neuropsychological expert opinion and
(b) assessing the truthfulness of witnesses, mainly in the legal field (witnesses of violence and accidents)
Content and teaching methods
autobiographical memory and its reconstructive aspects
eye witnesses
relationships between emotion, cognition and memory
false memories
remediation techniques (cognitive interviews)
procedures for detecting simulation (false confessions, lie detection, children's evidence)
expert neuropsychological and psychopathological opinions (examinations and assessments, simulation and claim, difference between results of tests and disability in daily life, socio-demographic variables)
Other information (prerequisite, evaluation (assessment methods), course materials recommended readings, ...)
Prerequisites: functioning of the memory (Introduction to psychology and additional psychology course)
Lecturers and guest lecturer
Assessment : Written examination
Support : reading folder (including certain texts in English) and printed versions of the slides.