Riassunto

COURSE PROGRAM
The program includes:
• Introductory concepts and fundamental principles of psychology, clinical psychology, and forensic psychology.
• General Psychology. Clinical Psychology. Forensic Psychology. Differences, strengths, and limitations between clinical and forensic psychology.
• Memory: The role of memory in judgment. Structure and functioning of memory. Limitations and distortions of memory. Information collection limits: selective attention, expectations, schemas. Recall limitations: suggestive questions, line-ups, additional information. Recognizing false memories. Case studies from current events.
• Sincerity, Deception, and Distortion: Intentional inaccuracies: lying and false testimony. Strategies of the liar.
• True and False Confessions: False denial. Characteristics of false confessions. Motivations behind false communications. Predisposing factors for false confessions: personality aspects. Analysis of case studies from current events.
• Person Recognition: Person recognition and judicial error. Where recognition errors occur. Tools to reduce recognition errors. Analysis of case studies from current events.
• Interceptions: Practical examples of interceptions. Cognitive mechanisms influencing transcriptions. Analysis of a transcription.
• Tools for assessing fitness to testify: Quantitative analysis of memory. Tools measuring intelligence and executive functions. Tools for assessing general abilities. Tools for assessing specific abilities. Tools measuring suggestibility.
• Tools for assessing capacity to understand and will: Mental illness. Personality tests. Predictive tests for recidivism. Tests for assessing social dangerousness.
RECOMMENDED TEXTS
• Giuseppe Sartori (2021). The Memory of the Witness. Giuffrè.
• Materials presented/cited during lectures (slides, national and international scientific articles, online reference links for practical exercises).