Forensic Neuropsychology Final Examination
Summer C, 2008
August 5, 2008
Answer all questions on the answer sheet provided. Enter the appropriate letter on multiple choice questions.
Enter the appropriate number for matching. Stay within the allotted space on short answer questions. Write
legibly. Total points = 100. Good luck.
PART I: MULTIPLE CHOICE. Circle the one best answer for each question. Each is worth 3 points.
1) The insanity defense is:
(a) designed to acquit and release individuals who committed crimes irrationally or without behavioral
control
(b) based on showing that a mental disease or defect caused a person to be unable to appreciate or
control their criminal conduct
(c) based in some jurisdictions on the standards set forth in Dusky v. U.S.
(d) attempted in about 17% of felony cases in the United States each year
(e) c and d only
2) In which of the following case scenarios is an “amnesia” defense most likely to be successful in leading to an
incompetency ruling?
(a) a defendant says he is not guilty because he temporarily “forgot” that murder was illegal
(b) a robber, fleeing from a police stakeout with five cops in pursuit, is struck on the head with a billy club,
causing him to fracture his skull and to lose memory for the robbery
(c) a masked defendant in a convenience store robbery on a lonely rural road is unable to recollect any
of his actions on the day of the incident because he was involved in an automobile accident later
that evening some 20 miles away
(d) a financier claims amnesia for an insider trading violation because of “epileptic amnesia”
(e) a man, long sought for a string of strong-arm robberies, is finally apprehended in the alcohol
treatment ward of a local VA hospital suffering from Korsakoff syndrome
3) Which of the following statements is true?
(a) in order to be compensated under Worker’s compensation, a worker who brings a claim must show
that the employer acted negligently in his case
(b) Worker’s compensation claims are usually heard in a formal jury trial in which the worker brings a
complaint against an employer
(c) Worker’s compensation is designed to provide the financial means by which a worker may afford
rehabilitation and job retraining
(d) Unlike in tort law, not every injury is compensable under Worker’s compensation law
(e) All of the above statements are true
4) Which of the following is not an element of testamentary capacity?
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
that the person knows they are making a will at the time they are making it
that the person disposes of their property in a way that others would agree with
that the person knows who would naturally receive their property in the event of their death
that the person knows how their wills actually distribute their property
that the person knows the nature and extent of their property
5) The Baxter v. Temple ruling
(a) made it more likely that flexible batteries would be admitted in future court proceedings
(b) made it less likely that flexible batteries would be admitted in future court proceedings
(c) established the psychometric superiority of fixed batteries over flexible batteries
(d) allowed a flexible battery approach but excluded qualitative data
(e) only pertains to Federal courts
6) Competency and sanity/MSO evaluations differ in that:
(a) evaluation of competency requires a mental disorder diagnosis but evaluation of sanity does not
(b) evaluation of competency requires the use of more objective screening instruments than does
evaluation of insanity/MSO
(c) evaluation of competency is more likely to be sought by the defense, while evaluation of sanity/MSO
is more likely to be sought by the prosecution
(d) they are not likely to be asked for in the same defendant
(e) evaluation of competency requires functional, present-centered diagnosis, while evaluation of
sanity/MSO is more likely to involve diagnosis of some long-standing condition
7) What are the three elements of executing a valid informed consent to treatment?
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
competency to consent, possession of a “sound mind”, and the presence of witnesses to the decision
competency to consent, possession of sufficient information, and the making of a voluntary decision
competency to consent, competency to manage one’s own affairs, and lack of mental disease or defect
competency to consent, need for (and availability of) treatment, and the making of a voluntary
decision
(e) appreciation of the information given, an understanding of the purpose of consent, and voluntariness
8) Which of the following is false with respect to culpability?
(a) a person who purposefully commits a crime is generally more culpable than one who accidentally
commits one
(b) proving that an individual committed a given act is not, in itself, a sufficient measure of criminal
culpability
(c) if someone commits a crime without intending to do so, they are defined as legally “negligent”
(d) the automatism defense recognizes that some crimes may be committed involuntarily and without
intent
(e) a person who commits “premeditated murder” has both specific and general intent to kill
9) Which of the following statements is true?
(a) patients with mild TBI may overestimate their preinjury experience of everyday symptoms and
problems
(b) patients with mild TBI are less likely than orthopedic counterparts to actually exhibit postconcussion
symptomatology in the pre-injury period
(c patients with mild TBI may underestimate their preinjury experience of everyday symptoms and
problems
(d) normals asked to imagine a concussion report that they would experience many more symptoms than
do patients who actually had concussions
(e) symptoms of post-concussion syndrome are very rare in the general population, meaning that if people
have these symptoms, they almost certainly sustained a concussion
10) Which of the following is false regarding the outcome of mild head injury:
(a) about 15-20% of people with mild head injury have long-standing neuropsychological sequelae
(b) the patient’s Glasgow Coma Scale score on admission is a reasonably good predictor of outcome
(c) MHI and control groups differ by less than 1 SD in recent meta-analyses of neuropsychological
outcome
(d) “time to follow commands” was the best outcome predictor in Dikmen’s study
(e) psychological factors likely explain many cases of persistent neuropsychological deficit after MHI
11) Which of the following is known to be true about Symptom Validity Testing (SVT):
(a) recent data shows that reaction time to make SVT choices is longer for neurologically impaired subjects
than it is for simulators
(b) SVT’s are necessary to give if the clinician is using the Slick et al. malingering criteria
(c) SVT is based on comparing actual with chance performance in determining the likelihood that
motivational factors played a role in test performance
(d) research with the SVT in medicolegal settings suggests that malingering can be diagnosed with SVT’s
alone
(e) failure on the SVT suggests that whatever memory failures were present in the neuropsychological
assessment protocol were malingered
12) Expert testimony differs from the testimony of lay witnesses in all but which of the following ways?
(a) experts can provide “opinions” if they assist the trier of fact in determining probative value of
evidence
(b) experts are qualified by virtue of training or experience to provide testimony relevant to specific
issues in the case
(c) experts must be “qualified” as experts before their testimony is allowed
(d) lay witnesses can provide “observations”, but never opinions, while experts can provide “opinions”
but never “observations”
(e) experts normally regard testimony as a professional endeavor, while lay witnesses regard it as a civic
duty
13) Which of the following is the most compelling reason to use a formal competency assessment instrument during
a neuropsychological evaluation?
(a) competency assessment instruments are more reliable than neuropsychological assessments
(b) competency assessment instruments more directly tap elements of behavior and knowledge relevant
to prevailing statutes
(c) neuropsychological functioning is not relevant to questions of competency
(d) competency assessment instruments are frequently required by the court
(e) neuropsychological test results often lead to false positive determinations of incompetency
14) Which of the following are acceptable ways to handle a subpoena for raw data from a forensic
neuropsychological evaluation?
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
Xerox all the raw data and test manuals and send them within 30 days to the attorney
Send copies of raw data to a licensed psychologist named by the attorney issuing the subpoena
Send copies directly to the attorney if court-ordered to do so
a and b only
b and c only
15) You are subpoenaed to testify at trial three months hence which is scheduled during your summer vacation. You
should:
(a) call the judge immediately to request that the trial be postponed
(b) call the attorney who subpoenaed you and inform him/her of the conflict
(c) mail your records to the attorney who issued the subpoena so that another psychologist can testify in
your place using your data
(d) get a fellow student who has taken Forensic Neuropsychology to testify for you
(e) cancel or reschedule your vacation immediately so that you can comply with the subpoena and attend
trial
PART II: Matching. Match each entry in Column A with the best alternative from Column B. Use the answer
sheet provided. Column B items may be used once, multiple times, or not at all. Each is worth 2 points.
Column A
Column B
a. mens rea
b. specific intent
c. direct examination
d. landmark case re: duty to warn
e. landmark case re: competency
f. proximate cause
g. deposition
h. actus reus
i. voire dire
j. trier of fact
1. a criterion for determining mental injury
2. a worker’s compensation regulation
3. questioning by the attorney calling the deposition
4. physical act of a crime
5. Daubert v. Merrell Dow
6. relevant to liability (who’s at fault?) in torts
7. acting in self-defense
8. the person’s mental state at offense
9. how the opposing attorney learns about your opinion
10. Tarasoff vs. Board of Regents
11. interview of prospective jurors
12. questioning by “opposing” attorney
13. Dusky vs. United States
14. role played by judge or jury
15. purpose, not recklessness
PART III: SHORT ANSWER. Answer each question with 1-2 sentences or a short list. Keep answers limited to
the space provided on the answer sheet. Each is worth 5 points.
1) You are performing a court-ordered MSO evaluation designed to yield information relevant to a defendant’s
sanity at the time of a capital criminal offense. Briefly outline what you should tell the defendant about the nature
and purpose of your evaluation.
2) Compare and contrast the “known groups design” and the “differential prevalence” design in neuropsychological
studies of effort testing. Which design is preferred and why?
3) Briefly comment on Binder et al.’s finding that neuropsychological evaluation has relatively low positive
predictive power in low base rate situations such as persistent impairments after mild traumatic brain injury. Focus
your answer on the implications for assessment.
4) What do you see as the most valid point made by the method skeptics regarding the forensic use of
neuropsychological data?
5) How might frontal-executive deficits impair competency to proceed to trial?
6) You are asked to perform a neuropsychological examination in the presence of the plaintiff’s attorney and a court
reporter. What are two major issues/problems in allowing this to take place?
7) Describe why it is important to consider past history and to examine past records when performing
neuropsychological assessments in personal injury litigation settings.
Bonus Question (5 points):
What, in your opinion, should be the minimum training and experience required of an individual who wishes to be
qualified in court as a neuropsychological expert?
Forensic Neuropsychology Final Examination
August 7, 2008
Answer Sheet
Part I: Multiple Choice
1)__________
2)__________
3)__________
4)__________
5)__________
6)__________
7)__________
8)__________
9)__________
10)_________
11)_________
12)_________
13)_________
14)_________
15)_________
Part II: Matching
a)__________
b)__________
c)__________
d)__________
e)__________
f)__________
g)__________
h)__________
i)__________
j)__________
Part III: Short Answer
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Bonus: