PSYCHOLOGY AND FORENSIC NEUROSCIENCE

IMPORTANT NOTE FOR FOREIGN (ERASMUS) STUDENTS:

THE COURSE WILL MAKE REFERENCES TO THE LEGAL SYSTEM, BOTH CRIMINAL AND CIVIL, IN USE IN ITALY. IT MAY THEREFORE BE UNSUITABLE FOR STUDENTS WHO WILL HAVE TO DO PSYCHOLOGICAL WORK IN OTHER COUNTRIES, WITH DIFFERENT LEGAL SYSTEMS.

Expected results mapped according to the “Dublin descriptors”

1. Knowledge and understanding

By the end of the course, the student will be able to:

•             Identify the main theoretical models of forensic psychology and cognitive neuroscience as applied to law.

•             Describe the neurobiological correlates of cognitive and emotional functions relevant to the legal sphere.

•             Understand the scientific, methodological, and ethical limitations regarding the use of neuroscientific techniques (e.g., neuroimaging, behavioral genetics) in legal proceedings.

2. Applying knowledge and understanding

By the end of the course, the student will be able to:

•             Apply validated scientific protocols for assessing the reliability of testimony and the capacity to understand and intend (mental competence/capacity).

•             Use forensic psychology methodological tools to analyze real or simulated legal cases.

•             Integrate neuroscientific and psychological data into an expert assessment that aligns with the relevant legal framework.

3. Making judgements

By the end of the course, the student will be able to:

•             Critically evaluate the admissibility and scientific robustness of neuroscientific and psychological evidence in a trial.

•             Interpret the results of psychodiagnostic tests and instrumental brain examinations, recognizing potential biases, attempts at malingering, or methodological limitations.

•             Formulate an independent clinical-forensic judgment, even in the presence of complex clinical presentations or incomplete information.

4. Communication skills

By the end of the course, the student will be able to:

•             Draft expert reports and written technical opinions using clear, rigorous, and unambiguous language for magistrates or the parties involved.

•             Orally present scientific conclusions in expert testimony settings, translating complex neuroscientific concepts into terms accessible to non-specialists in the legal field. •    Use interdisciplinary terminology from psychology, neuroscience, and law appropriately and effectively.

5. Learning skills

By the end of the course, the student will be able to:

•             Independently locate and analyze the latest international scientific literature as well as neuroscience and forensic psychology databases.

•             Keep up to date with technological developments (e.g., AI algorithms applied to forensics) and changes in case law regarding the introduction of scientific evidence.

•             Develop an independent study method that enables them to pursue further specialization (e.g., master's programs, postgraduate specialization schools) or professional practice.

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To achieve these learning objectives, in addition to studying the course texts, attending lectures and the practical presentations conducted during them is highly beneficial.

The final part of the course will involve a workshop with attending students, where cases related to the legal-forensic field will be discussed, with a significant amount of neuro-psychological assessment involved.

To attend this applicative part of the course, foreign students are required to have adequate knowledge of the Italian language, in which the legal reports are written.

This knowledge is an essential basic prerequisite for understanding the topics covered in the discipline.

The course aims to trace the history of forensic psychology up to the recent contributions of neuroscience, whose recent scientific developments will be presented.

The notions of responsibility and “capacity to understand” will be explored in depth, showing the psychological and neuroscientific tools for assessing these aspects in judicial procedures.

Specific in-depth topics are:

- The protection of the child at risk and the interventions of the psychological profession for this purpose.

- Psychology in civil law: separation and divorce, custody and adoption, gender change

- The organization of the Italian legal system and the spaces for psychology and neuroscience

The materials to be studied for the exam will be posted by the lecturer on the Studium platform, including those useful for in-depth study of choice, and the student can freely download them.

For the general mandatory part of the program, the downloadable materials from Studium cover:

1.     Background material: selected chapters from the book “Prigionieri delle neuroscienze,” and other texts, with an appendix on the tasks of psychological experts in the Italian justice system.

2     The gene in the court: between imputability and social dangerousness 

3.     Unraveling simulations: contributions of neuroscience to the search for judicial truth

4.     Adolescents, addiction and social recovery: the new frontiers of “cognitive” law 

For the in-depth part of the program:

Supplementary teaching materials, with links to freely downloadable articles, on which to report on the exam will also be provided on Studium.

From these, the student will be able to choose an in-depth study to present on the exam:

- Does the children know what they are doing? Consciousness and responsibility in childhood: between law and neuroscience

- Family change: psycho-social aspects and legal issues

- "Acrobats poised on the edge of a provisional identity": the responses of law and psychology to demands for gender change

- Bigenitoriality in separations

Only one of these articles must be chosen for the exam, but also from other bibliographic materials independently found by the student on the  Web, and preliminary agreed with the lecturer.

Oral examination with the possibility of personal insights on materials provided by the lecturer on the Studium platform.

The ability of the student to connect the topics covered in the course, in an organic view of psychology applied to the forensic field, as well as the deepening of specific issues on the materials and/or with personal research will be evaluated.

The final grade will be formulated, taking into account the different parts of the oral exam, based on criteria of greater or lesser adequacy of the elements listed above.

The grade will be expressed in thirtieths according to the following scheme:

<18 (Failed) if knowledge and understanding of the topic have significant deficiencies and inaccuracies, answers are inappropriate, and the ability to analyze and synthesize is lacking.

18–20: Very modest knowledge and understanding of the topic, with evident imperfections

21–23: Knowledge and understanding of the topic: knowledge just above adequate

24–26: Good knowledge and understanding of the topics, without significant in-depth study

27–29: Adequate and comprehensive knowledge of the topics is combined with good analytical and synthesis skills and critical thinking with respect to the topics covered.

30: Excellent knowledge and understanding of the topics, excellent analytical and synthesis skills, and critical thinking.

Honors may be awarded for significant personal in-depth study of the topics (beyond the standard in-depth study required in the syllabus); active participation in practical laboratory experiences carried out during the course.

EXAM QUESTIONS

Presented below are some sample exam questions covering the mandatory general section—specifically, the foundational material and the texts listed in the syllabus as items 2, 3, and 4 (the supplementary section is at the student's discretion).

Examples from TEXT No. 1 – FOUNDATIONAL MATERIALS

-             Biological bases of addiction

-             Epigenetics: definition and mechanisms

-             The ‘default mode network’

-             From the proto-self to self-awareness: biological and social aspects

-             “Qualia” and the quality of subjective experience

-             Chaos and complexity theories

-             Comparison between research methods and investigative methods

-             Tools used by the forensic psychologist

Examples from TEXT No. 2

-             MAO-A gene assessment cases: critical aspects

-             Responsibility and social dangerousness

Examples from TEXT No. 3

-             Tools for verifying response validity in testing

-             “Lie detectors” and other tools for the physiological investigation of the mind

Examples from TEXT No. 4

-             In what sense can we speak of “cognitive law”?

-             Capacity to understand and to will (mental competence/capacity)

-             Rehabilitation and probation (suspension of proceedings with a probationary period)

-             Parenting skills

 Obviously, these are merely examples illustrating the type of questions to expect; key to the assessment will be the ability to interrelate concepts, highlight their practical professional applications for the forensic psychologist (examples will be provided during lectures), and discuss critical aspects.