Assessing offenders' risk of future violent behavior continues to be an important yet controversial role of forensic psychologists. A key debate is the relative effectiveness of assessment methods. Specifically, actuarial methods (see Quinsey et al., 1998 for a review) have been compared and contrasted to clinical and structured clinical methods (see e.g. Hart, 1998; Webster et al., 1997). Proponents of each approach argue for its superiority, yet validity studies have made few formal comparisons. In advancing the available research, the present study examines systematically the type of forensic case (i.e., sexual violence versus nonsexual violence) and type of assessment method (i.e., actuarial, structured clinical, and unstructured clinical). As observed by Borum, Otto, and Golding (1993), forensic decision making can also be influenced by the presence of certain extraneous clinical data. To address these issues, psychologists and doctoral students attending the American Psychology Law Society conference were asked to make several ratings regarding the likelihood of future sexual and nonsexual violence based on data derived from actual defendants with known outcomes. Using a mixed factorial design, each of these assessment methods were investigated for its influence on decision-makers regarding likelihood of future violence and sexually violent predator commitments. Finally, the potentially biasing effects of victim impact statements on resultant decisions were also explored.

This thesis addresses the personality questionnaire Golden Profiler of Personality (GPOP). Its main objective is to verify a construct validity of GPOP. In the theoretical part, the required psychometric characteristics of psychodiagnostic tools are discussed. It also deals with the theoretical background of the GPOP - Jung's theory of psychological types and the Five Factor Model. The questionnaire GPOP is also compared with other psychodiagnostic tools with similar theoretical background and possibilities of its applications are discussed. The empirical part examines relationship between the scores of Golden Profiler of Personality and NEO inventory NEO-PI-R to determine the construct validity of GPOP. The research was conducted on the sample of university students. Results confirm the expected relationship and can be considered as the evidence of construct validity. The comparison with the norm sample showed that the sample of this research differs from the norm sample. Although the generalizability of results to the population is limited, this thesis offers the first validation study of Czech version of GPOP. Keywords: GPOP, psychodiagnostics, Jung typology, validity, NEO-PI-R

D.Litt. et Phil. / In recent times the South African society has been subject to rapid and important changes. These changes resulted in new responsibilities placed on social workers and psychologists. This situation has lead to the development of new perspectives and the expansion of knowledge and understanding. Social workers and psychologists are increasingly under pressure to provide cost effective services to an increasing number of clients without reducing accountability. Counsellors have to be able to support their decisions with scientific evidence ...

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Arts, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg for the degree of Master of Art (Clinical Psychology), Johannesburg, June 1991 / The literature in this area suggest that the legal profession has inconsistent contradictory and essentially ambivalent attitudes towards psychological testimony in court. This study seeks to begin an exploration and descriptiion of the attitudes of a subsection of that profession viz advocates, to psychological testimony in court. [Abbreviated Abstract. Open document to view full version] / GR2017

This qualitative case study investigated the impact of sand tray on individuals diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia. Four participants successfully completed the creation of sand trays while the researcher observed, interviewed, and documented the individual sand trays. The intervention established that sand tray allows the dementia patient to kinesthetically connect to their inner cognitions through the intentional symbolic expression offered by this unique therapeutic medium. Using a series of eight sand trays of varying thematic concepts, the participants were offered a modality to facilitate a synthesization of their continued individuation, presenting a possible neural pathway to connect and express thoughts, feelings, emotions, concerns, challenges, and fears. The findings of this study include the fact that all trays were classified as “empty” and that the majority of the participants placed objects almost exclusively on the right side of the tray, which is commonly associated with the concreteor conscious side. The use of sand tray allowed each individual the opportunity to create autobiographies in the sand and literally navigate through time – past, present, and future, confronting fears, expressing hope and possibilities. The results of the research study offer insight into the psychotherapeutic effects of using sand tray with dementia patients, as well as a better understanding of the cognitive and expressive abilities and limitations of an individual with impaired memory. The results also offer insight into the difficulties with short-term memory in this population and possibly indicate a potential means for monitoring cognitive decline. Keywords: Neurocognitive disorder, Alzheimer’s, dementia, sand tray, play therapy / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2013.

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Thesis (PhD(Psychology))-University of Pretoria, 2007. / Abstract in English. Includes bibliographical references. Available on the Internet via the World Wide Web.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Notre Dame, 2008. / Thesis directed by Lynette P. Spillman for the Department of Sociology. "July 2008." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 74-80).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2004. / Supervisors: Deborah J. Tharinger and Timothy Z. Keith. Vita. Includes bibliographical references. Also available from UMI.