Zoom-Psychology and Law Symposium
The Zoom-Psychology and Law Symposium (Z-PLS) is an online conference in the area of psychology and law. Z-PLS was launched in 2020 at the initiative of Prof. Henry Otgaar (Maastricht University; KU Leuven), Dr. Irena Boskovic (Erasmus University Rotterdam), and Dr. Ivan Mangiulli (KU Leuven) as a series of online one-day symposia following the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The main idea was to “zoom” into timely topics in the legal psychological domain. Thus, by organizing symposia on various psychology and law topics and inviting experts to talk about these topics, Z-PLS has been able to reach a wide variety (via Zoom) academics, legal professionals and students from all around the world.
At present, Z-PLS organized two editions, counting more than 300 attendees. The first edition of Z-PLS, held in May 2020, proposed a series of talks concerning various topics in legal psychology, such as investigative interviewing and eyewitness memory issues in the courtroom. The second edition, supported by an FWO (the Research Foundation – Flanders) grant and organized in November 2020, orbited around controversial issues on trauma and memory, specifically on how, and to what extent, people can remember (or forget) traumatic autobiographical experiences.
Z-PLS Third Edition: Forensic Assessment
This is the third edition of Z-PLS which will focus on Forensic Assessment. That is, the primary aim is to “zoom” into a forensic multi-method approach and assessment methods usually adopted in the forensic psychology domain to assist the court in legal decision making (e.g., competency to stand trial, risk assessment).
The full program of the symposium can be downloaded here.
Guest Speakers
Prof. Corine de Ruiter (Maastricht University, NL); Professor of Forensic Psychology
Prof. Corine de Ruiter (PhD) is a full professor of Forensic Psychology and head of the forensic psychology section at Maastricht University. Moreover, she is a licensed clinical psychologist and regularly serves as an expert witness in court. Her expertise includes forensic psychology, psychopathy, risk assessment, forensic psychological assessment, and forensic evaluations for the court.
Prof. Steven Jay Lynn (Binghamton University, NY, USA)
Prof. Steven Jay Lynn (PhD) is a distinguished professor and director of clinical training at Binghamton University in the state of New York, USA. He is also the director of the Laboratory of Consciousness, Cognition, and Psychopathology and works as a forensic consultant and expert witness in several countries (i.e., the United States, Canada, and New Zealand). His expertise and interests include dissociation and dissociative disorders, experimental psychopathology, evidence based psychotherapy, and the effects of trauma.
Prof. Stefano Ferracuti (University of Rome La Sapienza, IT)
Prof. Stefano Ferracuti (MD) is a full professor at the department of Human Neuroscience at the University of Rome La Sapienza in Italy. He is a psychiatry and psychotherapist and regularly works as a court appointed expert witness. His expertise and interests include forensic psychiatry, informed consent, decision making, clinical psychological assessment of witness reliability, quantitative EEG and HIV, and psychopathy.
Dr. Josanne van Dongen (Erasmus University of Rotterdam, NL)
Dr. Josanne van Dongen (PhD) is an associate professor of Forensic Psychology at the Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences, at the department of Psychology, Education & Child Studies. Moreover, she is the director of the SAFER (Social Affective and Forensic Electrophysiological Research) lab. Her expertise and interests include psychological assessment, forensic psychiatry, neurobiology, psychopathology, clinical assessment, and treatment.
Dr. Tess Neal (Arizona State University, AZ, USA)
Dr. Tess Neal (PhD) is an assistant professor of Psychology at Arizona State University’s New College of Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences in Arizona, USA. She is the Principal Investigator of the Clinical and Legal Judgement Lab, director of the Future of Forensic Science Initiative and a licensed clinical psychologist. Her expertise and interests include clinical psychology, law and psychology, forensic science, forensic and correctional psychology, and legal decision making.
Dr. Virginia Barber Rioja (New York University, NY, USA)
Dr. Virginia Barber Rioja (PhD) is an adjunct professor at the Psychology Department of New York University in NY, USA, and the Co-Chief of Service for Mental Health at NYC Health and Hospitals/ Correctional Health Services. Moreover, Dr. Barber Rioja has a private forensic practice involving immigration, state, and federal court cases. She strives to bring knowledge about forensic psychology to applied audiences and has given trainings to police officers, judges, defense attorneys, prosecutors and other legal stakeholders and has provided many workshops on topics in forensic psychology.
Prof. Richard Rogers (University of North Texas, TX, USA)
Prof Richard Rogers (PhD) is a Regents Professor of Psychology at the University of North Texas in Texas, USA. Moreover, he is a licensed forensic psychologist in the US with an ABPP diplomate in forensic psychology. Prof. Rogers has developed and validated several psychological measures (e.g., SAMA, SIRS-2) and has been recognized for his contributions to both forensic and clinical psychology. His expertise and interests include malingering and response styles, psychological assessment, forensic evaluations, the validation of structured interviews, and deception among capital jurors.
Prof. Donald Viglione (Alliant International University, CA, USA)
Prof. Donald Viglione (PhD) is a distinguished professor at the California School of Professional Psychology at Alliant International University in San Diego, California, USA. Prof. Viglione has conducted and supervised psychological evaluations of children, adolescents, adults, and couples for forensic, psychological, professional development, and fitness for duty reasons. Moreover, he is a co-author of the Roscharch Performance Assessment System. His expertise and interests include the empirical validation of the Rorschach test, the assessment of malingering, evaluation of dangerousness, sexual offending, child psychopathology, and trauma.
Dr. Igor Areh (University of Maribor, SI)
Dr. Igor Areh (PhD) is an associate professor of Forensic Psychology at the Faculty of Criminal Justice and Security at the University of Maribor in Maribor, Slovenia. Moreover, he is an active member of the Blackstone Consortium research advisory group working on the Project of Reasonable Doubt at the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands and the International Investigative Interview Research Group. Furthermore, he regularly works together with courts, the police, and lawyers as a forensic expert and serves as a consultant on a non-compulsory interrogation protocol project carried out by the Committee against Torture, Centre for Human Rights, United Nations. His expertise and interests include investigative interviewing, the evaluation of veracity of statements, psychological testing, and forensic personality assessment.
Organizing Committee
Prof. Henry Otgaar (Maastricht University, NL; KU Leuven, BE)
henry.otgaar@maastrichtuniversity.nl
Dr. Irena Boskovic (Erasmus University Rotterdam, NL)
boskovic@essb.eur.nl
Dr. Ivan Mangiulli (KU Leuven, BE)
ivan.mangiulli@kuleuven.be
Dr. Fabiana Battista (KU Leuven, BE)
fabiana.battista@kuleuven.be
Drs. Paul Riesthuis (KU Leuven, BE; Maastricht University, NL)
paul.riesthuis@kuleuven.be
Drs. Charlotte Buecken (KU Leuven, BE; Maastricht University, NL)
charlotte.buecken@kuleuven.be
- in conference
- in academic session
- in symposium