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Each PhD candidate is embedded in a Research Line or Division of one of the Schools or Institutes.  During all steps of the PhD trajectory, supervision and guidance is provided by expert researchers, either on the content and/or on methodology.

A supervision team consists of 2 to 3 (co-)supervisors, of which one is a promoter of FHML/MUMC+ and one is the daily supervisor. A (co-)supervisor has to have a PhD degree. In case of external PhD candidates performing their research abroad, communication mainly takes place by long-distance means and a local supervisor is generally also part of the supervision team.

The quality of the supervision is discussed in the annual appraisal and assessment meeting of each supervisor with their head of department, or in case of professors, with the Dean. Also, it is monitored through the PhD TRACK system; each PhD candidate is requested to fill out an annual questionnaire in which the performance of each individual supervisor as well as the team performance is assessed.

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Publications of the Forensic Psychology group

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Intuïtie maakt meer kapot dan je lief is (by Harald Merckelbach)

We zijn moraalridders. We nemen elkaar de godganse dag de maat. We hebben minder dan een seconde nodig om de een aardig en de ander een schurk te vinden. En daar maken we onze medemens vervolgens ruimhartig deelgenoot van, bij de koffiemachine of op Twitter. Dat schept een band. Maar met die intuïties van ons slaan we voortdurend de plank mis. Vooral in de rechtszaal kan dat dan verkeerd uitpakken. Intuïtie maakt meer kapot dan je lief is laat zien wat er dan gebeurt. Het gaat over boeven die er reuze sympathiek uitzien en daarom de dans ontspringen. Over onschuldige burgers die we een misdaad in de schoenen proberen te schuiven. En over verstandige politiemensen, officieren van justitie, rechters en getuigen-deskundigen die toch miskleunen. Wat moeten we dan wel doen? Het korte antwoord: onze intuïtie hevig wantrouwen en zo lang mogelijk buiten de deur houden. Het langere antwoord, geïllustreerd aan de hand van luchtige, hilarische, maar ook tragische voorbeelden, is dit boek. Harald Merckelbach (1959) is hoogleraar rechtspsychologie aan de Universiteit Maastricht. Hij schrijft wetenschapscolumns voor NRC Handelsblad. Hij trad vaak op als getuige-deskundige in strafzaken.

FPN Books intuitie maakt meer kapot dan je lief is harald_merckelbach

Routes van het Recht - Over de rechtspsychologie (by Peter van Koppen, Jan de Keijser, Robert Horselenberg, Marko Jelicic)

De rechtspsychologie gaat over het gedrag van mensen in het recht. Over getuigen en hoe zij worden ondervraagd. Over rechters en hoe zij beslissen. Over politiemensen en hoe zij misdrijven proberen op te lossen. Over verdachten en over hoe en waarom zij misdrijven plegen. In Routes van het Recht wordt die psychologie van het recht, en nog veel meer, uiteengezet aan de hand van de kennis die in het vakgebied in de afgelopen honderd jaar is verzameld.

Zonder onnodig juridisch en psychologisch jargon worden vragen over herkenningen, leugendetectie, forensisch-psychologische tests, rechterlijke dwalingen en verhoren van kinderen, volwassenen en verdachten beantwoord. Het is een bijzonder naslagwerk en uitstekend geschikt als cursusmateriaal.

fpn books routes van het recht

Finding the Truth in the Courtroom (Henry Otgaar & Mark L. Howe)

Finding the Truth in the Courtroom combines the science behind deception and memory and their relation in court. Testimonies are oftentimes the most important piece of evidence in legal cases. Hence, this book shows how such testimonies can be riddled with deception and/or memory errors, how to detect them, and what you can against them.

Finding Truth in the Courtroom Henry Otgaar Mark Howe

Forensic Psychological Assessment in Practice (by Corine de Ruiter & Nancy Kaser Boyd)

Forensic Psychological Assessment in Practice: Case Studies presents a set of forensic criminal cases as examples of a scientist-practitioner model for forensic psychological assessment. The cases involve a number of forensic issues, such as criminal responsibility, violence risk assessment, treatment planning, and referral to long term forensic care. Likewise, different types of offenses are covered, for example, sexual offending, arson, homicide, robbery and domestic violence. The authors address a variety of mental disorders including psychosis, posttraumatic stress disorder, psychopathy and other personality disorders. The book will be useful for novice and experienced forensic psychologists and psychiatrists who are looking for case studies that integrate the most recent empirical evidence with psychological test findings.

forensic psychological assessment in practice corine de ruiter nancy kaser boyd

Memory Detection: Theory and application of the concealed information test (by Bruno Verschuere, Gershon Ben-Shakhar & Ewout Meijer)

Traditional techniques for detecting deception, such as the lie-detector test (or polygraph), are based upon the idea that lying is associated with stress. However, it is possible that people telling the truth will experience stress, whereas not all liars will. Because of this, the validity of such methods is questionable. As an alternative, a knowledge-based approach known as the Concealed Information Test has been developed which investigates whether the examinee recognizes secret information - for example a crime suspect recognizing critical crime details that only the culprit could know. The Concealed Information Test has been supported by decades of research, and is used widely in Japan. This is the first book to focus on this exciting approach and will be of interest to law enforcement agencies and academics and professionals in psychology, criminology, policing and law.

Memory detection: theory and applicatoin of the concealed information test

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To give an indication of the employability of UM students, the Research Centre for Education and the Labour Market (ROA) has combined available data for the graduate cohorts 2004-2005 to 2009-2010 on the career development of UM master’s graduates five years after graduation (the so-called T=5 UM Scanner). The results of the research have been further translated into infographics that were presented on the 8th of November in 2017 during Employability Inspiration & Improvisation Day at UM.

Learn more about employability at Maastricht University

4. External PhD candidate

A PhD candidate falling under the category ‘External PhD candidate’ has no employment contract at Maastricht University or the Academic hospital (MUMC+) and receives no salary. The main goal is to obtain a PhD degree at FHML and agreements have been made about this with a supervision team (promoter and at least one co-promoter). The external PhD candidate is not facilitated in this by means of a Scholarship or time/funding of an employer, which is the main difference compared to a ‘Contract PhD candidate’. Examples are a retired person or someone working on the PhD research in addition to job hours. Generally, the promoter demands that the PhD candidate should provide for his/her own living expenses and resources to do the PhD research. External PhD candidates generally receive distant supervision (by email, telephone, skype) and perform the research elsewhere in the Netherlands or abroad. In most cases, a local supervisor is added to the supervision team.

This person should have access to the School or Institute’s (research) facilities and courses. The PhD candidate and supervision team make tailor-made agreements in the Personal Research Plan and Training & Supervision Plan about the planning of the PhD trajectory, according to the available time and resources for the PhD trajectory. In order to become an external PhD candidate, one should first make sure that one disposes of sufficient time and subsistence resources and then be accepted by a promoter of one of the Schools or Institutes of FHML with expertise on the topic of the proposed PhD research, who is confident that the candidate has the abilities, diplomas and dedication to complete the PhD trajectory successfully. Please approach the PhD coordinator of the appropriate School/Institute first for the exact procedure.

 

3. Contract PhD candidate

A PhD candidate falling under the category ‘Contract PhD candidate’ has no employment contract at Maastricht University or the Academic hospital (MUMC+) and receives no salary. The main goal is to obtain a PhD degree at FHML and agreements have been made about this with a supervision team (promoter and at least one co-promoter). The PhD candidate should be able to devote time to and disposes of financial resources for the PhD research, made available by a Scholarship or employer. The latter is the main difference compared to an External PhD candidate. A contract PhD candidate with sufficient financial means can be based at one of the Departments of FHML or MUMC+ during the PhD trajectory or receive distant supervision (by email, telephone, skype) and perform the research elsewhere in the Netherlands or abroad. In most cases, a local supervisor is added to the supervision team.

This person should have access to the School or Institute’s (research) facilities and courses. The PhD candidate and supervision team make tailor-made agreements in the Personal Research Plan and Training & Supervision Plan about the planning of the PhD trajectory, according to the available time and resources for the PhD trajectory. In order to become a contract PhD candidate, one should first make sure that one disposes of sufficient time and funds (e.g. consult https://grantfinder.com/) and then be accepted by a promoter of one of the Schools or Institutes of FHML with expertise on the topic of the proposed PhD research, who is confident that the candidate has the abilities, diplomas and dedication to complete the PhD trajectory successfully. Please approach the PhD coordinator of the appropriate School/Institute first for the exact procedure.

Three subcategories of Contract PhD candidates are discerned, according to type of financing:
3a. The contract PhD candidate obtained a Scholarship granted by the University or MUMC+
3b. The contract PhD candidate obtained a Scholarship granted by a different organisation from those under a; such as the European Union, a foreign University, or an organisation or foundation granting Scholarships (e.g. Fullbright, etc.)
3c. Other contract PhD candidates: a person without a Scholarship, but who is granted financial resources and/or time provided by the employer; such as employees of a company that are allowed by their employer to devote a certain number of working hours on the PhD research.

2. Other UM or MUMC+ staff doing a PhD

A PhD candidate falling under the category ‘Other UM or MUMC+ staff doing a PhD’ has an employment contract at UM or MUMC+ other than PhD candidate (e.g. researcher or health professional, such as MD, nurse, physiotherapist, etc.), receives a salary and has made the agreement to obtain a PhD degree. This person is based at one of the Departments of FHML or MUMC+ during the contract period and should have access to the School or Institute’s (research) facilities and courses.

The PhD candidate and supervision team make tailor-made agreements in the Personal Research Plan and Training & Supervision Plan about the planning of the PhD trajectory, according to the available time and contract. In order to become an employed PhD candidate, one should first obtain a position as researcher or health professional by reflecting on a vacancy at one of the FHML Schools or Institutes at www.academictransfer.com/employer/UM or the academic hospital at https://www.werkenbijmumc.nl/.

The members of the section of Forensic Psychology strive to generate knowledge that serves to enhance the quality of legal decision making in both criminal and civil cases. Thus, our research focuses on core investigative procedures (e.g., interviewing techniques, deception detection), decision making (e.g., eyewitness identification & testimony, expert bias), and forensic psychological assessment and treatment (e.g., violence risk assessment; preventing recidivism, trauma-informed practices).

Research lines

Detection of Deception and Malingering

Memory of Witnesses and Victims

This research line deals with current issues and controversies in the area of eyewitness memory and false memories. Specifically, researchers in this domain examine under which circumstances eyewitnesses are able to accurately identify the culprit from a lineup. Furthermore, they investigate how the overwhelmingly stressful nature of being an eyewitness or victim to a crime affects their memory for that event. In addition, research focuses on a variety of memory illusions such as why children and adults sometimes develop memories of events (e.g., sexual abuse) that never occurred and the impact that these false memories may have in legal proceedings. The effectiveness of structured forensic interview protocols in interviewing alleged victims of child abuse is studied in actual child protection practice.

Researchers: Harald Merckelbach, Corine de Ruiter, Henry Otgaar, Kim van Oorsouw, Anna Sagana, Melanie Sauerland, Sanne Houben, Mengying Zhang, Yikang Zhang.

um_fpn_research_fp_memory

Forensic Psychological Assessment and Treatment and Interviewing

The studies in this line of research focus on the development and validation of evidence-based risk assessment tools for different forms of violence and antisocial behaviour in adults (e.g., intimate partner violence, child maltreatment) and youth (e.g., violence, self-harm). Furthermore, research into risk and protective factors is combined with intervention studies for different types of harmful behaviours towards others. Key words to describe the recent work of the Forensic Section researchers in this domain are: trauma-focused, strengths-based and positive forensic psychology.

Researchers: Corine de Ruiter, Kim van Oorsouw, Tamara De Beuf, Vivienne de Vogel, Annabel Simjouw

um_fpn_research_fp_assessment

Decision Making

In all phases of the legal process, human decision making plays a major role and cognitive biases may lead to flawed reasoning. In many criminal and legal cases, judges are advised by experts, who may also fall prey to these biases. Forensic Psychology section researchers examine the role the role and extent of these biases and how to remediate them, in the interest of a fair trial and optimisation of legal decision making.

Researchers: Marko Jelicic, Anna Sagana, Maartje Schreuder.

um_fpn_fp_decision-making_2.jpg

Staff

Professors

Associate Professors

Assistant Professors

Lecturer

PhD candidates

  • Emre Akca
  • Nurul Arbiyah
  • Anna Backus

  • Anne van de Bovekamp

     

  • Mengying Zhang

  • Ophelia Zhang

     

 

External PhD candidates

  • Daniel van Helvoort

     

  • Mara Moldoveanu (joint degree)
  • Diandra Irwanda (joint degree KU Leuven)
  • Annabel Simjouw
  • Carola van Tilburg
  • Mirjam ter Beek

Postdocs

  • Stephanie Ashton

     

Associated Researchers

Support Staff

Expert witness work & trainings

In addition to empirical research, members of the section perform forensic evaluations and write expert reports in criminal and civil cases upon the request from lawyers, the district attorney (“officier van justitie”) or the investigating judge (“rechter-commissaris”).

For further information and enquiries about our expert witness services please visit the Maastricht Forensic Institute.

Trainings

Members of the section provide training in violence risk assessment, psychopathy assessment, training in the NICHD forensic child interview protocol (see www.conflictscheiding.eu), and symptom validity testing, both nationally and internationally.

1. Employed as Promovendus (UFO profile), via vacancy Academic Transfer

A PhD candidate who is Employed as Promovendus is a standard 4 years full-time internal PhD student. This person is employed as ‘PhD candidate’ by Maastricht University according to the University job classification for Dutch Universities (UFO-code) with the agreement to obtain a PhD degree, receives a progressive PhD student salary and is based at one of the Departments of FHML during the PhD trajectory.

Every employed PhD candidate should draw up a Personal Research Plan and Training & Supervision Plan within three months after the start, in which agreements are laid down with their supervision team about their project, the planning and their individual development. In order to become an employed PhD candidate one should reflect on a vacancy for a PhD position in open competition at one of the FHML Schools or Institutes. These are published on www.academictransfer.com/employer/UM.

If you have applied for a language course requiring an intake, or if you need advice on the course level or type, you can use the following intake options for the different languages and courses we offer. We advise you to do an intake well before the start of the course. This will make it more likely a spot is available in the relevant module.

All intakes are free of charge and actual meetings take place at the Language Centre (Sint Servaasklooster 32, Maastricht). If you arrive early, please take a seat in the waiting area downstairs.

 

 

French, German and Spanish Courses

Please do the online test to determine which module is most suitable for you. After completing the test you can register for the module that the test outcome advises.

French and Spanish Writing Skill Courses

Please sent a sample text in the target language (one page, do not use the spellchecker) and your specific needs and wishes to our French or Spanish teacher. Please state in the subject field of your email: ‘text for the writing skills course’.

English: Cambridge, Effective Communication and IELTS Courses

You need to take an online test before the intake interview. Please send an email to ask for an online test token. languages-intake-EN

PhD-online Course

Please email our PhD-online teacher Neill Wylie for the relevant intake form that must be completed and returned to him upon registering for the course.

Dutch Courses

You can send an email with the request for an intake appointment. Please already propose in your email a date and time that you will be available for an intake meeting. languages-intake-NL

Italian Courses

Please send an email with your language level question and the teacher will get in touch to advise the correct course. If needed an intake meeting will be scheduled. languages-intake-IT

Arabic, Chinese, Portuguese, Russian and Turkish Courses

No intake needed. Just register for the beginner’s course if you have no knowledge of the language yet or would like to start from the beginning.  You can register for a second course if you have prior knowledge and believe the higher level better suits your need. During the first lesson the teacher reserves the right to advise a lower or higher level if better suited given your current knowledge level.

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