There are also many conditions that may bias
jury decisions. For example, an individual may be
charged with several instances of a crime. Some-
times these instances are joined into one indict-
ment; in other cases, the defendant is tried
separately for each instance. Greene and Loftus
(1981) discovered that when charges are joined
into one indictment, the jury is more likely to
hand down harsher verdicts than when the charges
are tried separately.BOX19-5 Graduate Student Perspective: Lizzy FosterLizzy Foster is a fourth-year student specializing in
forensic psychology in the clinical psychology Ph.D.
program at Drexel University. Lizzy received a B.A. in
psychology from Tufts University. After college and
before beginning graduate school, she spent 2 years
working on research projects: first, a study at Brown
University Medical School examining stress reactivity in
at-risk children; second, a study through UCLA evalu-
ating a medical treatment for ischemic strokes. Since
starting at Drexel, she has provided psychological ser-
vices in a variety of clinical settings, including a correc-
tional facility and an outpatient anxiety disorder clinic.
She is also experienced in conducting forensic assess-
ments. Her current research interests include forensic
assessments, experiences of correctional personnel
within the criminal justice system, and how character
evidence influences jury decision making.
We asked Lizzy to share her thoughts about
graduate school.What has graduate school in clinical psychology been
like for you?
I was told before I started graduate school that clinical
psychology graduate programs are 100% clinical work
and 100% research, and after 3 years I have to say that
I agree. Graduate school has been an amalgam of
experiences: I’ve taught classes, helped write articles,
done hundreds of hours of clinical work, helped out on
others’research projects, worked on my own research
projects, and more. It has been a constant learning
experience, and an experience that I’ve loved.What things have you least expected about graduate
school?
First, I didn’t expect how much work graduate school
would be. In college I was immersed in extracurricular
activities and classes, and I was very busy as a result. I
expected graduate school to be similar. I knew it would
be a lot of work, but I believed I would be able to
manage it in the same way. I was wrong. During theweek, I run from classes to meetings to seeing clients.
During the weekends, you can almost always find me
in a coffee shop (as I am now!) trying to get work
done. I’m still just as busy as I was during undergrad,
but this time without an excessive number of extra-
curricular activities.
Second, I thought that I would be seen as a stu-
dent who didn’t know much, but my experience has
been entirely different. My mentor treats me like a
junior colleague. Although that can come with pres-
sure and responsibility, it has built my confidence. It
also has come with incredible opportunities. I’ve pub-
lished with my mentor, done forensic assessments with
him, reviewed manuscripts for him, and given my
opinion on research projects and papers!Has graduate school changed you? If yes, how so?
There is no question that graduate school has changed
me. I’m more independent than I was before starting
graduate school. This is particularly true when it comes
to my area of specialization (forensics). When working
with a correctional or forensic population, you cannot
be timid. Although I had some experiences with
forensic and correctional populations before graduate
school, I had never been inside a correctional facility. It
was a steep learning curve, but I quickly learned how
to be confident in that setting and how to assert
myself when necessary.Are your professional or research interests similar or
different now than they were when you started
graduate school?
I came into graduate school knowing I wanted to focus
on forensic psychology, but not knowing what specifi-
cally I wanted to do within that area. My research
interests have since become crystallized. Although I
find a lot of areas fascinating within forensic psychol-
ogy, I’ve come to realize that you can only really study
a few things at a time! Thanks to my mentor’s
research, and classes that I’ve taken (such as forensic558 CHAPTER 19