Academic X’cellence: Sharing stories from our inspiring StFX community
It should come as no surprise to anyone familiar with StFX that our campus is filled with highly engaged students, educators, researchers, and leaders. Academic X’cellence shines a spotlight on members of our educational community to find out more about their unique experiences—both inside and outside of the classroom. (To see the full series, please click HERE.)
Here we meet Dr. Christopher Lively, a faculty member in and program coordinator of StFX’s Applied Forensic Psychology program. Dr. Lively was one of the first graduates of StFX’’s Special Concentration in Forensic Psychology in 2014 and is now back, on the other side of the lectern, teaching in the program which has since developed into a full four-year offering. Dr. Lively received his PhD in 2022 and has been recognized for his doctoral work by two of the biggest psychology organizations in Canada and the United States, receiving both the J. Stephen Wormith Graduate Research Award from the Canadian Psychological Association and the Outstanding Dissertation Award from the American Psychological Association. At StFX, he is conducting research funded by a SSHRC Partnership Grant, a SSHRC Insight Development Grant, and a UCR from the university. His research focuses on information gathering and assessment techniques, specifically aimed within areas of policing and the judiciary. Additionally, one of his priorities is learning how to best Indigenize content within his courses and provide opportunity for representative Indigenous voices and perspectives in his classroom. Dr. Lively is also involved with the Canadian Psychological Association and serves on the Executive Committee of the Criminal Justice Psychology Section, as well as on the Advisory Board of the Centre for Criminal Justice and Police Research at University of New Brunswick. Prior to his graduate work, Dr. Lively was a JUNO-nominated and East Coast Music award-winning musician.
Dr. Christopher Lively: Helping improve practices and promoting scientific literacy within the criminal justice system
Tell us a bit about yourself.
I am an assistant professor and program coordinator of the Applied Forensic Psychology program in the Department of Psychology. I joined StFX faculty in 2021 and have taught Introduction to Psychology, Introduction to Forensic Psychology, Professional Skills Training & Practicum I & II, and Psychology and Law. I am also a proud StFX alumnus, having received my BSc (major in physics; minor in math) in 2006 and BA (honours in psychology) in 2013. I was also one of the first graduates from the Special Concentration in Forensic Psychology offering in 2014, which has since turned into the four-year direct entry Applied Forensic Psychology program. I later went on to Memorial University of Newfoundland where I earned my MSc (2017) and PhD (2022) in experimental psychology. My research interests are broadly at the intersection of psychology and law, with a broad focus on information gathering and assessment techniques – more on this below!
Could you talk about innovations in your classrooms or research?
As the result of a research honours student’s initiative, I have attempted to consider how best to Indigenize content within my courses and provide opportunity for representative Indigenous voices and perspectives to be in the classroom. Not only is this approach a direct response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Calls to Action within education but is directly relevant to content within clinical-forensic and correctional psychology. Given the overrepresentation of Indigenous Peoples within the Canadian justice system, it is paramount to have folks from these communities in our classrooms and content that accurately reflects the reality.
In terms of research endeavours, my research area pertains to information gathering and assessment techniques but is specifically aimed within areas of policing and the judiciary. For example, I am interested in the impact that questioning practices have on the type, and credible value, of information obtained from suspects/witnesses by police/ lawyers. I am also interested in how alibis are generated, assessed, and evaluated by all parties in the justice system (e.g., the suspect, the police, the jury); and, probably the area I am most passionate about, is examining and improving legal rights comprehension for adults and youth. As an example of this latter research area, I am involved in research exploring ways to improve the overall process of legal rights delivery and people’s understanding of these legal rights (e.g., Right to Silence, Right to Counsel, etc.). Some work that my team and I did within this field was recently selected for publication in Criminal Justice and Behavior [Special Issue: Technological Innovations in Forensic and Correctional Mental Health] that took a novel approach toward presenting legal rights through a multimedia presentation in an effort to improve comprehensibility and pilot a (potential) standardized delivery approach. More recently, I have also been broadening my research interests through collaborations with colleagues that is examining veracity assessments in missing person cases; exploring factors that predict ‘creepiness’; and assessing whether the inclusion of static vs. dynamic risk factors improve a tool used to screen for intimate partner violence. In all my research, my hope is to help improve practices and promote scientific literacy within the criminal justice system.
Are there awards, accomplishments or involvements to mention?
Outside of my university roles, I am involved with the Canadian Psychological Association, and more specifically serve on the Executive Committee of the Criminal Justice Psychology Section. I serve on the Advisory Board of the Centre for Criminal Justice and Police Research at University of New Brunswick. Recently, I have become involved with a steering committee group tasked with organizing an international conference; namely, the North American Correctional and Criminal Justice Psychology Conference. My involvement with these, and other professional groups, are just some of the ways I endeavour to give back to the discipline and field that has effectively given me a lot already.
I also classify myself as an early career researcher, mainly because I only obtained my PhD in 2022 (and was working at StFX already, pre-defence; note to anyone considering a similar path in terms of accepting a job prior to finishing your doctoral work…I definitely do not recommend this approach!). Nonetheless, my doctoral work was nominated for recognition by the criminal justice sections of two of the biggest psychology organizations in Canada and the United States; namely, the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA) and the American Psychological Association (APA). While being nominated is always nice, I was genuinely surprised and quite honoured to have been the recipient of both the J. Stephen Wormith Graduate Research Award from CPA and the Outstanding Dissertation Award from APA. Last year, a book in which I co-authored a few different chapters received the Significant Contribution Award from the criminal justice section of CPA (author: Dr. Margo C. Watt, Cases in Clinical Forensic Psychology; all award credit to the author!); I was pleased to contribute toward what went on to become an award-winning book! In terms of research funding awards, I am currently carrying out research funded by a SSHRC Partnership Grant, a SSHRC Insight Development Grant, and a UCR from StFX; all of which I am humbled and grateful to have received.
Could you talk about what drives you in your teaching?
I have been fortunate to have several great professors and mentors during my undergraduate and graduate school training years. Consequently, these enriching educational and mentoring experiences helped set me on a trajectory toward many opportunities and successes, particularly in regard to my teaching. So, my philosophy toward teaching is built out of some of the experiences I had as a student and seeing high quality pedagogical approaches used by my professors, but also on things I did not see (i.e., what I would have liked to have had in a professor). These thoughts and reflections are also born out of fairly recent experiences for me since I was still a student not that long ago! While I would say that I am still honing my teaching craft and philosophy, my goal is to strive to be an instructor who is knowledgeable about their field; able to present information in a high degree of clarity; engaging, approachable, and accessible; and open to students’ unique learning needs and values their feedback.
What impact do you hope your teaching will have?
As professors at the front of the room, I’m sure my colleagues would agree that we all hope that students learn actual concepts and knowledge from the field we are professing on…but I would also suggest that this is not truly (nor should be) the main goal of teaching. Rather, I hope students can see the inherent value of simply just learning, and (as a part of this learning) further develop their skills in critical thinking, reflection, and working well with others – both in and outside the classroom, but also with those from marginalized or vulnerable populations. I trust my colleagues from other disciplines would concur with this sentiment, but would also like to suggest that psychology is one of the unique fields that is applicable to all no matter where you came from, where you are at now, or what you plan to do in the future. The “study of human behaviour” is, quite literally, all around us and I hope that through my teaching I am able to articulate the importance and value of this. Even having a surface level understanding about ‘why humans do what they do,’ I believe, will better equip all to work well with others (and themselves) going forward. More specific to my area of expertise within forensic psychology, I think these principles still apply and, to me, are even more curious and interesting! I initially think of questions like: Why do people commit crimes? How does someone do such, sometime vile and heinous, criminal acts onto another person? What assumptions are we making in the justice system that may not actually align with evidence-based or scientific practices?
What drew you to teaching?
Seems like I was always bound toward going into the education field. During my initial BSc degree, my plan was to obtain a B.Ed. and become a high school teacher. Yet despite this, and after being accepted to the B.Ed. program at StFX, I made a decision to withdraw from the program on the first day of classes to pursue other interests (see below for more details on this…). Following that career, I went abroad and was an English teacher in South Korea for a short time. After returning to Canada and going back to school, I soon found myself having opportunities to do guest lectures, per course instruction, or serve in teaching roles at the university level. I’m not sure I can put my finger on what exactly drew me toward a teaching-related career, but it seems like I somehow always found myself in a teacher-like role. Flash forward to now, and I am an assistant professor back at the same university that I completed my initial studies at, and teaching some of the same courses I took as an undergraduate student at StFX!
What excites you about teaching at StFX?
As alluded to in my last answer, the mere fact that I am back at StFX on the other side of the lectern is somewhat of a full-circle moment for me. As noted above, I was one of the first graduates of the Special Concentration in Forensic Psychology in 2014 and I was super excited when I heard this offering was being developed into a full four-year program. So, to have had the opportunity to come back to StFX and now work in the program that quite literally changed the trajectory of my life is, in the truest sense of the meaning, a dream come true for me. Working with colleagues that I originally had as professors was initially a bit of a cognitive adjustment but has been to my benefit overall; that is to say, professor-mentors I had as a student are now my colleague-mentors.
What’s something surprising about yourself?
So, my pursuit of “other interests” as noted above may surprise some people. These other interests were music driven, and prior to going back to school and ultimately ending up in the career I have now, I was a musician in a band and did session writing-and-recording work for several other groups. Working as a musician allowed me to see a lot of the country and some places internationally, as well as achieving some music milestones such as being nominated for a Juno Award and winning an East Coast Music Award. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to experience the musician life, and sometimes I even find ways to weave lessons learned from the music industry into my lectures on psychology.
