Forensic Psychology in Crime
Fiction
Despite the many things psychologists can do, they mostly wind
up as profilers.
KEY POINTS
In crime fiction, forensic psychology often gets shortchanged.
Psychologists can consult in many areas besides profiling, but profiling
is the predominant role they get.
Crime fiction should expand its range of how forensic psychologists are
portrayed, particularly female ones.
When I entered a Master of Fine Arts program in creative writing recently, I
decided to pen a series about a forensic psychologist who runs a PI
agency. I used my thesis research to look for a potential role model, i.e., to
see how forensic psychologists are generally portrayed in fiction. To my
surprise, despite the many useful skills psychologists can offer to the legal
system, fictional consulting forensic psychologists most often act as profilers.
This shortchanges the profession.
Overview
The discipline of forensic psychology covers those interactions between law
enforcement and psychology that benefit from psychological research and
clinical experience. Such practitioners can apply their knowledge and
experience to the civil and criminal arenas. For the court, forensic
psychologists usually evaluate defendants’ present or past mental states or
future potential for violence. They offer information to help triers-of-fact make
informed decisions. They might perform assessments on specific populations
in the correctional system—sex offenders, psychopaths, or juvenile offenders
—or might assist with legal strategies. In addition, psychologists assess such
behaviors as lying, malingering, and falsely confessing during interrogations.
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