Introduction To Forensic Psychology Summary.
INTRODUCTION TO FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGY
The Learning Outcomes for this assignment are:
Element Learning Outcome
1 Describe what Forensic Psychology is
2 Outline basic theories and principles of forensic psychology
3 Describe how to apply psychological ...
2 Outline basic theories and principles of forensic psychology
3 Describe how to apply psychological techniques.
Forensic psychology is the application of psychology to the criminal justice system. Many people confuse Forensic Psychology
with forensic science. Although the two are closely related, there are many differences. The primary difference is that forensic
psychologists delve into the vast psychological perspectives and apply them to criminal justice system. On the other hand,
forensic psychologists frequently deal with legal issues, such as public policies, new laws, competency, and also whether a
defendant was insane at the time a crime occurred. All of these issues weave together psychology and law topics and are
essential to the discipline of Forensic Psychology. Forensic Psychology knowledge is used in various forms, such as in treating
mentally ill offenders, consulting with attorneys (e.g., on picking a jury), analysing a criminal's mind and intent, and practicing
within the civil arena.
Individuals interested in pursuing a Forensic Psychology career would have take psychology and criminal justice courses at the
core of their academic studies. There are a very limited number of academic institutions that specifically offer a Forensic
Psychology degree. Clinical, social, cognitive, criminal investigative, and developmental psychology also help to prepare one
for this speciality.
A forensic psychologist may chose to solely focus his/her career on research, ranging anywhere from examination of
eyewitness testimony to learning how to improve interrogation methods. Another form of Forensic Psychology work is public
policy, in which researchers can help in the design of correctional facilities and prisons. More generally, Forensic Psychology
covers territory between the traditional options of criminal justice (i.e., academic training, law enforcement, and corrections).
A Brief History
Forensic Psychology dates back to at least the turn of the twentieth century. William Stern studied memory in 1901 by asking
students to examine a picture for forty-five seconds and then try to recall what was happening in it. He would see how much
the person could recall at various intervals after seeing the picture.
These experiments came before more contemporary research about the reliability of eyewitness’s testimony in court. Stern
concluded from his research that recall memories are generally inaccurate; the more time between seeing the picture and
being asked to recall it, the more errors were made. People especially recalled false information when the experimenter gave
them a lead-in question such as, "Did you see the man with the knife?" The person would answer, "yes," even if there was no
knife present. Lead-in questions are often used in police interrogations and in questioning witnesses.
Hugo Munsterberg is often called the first forensic psychologist. He wrote a book called On the Witness Stand. It was published
in 1908, after the work of William Stern. Other psychologists before this, such as Alfred Binet and Sigmund Freud, had also
constructed tests that could be used in judicial proceeding. They both did studies suggesting that the time it takes for a person
to answer a question could be a factor in determining guilt or innocence.
In 1916, Lewis Terman, a Stanford psychologist, began to apply psychology to law enforcement. He revised Alfred Binet's
intelligence tests and formed the Stanford-Binet intelligence test. These tests were used to assess the intelligence of thirty
applicants for the police and fire fighting jobs in San Jose, CA. A few years later, L. L. Thurstone used the same type of test in
Detroit. Now, this type of testing is used in most police departments in the country.
The application of psychology in law and law enforcement continued throughout the 1920's and 1930's. To this day, there is still
a special interest in extending psychology to police work. The demand for psychologists in the legal system has grown
considerably over the past several decades. Currently, almost 2,000 psychologists belong to the American Psychology-Law
Society.
Outlook
Forensic psychology has experienced steady growth in the past two decades. It is predicted that research work, consultation,
and clinical practice in psychology and the law will continue to grow over the next ten years. The highest demand is predicted
to be working with the courts, attorneys, and lawmakers. Jobs will also continue to grow in colleges and universities where
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