Forensic Psychology
What is Forensic Psychology?David Webb BSc (hons), MSc
When my students arrived for their first lecture, I would always start by giving them a few minutes to write down an answer to the question what is forensic psychology? The reason I did this was because not one of the students had come to see me in advance to ask what the forensic psychology course was about. Now bear in mind students chose their optional courses well in advance of the start date, and to make an informed choice they were strongly advised to speak to the lecturer running the courses they were interested in. So why the no show? I can't hear a thing!
After discussing the issue with the students, it transpired that none of them felt the need to come and ask questions about the course because they already had a preconceived idea of what forensic psychology was all about. Now, I mentioned that at the start of the first lecture I would give students a few minutes to write down an answer to the question what is forensic psychology. What I didn't mention, however, is that after about 2 minutes I would ask for their attention and apologize for forgetting to tell them that they weren't allowed to use the words serial killers, profilingor silence of the lambs in their answer. It was usually as this point that most of the writing in the lecture theatre stopped! If you're thinking I would have stopped writing as well, please contain your disappointment and don't rush off just yet. The answer to the question, what is forensic psychology may not quite be what you thought, but that doesn't mean that the subject has to be any less engaging. Divided Opinion The first thing to appreciate when addressing the question, what is forensic psychology, is that even psychologists in the field are divided as to what the answer is. Gudjonsson and Haward note that the division of criminological and legal psychology within the British Psychological Society argued for twenty years as to whether their members should be entitled to call themselves Chartered Forensic Psychologists. It was finally agreed that they should, however, there still remains a great deal of debate and controversy surrounding the issue. So what was the problem? The central problem was that its members were drawn from a wide range of disciplines (see below), so it has always been and still remains difficult to state what the boundaries are when addressing the question what is Forensic Psychology. A fragmented discipline? Now while it is important to acknowledge that this fragmentation of role exists, it is just as important to realize that these different groups are linked to forensic psychology because their work, expert knowledge or research activity is somehow connected with the law. This legal connection makes perfect sense when you consider that the word forensic comes from the Latin forensis, which literally means appertaining to the forum, specifically the imperial court of Rome. So in essence: The debate as to what is forensic psychology and what is not forensic psychology rests primarily on the nature of psychology’s relationship with the legal system. Let me give you an example, imagine two psychologists meet at a conference and they begin talking about the work they do. The first psychologist tells the second that she recently gave expert testimony in court arguing that the defendant in a murder case was criminally insane. The judge and jury agreed and having been found guilty on the grounds of diminished responsibility the defendant was going to be sent to a secure psychiatric unit. Now there’s a coincidence the second psychologist says I work in the unit where they're sending him, so I’ll be dealing and treating this guy when he arrives. So here you have a situation where two psychologists are linked to the legal system by way of a legal decision. You could argue, therefore, that both deserve to be seen as engaging in Forensic Psychology. However, there’s a crucial difference. The first psychologist actually helped inform the legal decision based on her psychological knowledge and expertise. The second psychologists involvement on the other hand arose as a consequence of a legal decision that she had no direct involvement with. My preferred definition within the what is forensic psychology debate acknowledges this key distinction, namely: That branch of applied psychology which is concerned with the collection, examination and presentation of evidence for judicial purposes’ (Haward 1981). If you adopt this definition, the answer to the question what is forensic psychology becomes much more clear, because you are stating categorically that Forensic Psychology relates to: The provision of psychological information for the purpose of facilitating a legal decision (Blackburn 1996). So in the case of our two psychologists, strictly speaking only the first can be said to be engaged in Forensic Psychology. Now not everybody would agree with this, because there is a school of thought that would claim that any activity that links psychology to the law deserves to be described as forensic. I’m not going to try and convince you which is right, the main thing is that you know that this debate exists. Want To Learn More About Forensic Psychology? See following link to visit a website dedicated to the study and practice of forensic psychology. The Forensic Psychologist in Focus
See following link to find out more about our forensic psychologist in focus Dr. Christopher Cronin, Professor and Director of Graduate Training at Saint Leo University in Florida. Forensic Psychologist in Focus Essential Forensic Psychology ReadingForensic Psychology by Professor Christopher Cronin Ph.D
Editorial Review Introducing a forensic psychology text written from the scientist-practitioner perspective. This text introduces the reader to the practice of forensic psychology. Forensic psychology, as defined by the American Psychological Association, is the application of clinical specialties to the legal arena. The emphasis of the book is to help students understand the practice of forensic psychology along with career opportunities in this rapidly evolving specialty. Included are several chapters on the area of legal psychology. Areas covered in forensic psychology include a chapter on the ethics of psychology and law, an extensive chapter on assessment in forensic practice, criminal responsibility and competency evaluations, child custody evaluations, police psychology, correctional psychology, and evaluations of psychological injury. Areas covered in the specialty of legal psychology include trial consultation, criminal investigative psychology (detection of deception, criminal profiling, psychological autopsies and use of hypnosis) and eyewitness memory and recovered memories. A final chapter identifies emerging trends in the area of forensic psychology. Instructor's ancillary materials are also available, including Power Point slides to accompany each chapter, a test bank with over 600 multiple choice, true/false questions, review questions for each chapter and sample syllabi complete with learning objectives for each chapter. See following link for more details: Forensic Psychology Links
Access a range of quality forensic psychology related websites via the following link. Forensic Psychology Degree Programs
See following links to check out a selection of schools, colleges and Universtites that offer forensic psychology related degree programs and training. Forensic Psychology Programs (USA) Forensic Psychology Degrees (UK) Go From The Forensic Psychology Back To The Home Page
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