PSY513 Official Handouts

Forensic Psychology (PSY - 513) VU

Table of Contents

Lesson 1 Introduction to forensic psychology (I) Lesson 2 Introduction to forensic psychology (II) Lesson 3 Forensic psychology and police Lesson 4 Police Psychology (I) Lesson 5 Police psychology (II) Lesson 6 Investigative psychology (I) Lesson 7 Investigative psychology (II) Lesson 8 Psychology of violence Lesson 9 Psychoanalytic model and violence (I) Lesson 10 Psychoanalytic model and violence (II) Lesson 11 Jungian psychology and violence (I) Lesson 12 Jungian psychology and violence (II) Lesson 13 Behaviorist perspective and violence (I) Lesson 14 Behaviorist perspective and violence (II) Lesson 15 Behaviorist perspective and violence (III) Lesson 16 Social learning model and violence Lesson 17 Moral development and violence Lesson 18 Bio-psycho-social model Lesson 19 Islamic perspective about violence Lesson 20 Islamic model Lesson 21 Treatments for the soul Lesson 22 Criminogenic personality Lesson 23 Criminogenic personality and violence (I) Lesson 24 Criminogenic personality and violence (II) Lesson 25 Learning disabilities/mental retardation and violence Lesson 26 Assessment of personality disorders (I) Lesson 27 Assessment of personality disorders (II) Lesson 28 Risk assessment Lesson 29 Treatment of violent behavior / personality psychodynamic psychotherapy Lesson 30 Jungian therapeutic model Lesson 31 Group therapy for offenders Lesson 32 Psychotherapies in forensic settings (I) Lesson 33 Psychotherapies in forensic settings (II) Lesson 34 Psychotherapies in forensic settings (III) Lesson 35 Psychotherapies in forensic settings and special challenges Lesson 36 Forensic psychotherapy Lesson 37 Violence reduction program (I) Lesson 38 Violence reduction program (II) Lesson 39 Victim support (I) Lesson 40 Victim support (II) Lesson 41 Substance misuse treatment program (I) Lesson 42 Substance misuse treatment program (II) Lesson 43 Lesson 44 Counter terrorism Lesson 45 Summing up forensic psychology Lesson 01

INTRODUCTION TO FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGY

Objectives:

1. To introduce the field of Forensic Psychology. 2. To understand the nature of work of forensic psychologists. 3. To understand the breadth and diverse range of application of this discipline 4. Briefly overview the historical back ground of forensic psychology 5. How can you become a forensic psychologists

What is forensic psychology?

Forensic Psychology is devoted to psychological aspects of legal processes in courts. The term is also often used to refer to investigative and criminological psychology. The word “forensic” means legal; any thing that is pertinent to law comes into the area of forensic psychology. The range of application of forensic psychology is not merely limited to the criminals, it involves all matters that are relevant to our legal and civil systems like courts, police, lawyers, crime investigations, criminal behaviours, police recruitments, trainings and adjustment e.t.c.

Definitions:

Wrightsman

According to Wrightsman “Forensic Psychology is reflected by any application of psychological knowledge or methods to a task faced by the legal system”

Bartel & Bartel

Views Forensic psychology as both:

The research endeavor that examines aspects of human behavior directly related to the legal process e.g., eyewitness memory and testimony, jury decision making or criminal behavior and

The professional practice of psychology within or in consultation with a legal system that encompasses both criminal and civil law and the numerous areas where they interact.

Breadth of forensic psychology

Forensic psychology is a very new and exciting area; it seems exciting because of the immense range of its applications, For instance:

Child custody decisions Child abuse of an emotional, physical and sexual nature Matters of competency to stand trial Victim support responsibilities Jury selection Alleviating Police burnout Competency evaluations

Advising legislators on public policy Treatment of chronic offenders

What do forensic psychologists do?

A Forensic Psychologist is more likely to be indulged in following activities:

Applying psychological theory to criminal investigation

Understanding psychological problems associated with criminal behaviour

The treatment of criminals include piloting and implementing treatment programmes

Modifying offender behaviours

Responding to the changing needs of staff and prisoners

Reducing stress for staff and prisoners

Providing hard research evidence to support practice

Undertaking statistical analysis for prisoner profiling

Giving evidence in court; advising parole boards and mental health tribunals; crime analysis.

Brief historical back ground

Historically the legal system has embraced medical expertise, so it’s not really surprising, therefore, that legal issues relating to madness and insanity continue to be examined within a medical framework; hence the adoption of terms such as ‘disease’ of the mind and mental ‘illness’.

Historically, the field predates the Sociological jurisprudence movement of 1930-1950, and goes back at least to 1908 when Hugo Munsterberg (the founder of applied psychology) published the book On the Witness Stand.

Others cite historical benchmarks in Germany with the psychiatrist Albert von Schrenck-Notzing offering testimony in court about pretrial publicity as far back as 1896. German police employed psychologists to help them in investigations as early as 1920’s.

Hugo Münsterberg, a student of Wilhelm Wundt and a professor at Harvard University, is generally credited with founding the field of forensic psychology. His landmark textbook, On the Witness Stand (1908), comprised nine chapters arguing for the involvement of psychologists in a number of aspects of the legal system.

In the United States, the first psychological experiment on the psychology of testimony was conducted by J. McKeen Cattell of Columbia University. In American criminology, one can trace the origins of a clinical or psychological criminology to the psychiatrist William Healy, who in 1909, created the Juvenile Psychopathic Institute to assist the newly created juvenile court in Illinois, and his classic work is called Pathological Lying, Accusation, and Swindling.

The history of the insanity defense goes back to England, to the case of Daniel M' Naghten in 1843, who shot and killed the secretary of the prime minister, and the M' Naghten test for insanity was used for assessment.

Development as an APA division

In 2001 the American psychological Association (APA) approved the creation of a new division called the forensic psychology division. And now days Psychologists are routinely consulted by courts on various issues.

Now when as we add into the equation that the history of Forensic Psychology as a unique discipline is a relatively short one, it’s not difficult to understand why it has struggled to promote a clear identity for