Introduction to forensic psychology: foundational concepts

Psychology - Intro to Forensics Psych Discussion Post

Psychology has contributed to the legal system in a plethora of ways. This statement is particularly true when one considers the role that forensic psychology has played in determining certain aspects of the law and of legal procedures. Due to the fact that the very definition of the term forensic psychology explicitly indicates a relationship between the formal scientific field of psychology and the law (Huss, 2001), it is not surprising to note the role that forensic psychology -- and by extension psychology in general -- has played in affecting legal processes in most developed countries today.

Psychology has the potential to play a dominant role in the actual criminal trial of an individual who has been accused of a legal transgression. One of the most better known defenses against any sort of criminal accusation is the insanity plea, in which individuals are given significantly reduced sentences or even lesser charges due to the fact that they were not deemed mentally incompetent at the time that a crime was allegedly committed by them. Psychology, of course, is the principle means by which the legal system can determine whether or not such a plea is appropriate for the accused person.

The branch of psychology that explicitly deals with mental health and mental issues is clinical psychology (Huss, 2001). Thus, in this case, clinical psychology and criminal psychology meet at a sort of nexus when clinical psychologists engage in clinical psychological work to determine the mental state of a defendant. In fact, there are numerous points within the criminal trial process in which psychology is used to determine various aspects about the defendant's fate. Psychologists can be consulted prior to a defendant entering a plea, during the trial to see if the insanity plea applies, and even after the trial has been decided and before the sentence has been disseminated in order to gauge whether or not the defendant is likely to engage in similar behavior (Huss, 2001).

Despite the fact that the field of forensic psychology was formally recognized by the American Psychological Association (APA) as a "subset" in 2001 (Salfati, 2009), aspects of this science have influenced law enforcement long before that. One of the most salient ways it does so is in terms of interviewing people for certain positions -- whether they be formal positions such as an appointment to a law enforcement position or informal ones such as witness and eyewitness testimony.

Various branches of the law have been made cognizant of the fact that individuals who work within law enforcement have a very tenuous, difficult job. There is a significantly greater amount of work -- and psychology -- involved in working as a police officer. Therefore, within the past several years law enforcement officials have included personality tests as part of the testing for police officers (Salfati, 2009). Although these tests are far from the single determinant of whether an individual qualifies to become a police officer, they certainly impact who is selected. Personality tests, of course, are less related to forensic psychology and more so pertain to the field of psychology in general.