FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGISTS
JOY MBAMALU
PSYCHOLOGICAL STUDY OF LAW
LEHMAN COLLEGE
The career in forensic psychology involves the application of the study of law in to criminal behavior. The forensic psychologists focus on why some people deviate from societal norms to become criminals and outlaws.
Forensic psychology is the node between psychology and justice system. The forensic psychologists deal with central rule of legal principles, mostly with regard to expert testimony and they define content area of concern, such as competence to stand trial, child custody and visitation, workplace discrimination, and other jurisdictional considerations (e.g., definition of insanity in criminal courts), for them to do all these, they must understand the rules philosophy and the standard of
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The number of fields or realms of their expertise in which they qualifies as experts adds to their experience and reputation. The neuropsychologists are always asked by the court to appear as skilled witness and discuss matters that involves brain and brain damage. They are asked questions that regards to legal system by the court and the response must be in the language the court understands. This is important because, they reformulate psychological findings into the legal language in the court room and provide information to legal personnel in a way to be understood.
Generally the forensic psychologists are appointed by the court to assess the defendant’s competence to stand trial, to evaluate what a criminal mindset and motive were at the time of the offense, and find out what treat if any the criminals will pose to the public in future. The presence of forensic psychologist are essential in the courts room for the job of evaluations, assessments, and testimonies which help inform the decision of the judges and
Psychologists have tried to understand the mind of criminals for as long as time. The mind of a criminal is a very difficult thing to comprehend because each criminal is different. Their minds think in different ways, they have different motives and they all have different backgrounds. No two cases are the same. Often times psychologist also have a challenging time figuring out why a person committed a crime, such as murder, is because the criminal will not be able to help them comprehend why they did the things they did. In the wrongdoers mind it seems completely rational but to a sane person it does not. One serial killer that many psychologists have found fascinating, is Theodore Bundy. Psychologist have studied the motives
Cognitive psychology is deeply rooted in our legal system and forms the element or standard of almost all crimes and civil misconduct. An understanding of psychology, in particular cognitive psychology, aids jurors, attorneys, defendants, prosecutors, and judges in the process of the legal system specially where adjudicating guilt or liability. In addition, cognitive psychology comes into play where the legal system relies on witness testimony when adjudicating a case.
Forensic anthropology is the study of bones in relation to a criminal investigation. Some have probably seen it used on television, but this is not an accurate portrayal of what this truly is. Many times, this area of forensic science is hidden from the public eye; people only get to see all of the glamorous parts. What they do not see is all of the hard work and effort that is put in to get the job correctly done. This career is a rare decision for someone to choose, because of the lack of opportunity for employment positions as well as the low income per year; however, it is an extremely fascinating occupation. Forensic anthropology has been known to help many organizations, including museums, and law enforcement agencies.
Forensic Psychology is a specialized practice by psychologists in areas of clinical psychology, counseling psychology, school psychology, and neuropsychology. You will be engaged regularly as an expert and primarily proposed to offer professional psychological expertise to the judicial system.
Brigham (1999) investigated the history of forensic psychology and how it is used and defined at
Costanzo, M., & Krauss, D. (2012). Forensic and Legal Psychology: Psychological Science Applied to Law. New York: Worth Publishers.
Costanzo, M., & Krauss, D. (2012). Forensic and legal psychology: Psychological science applied to law. New York, NY: Worth Publishers.
In the criminal justice system psychologist play several roles, but in the jury selection process they serve as a consultant. This essay will provide three instances of psychological concepts and illustrate how they are applied to the determination of juries. The essay will also address a common ethical obligation confronting psychologist in the areas of corrections, law enforcement, court systems, and academia.
The social need for Forensic Psychology arose from the need for expert testimony in a court of law. After Stern’s discoveries, psychologists began appearing more and more often in courts (Tartakovsky, 2011).
Most people, if asked would surely agree that being a police officer is not easy, but most probably do not realize that becoming one is just as difficult. During our field trip to the Warren County Police Department Major Bowles and officer Fields talked a little about the extensive process, similar to the process our textbook, Forensic Psychology describes, of being hired into the police department. After putting in their application and being selected to move forward in the program a future police officer must have a background check, complete a psychological screening, a polygraph test, several interviews, and a physical test. If they pass each of those they continue on to the police academy. In whole, the process takes over a year before
McGrath, Michael G. "Criminal Profiling: Is There a Role for the Forensic Psychiatrist?." Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law 28. (2000): 315-324. Web. 13 Apr 2011.
Forensic Psychology, which is occasionally referred to as Legal Psychology, originally made its debut in the late 1800’s. A Harvard Professor, Professor Munsterberg, introduced the idea of psychology and law with his book, On the Witness Stand in 1908. Since the inception of the idea of psychology and law there have been proponents, as well as though that have spoken against the theories proposed by Munsterberg’s, along with other scientists, theorists, and psychologists that believed that Forensic Psychology had no standing to be linked to topics of law. This literature review will attempt to identify scholarly articles that trace the origins and the movement that led to Forensics Psychology becoming a specialty within the field of psychology. I will also attempt to explain What is Forensic Psychology as well as the part it plays within the legal system.
The professional role of a forensic psychologist I am interested in is working as a prison psychologist. The reason it interests me is because prison psychologists are a big part in the function of today’s society. The prison psychologist play an important role in the rehabilitation with those who we would call the common criminal as well as working with criminals who are clinically insane. There are many roles that the prison psychologists do in the prison system such as treating all different criminals from murderers, sex offenders, violent offender and even those who have committed white collar crimes. The prison psychologist tend to work in many different types of facilities from maximum prisons, minimum security prisons, and mental health facilities that hold
In order to pursue my dream as a Forensic Psychologists I am aware that I have to put in a lot of effort and determination in to school. There are various aspects to pursuing my career such as getting good grades, volunteering in police departments, networking, and doing an immense amount of research on my field. The career I chose requires a lot of my time not only as a student but as an adult. What I mean by this is that from now on, my time is devoted in to acquiring skills and changing my persona in order to be better qualified for the my job. Throughout this road map I will talk about what is a Forensic Psychologist, what are the requirements, skills necessary, what I could do with this degree, the personality types that are best suited for this job, and what are the prospects of moving up.
Criminal psychologists are well-trained in the principles of human behavior, criminal psychologists will work very diligently with courts, attorneys, law enforcement agencies, and multiple other stakeholders that include civil and criminal cases. It is a particularly new field of work. They have also been serving as workers who are advisors to the courts for decades. They may also be consultants for defendants or victims of crime. During the trial sequence as an expert witness, they may also rehabilitate offenders that are already convicted of a crime. The field of expertise of a criminal psychologist is in forensics, applying psychological principles to the criminal justice system. A great deal of their occupied time is for carrying out evaluations of accused and alleged victims. A criminal psychologist could examine a defendant to determine their ability to stand trial. A criminal psychologist could also interview victims of crime to determine a timeline of events. Supplanting expert testimony is yet another primary field of work for criminal psychologists, as they work in civil, family, criminal, and military