Forensic Psychology Essay

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With all the chatter about crime shows and movies, Forensic Psychology has become a growing career for many interested scholars. To many, it seems exciting, fun, and a field that most of us would like to try. But, what exactly is forensic psychology? If you look up the definition, as explained by Kitaeff (2011), it will state that it is “the application of scientific and professional psychology to questions and issues relating to the law and the legal system” (p. 350). So how far back does Forensic Psychology date back? History states that it goes back as far as 1879, where in a laboratory in Leipzig Germany, a German psychologist, Wilhelm Wundt made his debut. Wundt was famous for crossing the science of psychology with biology. (Cherry, …show more content…

It is used for child custody cases, investigations leading to solving a case with the use of profiling, predictability, human behavior, to winning a court case with the knowledge of an expert witness, known as a Forensic Psychologist. Many cases have been brought to test in front of a jury, and have been proven that Forensic Psychology is an asset to solving and convicting criminal cases.
According to Kitaeff, (2011), there are three graduate training programs that offer doctoral degrees in forensic psychologist. These programs are Alliant International University in California, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, and the Nova Southeastern University. (p. 12). Many of these top scholars have dedicated many years of study to attained them the status of an accredited consulting expert in Psychology and an expert witness on the stand.
The role of a Forensic Psychologist takes many different paths. A Forensic Psychologist continues to keep abreast on the current and ever changing studies of the field. Secondly, a Forensic Psychologist is an expert witness on the stand. They have been accepted as such due to their years of expertise in the field. They are also used as Expert Therapists by conducting assessments on defendants to evaluate their ability to stand trial, and if they are

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