What is Forensic Psychology?

Founded principally in Europe during the latter part of the nineteenth century, forensic psychology emerged partly as a response to the reform of criminal justice procedures and partly from research being conducted into suggestibility which undermined confidence in witness credibility.[1] This coalesced with the professionalization of defense attorneys who used this new scientific knowledge as an effective means to defend their clients. Davies and Gudjonsson (2013) identify three protegees of Wilhelm Wundt as being among the first behavioral scientists to promote forensic psychology:

(1) Scherenck-Notzing in Germany (1896) was the first forensic psychologist to testify on the accuracy of recalled memory;

(2) James M. Cattell (1895) in the United States experimentally demonstrated the unreliability of memory for events from the recent past; and

(3) Hugo Munsterberg (1908), wrote the first book published in English on psychology and law, entitled On the Witness Stand.

Forensic psychology is distinguished from clinical psychology. Whereas clinical psychology commonly refers to a “psychological specialty that provides continuing and comprehensive mental and behavioral health care for individuals, couples, families, and groups[2]; forensic psychology refers to “the application of the science and profession of psychology to questions and issues relating to law and the legal system.”[3] According to the American Psychological Association (APA) forensic psychology can be defined as the professional practice by any psychologist working within any sub-discipline of psychology when applying the scientific, technical, or specialized knowledge of psychology to the law to assist in addressing legal matters.[4]

Areas of overlapping practice between forensic and clinical psychology include cases, for example, where a court orders a psychological assessment of a family whose parents will not agree on custody or visitation. In this context, both legal and clinical psychological questions arise. Therefore, the forensic psychology practitioner needs to have the requisite experience, training, and education in clinical psychology to assist the court in answering any clinical and legal questions under examination. Davies and Beech (2018) suggest three prerequisites to becoming a forensic psychology practitioner:

(1) a broad grounding psychological sciences, usually by a first degree in psychology (academic background);

(2) advanced study in forensic psychology (specialist knowledge acquired through postgraduate degree); and

(3) a period of supervision and training (professional practice).[5]

These prerequisites help establish competency to satisfy the ethical practice of forensic psychology. This is why the APA recommends forensic psychology practitioners keep abreast of developments in the fields of psychology and the law.[6]

References

[1] Wolffram, H. (2020). Forensic psychology in historical perspective. In Oxford research encyclopedia of psychology. Oxford University Press.

[2] American Psychological Association. (2022). Clinical Psychology. In American Psychological Association. https://www.apa.org/ed/graduate/specialize/clinical

[3] ABFP. (2021). What is Forensic Psychology? In American Board of Forensic Psychology. https://abfp.com/

[4] American Psychological Association. (2013). Specialty guidelines for forensic psychology. Author.

[5] Davies, G. M., & Beech, A. (Eds.). (2008). Forensic psychology: Crime, justice, law, interventions (3rd ed.). Wiley.

[6] American Psychological Association. (2013). Guideline 2.02: Gaining and maintaining competence. In Specialty guidelines for forensic psychology. Author