Forensic psychology is the practice of psychology applied to the law. Forensic psychology is the application of scientific knowledge and methods to help answer legal questions arising in criminal, civil, contractual, or other judicial proceedings. Forensic psychology includes research on various psychology-law topics, such as jury selection, reducing systemic racism in criminal law, eyewitness testimony, evaluating competency to stand trial, or assessing military veterans for service-connected disability compensation. The American Psychological Association's Specialty Guidelines for Forensic Psychologists reference several psychology subdisciplines, such as social, clinical, experimental, counseling, and neuropsychology.
Criminal psychology, also referred to as criminological psychology, is the study of the views, thoughts, intentions, actions and reactions of criminals and suspects. It is a subfield of criminology and applied psychology.
Together, legal psychology and forensic psychology form the field more generally recognized as "psychology and law". Following earlier efforts by psychologists to address legal issues, psychology and law became a field of study in the 1960s as part of an effort to enhance justice, though that originating concern has lessened over time. The multidisciplinary American Psychological Association's Division 41, the American Psychology-Law Society, is active with the goal of promoting the contributions of psychology to the understanding of law and legal systems through research, as well as providing education to psychologists in legal issues and providing education to legal personnel on psychological issues. Further, its mandate is to inform the psychological and legal communities and the public at large of current research, educational, and service in the area of psychology and law. There are similar societies in Britain and Europe.
Forensic psychiatry is a subspeciality of psychiatry and is related to criminology. It encompasses the interface between law and psychiatry. According to the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, it is defined as "a subspecialty of psychiatry in which scientific and clinical expertise is applied in legal contexts involving civil, criminal, correctional, regulatory, or legislative matters, and in specialized clinical consultations in areas such as risk assessment or employment." A forensic psychiatrist provides services – such as determination of competency to stand trial – to a court of law to facilitate the adjudicative process and provide treatment, such as medications and psychotherapy, to criminals.
Zoosadism is pleasure derived from cruelty to animals. It is part of the Macdonald triad, a set of three behaviors that are considered a precursor to psychopathic behavior.
Park Elliot Dietz is a forensic psychiatrist who has consulted or testified in many of the highest profile US criminal cases, including spousal killer Betty Broderick, mass murderer Jared Lee Loughner, and serial killers Joel Rifkin, Arthur Shawcross, Jeffrey Dahmer, Ted Kaczynski, Richard Kuklinski, the D.C. sniper attacks, and William Bonin.
Gísli Hannes Guðjónsson, CBE is an Icelandic-British academic, educator, forensic psychologist and former detective. He is Emeritus Professor at the Institute of Psychiatry of King's College London and a Professor in the Psychology Department at Reykjavik University. Gísli is an internationally renowned authority on suggestibility and false confessions and is one of the world's leading experts on false memory syndrome.
Pathological lying, also known as mythomania and pseudologia fantastica, is a chronic behavior in which the person habitually or compulsively lies. These lies often serve no obvious purpose other than to paint oneself as a hero or victim, depending on the circumstance. Pathological lying has been defined as: "a persistent, pervasive, and often compulsive pattern of excessive lying behavior that leads to clinically significant impairment of functioning in social, occupational, or other areas; causes marked distress; poses a risk to the self or others; and occurs for longer than six months." Others have defined pathological lying as "falsification entirely disproportionate to any discernible end in view, may be extensive and very complicated, and may manifest over a period of years or even a lifetime."
Alan Abraham Stone was an American psychiatrist who was the Touroff-Glueck Professor of Law and Psychiatry (Emeritus) at the Harvard Law School. His writing and teaching has focused on professional medical ethics, issues at the intersection of law and psychiatry, and the topic of violence in both law and in psychiatry. Stone served as president of the American Psychiatric Association. He also served for a number of years as the film critic for the Boston Review.
Necrophilia, also known as necrophilism, necrolagnia, necrocoitus, necrochlesis, and thanatophilia, is sexual attraction or act involving corpses. It is classified as a paraphilia by the World Health Organization (WHO) in its International Classification of Diseases (ICD) diagnostic manual, as well as by the American Psychiatric Association in its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM).
Charles Patrick Ewing is a forensic psychologist, attorney, SUNY Distinguished Service Professor, and Professor of Law Emeritus at the University at Buffalo Law School. He was Vice Dean for Legal Skills from 2009 until 2012, and for Academic Affairs from 2012 to 2014. Ewing received his Ph.D. from Cornell University and his law degree with honors from Harvard University. Before joining the law faculty, he taught at Mansfield University, where he taught psychology, and at Brandeis University, where he taught legal studies. At SUNY, Ewing has taught criminal law, evidence, torts, juvenile law, forensic science, psychology, and psychiatry and the law.
David Philip Bernstein was professor of forensic psychotherapy at Maastricht University in the Netherlands, an endowed chair jointly sponsored by Forensic Psychiatric Center "de Rooyse Wissel". His work is also supported by the Expertise Center for Forensic Psychiatry (EFP). At Maastricht University, Bernstein leads the forensic psychology section, which is embedded within the department of clinical psychological science. Bernstein has served as President of the Association for Research on Personality Disorders, Vice President of the International Society for the Study of Personality Disorders and Vice President of the International Society for Schema Therapy.
Child and Adolescent Mental Health (CAMH) is a quarterly peer-reviewed medical journal published by Wiley-Blackwell in Britain on behalf of the Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health. The journal publishes peer-refereed child and adolescent mental health services research relevant to academics, clinicians and commissioners internationally. CAMH publishes reviews, original articles, and pilot reports of innovative approaches, interventions, clinical methods and service developments. The journal has regular sections on Measurement Issues, Innovations in Practice, Global Child Mental Health and Humanities.
Charles Arthur Mercier was a British psychiatrist and leading expert on forensic psychiatry and insanity.
The Journal of Forensic Psychiatry & Psychology is a bimonthly peer-reviewed medical journal covering forensic psychiatry and psychology. It was established in 1990 as the Journal of Forensic Psychiatry, obtaining its current name in 2003. The editor-in-chief is Jenny Shaw. According to the Journal Citation Reports, the journal had a 2018 impact factor of 0.942.
The International Journal of Law and Psychiatry is a bimonthly peer-reviewed medical journal covering forensic psychiatry. It was established in 1978 by Pergamon Press and is currently published by Elsevier on behalf of the International Academy of Law and Mental Health, of which it is the official journal. The editor-in-chief is David Weisstub. According to the Journal Citation Reports, the journal has a 2016 impact factor of 1.203.
Psychology, Crime & Law is a peer-reviewed academic journal covering forensic psychology. It was established in 1994 and is published 10 times per year by Taylor & Francis on behalf of the European Association of Psychology and Law, of which it is the official journal. The editor-in-chief is Theresa Gannon. According to the Journal Citation Reports, the journal has a 2017 impact factor of 1.598.
The Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the Australian Association of Family Therapy. The journal was established in 1979. It covers research related to family therapy, spanning subfields of psychology such as clinical psychology, therapy, counseling, and psychoanalysis.
Herschel Albert Prins (1928–2016) was a British professor of criminology. His career spanned over 60 years in work pertaining to forensic psychiatry, and his appointments included positions at the universities of Leeds, Loughborough, Leicester and Birmingham. His roles included HM probation inspectorate, parole board engagement, and involvement in mental health review tribunals and the mental health act commission. He worked with people with malicious activity, antisocial and disinhibited behaviour, unusual sexual deviations and people who behaved dangerously.
