What is Forensic Psychology?

Forensic Psychology, is the study of Psychology concerning how individuals interact with the Criminal Justice System (CJS), either as witnesses, suspects, defendants, jury members etc. The discipline also covers investigative procedures, such as how witnesses can identify suspects, in a line up, without undue bias and influence etc. and how police and law-enforcement interview suspects (in detecting deception, and not influencing false admissions of guilt etc.), along with how defendants psychologically respond to the cross-examination methods that lawyers use etc. From a media perspective, in terms of TV shows and films, the role of Forensic Psychologists, is often that of identifying those who are criminally insane or have potentially dangerous personality disorders such Psychopathy and Anti-Social Personality Disorders (ASPD) etc.

From a practical self-defense perspective, it is worth both understanding the legal aspects of making a claim of self-defense and police investigative and interview methods, along with understanding the fallibility of human memory, and witness recollections i.e., it would be dangerous to base your claim of what happened, and that you were the one defending yourself, purely on the witness statements of those who saw your violent encounter. Witness testimony is now recognized as some thing that is so potentially unreliable that most Criminal Justice Systems will not allow a case to be brought to trial where the prosecution’s case relies solely on witnesses, without the support of other evidence. It is also important to understand how police interview methods and techniques can lead to self-incrimination, as our ability to make assumptions and fill in gaps when presented with information can see us acknowledging information that wasn’t presented to us – this is why it is important to always have an attorney present – who is aware of these tactics – when you are interviewed by law-enforcement. Claiming your right to remain silent, used to not signal innocence or guilt, however that is no longer the case.

Forensic Psychology has a long history. In 1256 AD an English Judge, Henry de Bracton developed what he termed a “Wild Beast Test”, for determining who was essentially criminally insane, and so could not be deemed morally responsible for their offenses. However, modern Forensic Psychology, was born out of the Forensic Sciences, such as Forensic Pathology, which studies death and/or injury due to violence, and Forensic Odontology (a branch of dentistry), which looks at the identification of individuals through dental records etc., and through the examination of bite marks etc. One of the first pieces of research concerning Forensic Psychology, was conducted by James McKeen Cattel (Columbia University) in1895, when he tested students using a series of “memory questions” that replicated the form of questioning that lawyers used when interacting with witnesses in legal settings. The first use of Forensic Psychology in a court room setting was in 1896, where psychologist Albert von Schrenck-Notzig, testified as an expert in a Munich Homicide trial, arguing that the pre-trial publicity had caused the witnesses to confuse what they read about the upcoming trial with what they’d actually seen. Something he termed, “Retroactive Memory Falsification”. However, it wasn’t till the 1950’s in the US, that Forensic Psychologist’s testimony started to gain traction in the court room.

One of the first, notable cases of the use of Psychology in the court room, which led to an acceptance of Psychology as trustable, scientific, evidence was Brown v. Board of Education (Kansas, 1954), where research showing the effect of segregation on black children was used to successfully demonstrate that segregation resulted in feelings of inferiority and self-hatred etc. the ruling in the case effectively ended legal segregation in schools. This break through case showed the significance of using psychological evidence in a legal-setting and the use/study of psychology within the Criminal Justice System (CJS) started to become more prevalent, with research showing how police line ups and identification were seriously flawed and unscientific – in the UK this ultimately led to the creation of a system called VIPER, where faces are shown individually to witnesses rather than next to each other, which can result in a comparison of faces and likeness, rather than a straight forward identification etc.

There are aspects of Forensic Psychology within Criminology and having a good understanding of both disciplines can help us get a better understanding of violence.