Historia de la psicología forense

1. HISTORY OF FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGY
History of Forensic Psychology
Michelle A. Crawford
FPSY 6101 - Introduction to Forensic Psychology
Walden University
September 7, 2014
Dr. Robert Meyer, Jr.
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2. HISTORY OF FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGY
Abstract
There are many events throughout history which are historical benchmarks in Forensic
Psychology. Included in this paper, however, we will discuss just two of those historical
benchmarks. The first event we will discuss is the introduction of psychologist William
Marston into the field of Forensic Psychology. We will discuss his many contributions to
the field of Forensic Psychology and his many personal accomplishments. The second
event we will discuss is the first recorded example of a psychologist, Albert Von
Schrenck-Notzing, testifying as an expert witness in the trial of a man accused of
murdering three women in 1896. Once we have explored both of these events, we will
explain how each of them has contributed to the evolving field of forensic psychology.
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History of Forensic Psychology
Although there are no specific dates available, some of the first references related
to the criminally insane can be located within original Roman law. This Roman law
maintained that insanity was a punishment in itself and thereby, the law highly advocated
for the use of leniency against the criminally insane (All-about-forensic-psychology.com,
2014). The more recent history of Forensic Psychology began back in 1893 when J.
McKeen Cattell, of Columbia University, conducted the first psychological experiment
on the psychology of testimony (Bartol & Bartol, 2012). A multitude of historical events
in the field of Forensic Psychology have transpired since then, but one of the most recent
memorable events occurred in 2001, when Forensic Psychology was recognized as a
specialty by The American Psychological Association (Bartol & Bartol, 2012). This
status was reaffirmed by the APA in 2008.
The first specific aspect of Forensic Psychology that we will discuss is the
introduction of psychologist William Marston into the field of Forensic Psychology.
William Moulton Marston was an American psychologist, inventor, and comic book
writer who wrote under the pen name Charles Moulton and created the famous comic
book heroine Wonder Woman (Bunn, 1997). William Marston lived with two women in
a polyamorous relationship, his wife, Elizabeth Holloway Marston, and his former
student, Olive Byrne (Bunn, 1997). Marston received a B.A. in 1915, an L.L.B. in 1918,
and a Ph.D. in 1921, all from Harvard University before he became the first person to
receive a faculty appointment as professor of legal psychology at American University in
1922 (Bartol & Bartol, 1999). In 1917, while working at Radcliffe University as a
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laboratory assistant in psychology, Marston discovered “a significant correlation between
systolic blood pressure and lying, which became the basis of the modern polygraph”
(Bartol & Bartol, 1999, p. 11). Later, in 1923, Marston “set the original standard for
acceptance of expert testimony in federal courts” (Bartol & Bartol, 1999, p. 11) when he
testified as a psychologist in the historic case of Frye v. US (Bartol & Bartol, 1999). In
the Frye case, unfortunately, the defense was unsuccessful in an attempt to introduce
Marston’s expert testimony claiming the innocence of the defendant on the basis of his
systolic blood pressure test, one component of what is now known as the modern
polygraph, invented by John Augustus Larson (National Research Council of the
National Academies, 2003).
Continuous work in the advancement of lie detection was not Marston’s only major
contribution to the forensic area of psychology. William Marston was considered one of
the first consultants of forensic psychology in the United States to be utilized by the
criminal justice system as an expert witness in trials (Bartol & Bartol, 1999). In fact, it is
reported that his critical evidence was a deciding factor in the acquittals of several
individuals who were being tried for murder. In 1924, using simulated jury conditions
with volunteers, Marston embarked on the first research of a serious nature into the jury
system (Bartol & Bartol, 1999). In a series of studies on the jury system, Marston found
that, “written evidence was superior to oral evidence; free narration, though less
complete, was more accurate than cross-examination or direct questioning; a witness’s
caution in answering was a good indicator of accuracy; and female jurors considered
evidence more carefully than male jurors” (Bartol & Bartol, 1999, p. 12). Over his
lifetime, Marston wrote a total of nine books, twenty journal articles, and three articles in
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5. HISTORY OF FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGY
the 1929 edition of Encyclopedia Britannica (National Research Council of the National
Academies, 2003). One of his most popular works was Emotions of Normal People, a
book he wrote in 1928, which went into great detail about what he called the DISC
Theory (Bunn, 1997). The main components of this theory were:
• Dominance produces activity in an antagonistic environment
• Inducement produces activity in a favorable environment
• Submission produces passivity in a favorable environment
• Compliance produces passivity in an antagonistic environment. (Bunn, 1997)
Marston later went on to write for several popular magazines such as Esquire, Family
Circle, and Look (National Research Council of the National Academies, 2003). He then
went on to star an advertisement for razor blades which appeared in many popular
magazines such as Life and the Saturday Evening Post (National Research Council of the
National Academies, 2003). Finally, Marston went on to work at D.C. Comics, where he
invented the super heroine we know as Wonder Woman, who first appeared in comics in
1941 (National Research Council of the National Academies, 2003). Sadly, William
Moulton Marston died in Rye, New York, on May 2, 1947, of skin cancer, at the young
age of 53.
The second specific aspect of Forensic Psychology that we will discuss is the first
recorded example of a psychologist, Albert Von Schrenck-Notzing, testifying as an
expert witness in the trial of a man accused of murdering three women in 1896. Albert
Von Schrenck-Notzing was a German physician, psychiatrist, and well-known psychic
researcher and sexologist (Tymn, 2011). Von Schrenck-Notzing devoted a large amount
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of his time to studying the paranormal subjects of telepathy, being a medium, and
hypnotism (Tymn, 2011). In 1896, Albert Von Schrenck-Notzing claimed to be the first
psychiatrist to offer expert testimony in a trial in Munich, Germany. The trial was that of
a man who had been accused of murdering three women and, apparently, Von Schrenck-
Notzing used, “psychological research about the conditions that can make testimony
inaccurate to assist the court in making its decision” (Walker & Shapiro, 2003, p. 3). His
testimony, “dealt with pretrial publicity and the impact it might have on a person’s later
memories” (Walker & Shapiro, 2003, p. 3), specifically that pretrial coverage of a case by
newspapers and media “clouds the minds of witnesses memories due to their inability to
separate their own original accounts from the press reports” (Farhat, n.d., ¶ 4). Von
Schrenck-Notzing supported his opinion using psychological research (Farhat, n.d.).
Each of these events has contributed to the evolving field of forensic psychology in
different ways. The arrival of William Moulton Marston in the field of forensic
psychology brought us the introduction of legal psychology at the university level and the
discovery of the correlation between systolic blood pressure and lying, which is one of
the main components of the modern day polygraph. Marston also “set the original
standard for acceptance of expert testimony in federal courts” (Bartol & Bartol, 1999, p.
11) when he testified as a psychologist in the historic case of Frye v. US (Bartol &
Bartol, 1999). William Marston was also considered one of the first consultants of
forensic psychology in the United States to be utilized by the criminal justice system as
an expert witness in trials (Bartol & Bartol, 1999). In 1924, using simulated jury
conditions with volunteers, Marston embarked on the first research of a serious nature
into the jury system (Bartol & Bartol, 1999) which led to the advancement of the jury
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system in modern times. Marston went on to write a total of nine books, twenty journal
articles, and three articles in the 1929 edition of Encyclopedia Britannica (National
Research Council of the National Academies, 2003), including a book that greatly
expanded on the DISC Theory. Lastly, before his death, William Moulton Marston
graced us with the presence of the DC Comics heroine, Wonder Woman, which has gone
on to entertain children for generations.
As his contribution to the evolving field of forensic psychology, Albert Von
Schrenck-Notzing became the first recorded example of a psychologist to testify as an
expert witness in the trial of a man accused of murdering three women in 1896. Von
Schrenck-Notzing used, “psychological research about the conditions that can make
testimony inaccurate to assist the court in making its decision” (Walker & Shapiro, 2003,
p. 3). His testimony, “dealt with pretrial publicity and the impact it might have on a
person’s later memories” (Walker & Shapiro, 2003, p. 3), specifically that pretrial
coverage of a case by newspapers and media “clouds the minds of witnesses memories
due to their inability to separate their own original accounts from the press reports”
(Farhat, n.d., ¶ 4). His contributions led to greater involvement and acceptance of
psychological testimony in trials where serious crimes have been committed and the
testimony of trained psychologists can make a difference to both the prosecution and
defense.
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References
All-about-forensic-psychology.com,. (2014). The History of Forensic Psychology Part
One. Retrieved 7 September 2014, from http://www.all-about-forensic-
psychology.com/history-of-forensic-psychology-part-one.html
Bartol, C., & Bartol, A. (1999). The History of Forensic Psychology. In A. Hess & I.
Weiner, The Handbook of Forensic Psychology (1st ed., pp. 3-34). New York:
John Wiley. Retrieved 7 September 2014, from
http://media.johnwiley.com.au/product_data/excerpt/19/11183484/1118348419-
4.pdf
Bartol, C.R., & Bartol, A.M. (2012). Introduction to Forensic Psychology: Research and
Application (Laureate Education, Inc., custom ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage
Publications, Inc.
Bunn, G. (1997). The lie detector, Wonder Woman and liberty: the life and work of
William Moulton Marston. History Of The Human Sciences, 10(1), 91-119.
doi:10.1177/095269519701000105. Retrieved 7 September 2014, from
http://comicsstudies.pbworks.com/w/file/fetch/52420066/bunn.pdf
Farhat, F. Nature of Testimony | History of Forensic Psychology.
Historyforensicpsych.umwblogs.org. Retrieved 7 September 2014, from
http://historyforensicpsych.umwblogs.org/nature-of-testimony/
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National Research Council of the National Academies,. (2003). The Polygraph and Lie
Detection (Appendix E, Historical Notes on the Modern Polygraph, pp. 291-297).
Washington, D.C.: The National Academies Press. Retrieved 7 September 2014,
from http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=10420&page=291
Tymn, M. (2011). Biography of Baron Albert von Schrenck-Notzing (1862-1929).
Academy for Spiritual and Consciousness Studies, Inc.. Retrieved 7 September
2014, from
http://www.ascsi.org/ASCS/Library/LegacyRoom/Biographies/Schrenck_A.pdf
Walker, L., & Shapiro, D. (2003). Introduction to Forensic Psychology (1st ed.). Boston,
MA: Springer US.
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10. HISTORY OF FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGY
National Research Council of the National Academies,. (2003). The Polygraph and Lie
Detection (Appendix E, Historical Notes on the Modern Polygraph, pp. 291-297).
Washington, D.C.: The National Academies Press. Retrieved 7 September 2014,
from http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=10420&page=291
Tymn, M. (2011). Biography of Baron Albert von Schrenck-Notzing (1862-1929).
Academy for Spiritual and Consciousness Studies, Inc.. Retrieved 7 September
2014, from
http://www.ascsi.org/ASCS/Library/LegacyRoom/Biographies/Schrenck_A.pdf
Walker, L., & Shapiro, D. (2003). Introduction to Forensic Psychology (1st ed.). Boston,
MA: Springer US.
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