Definition of forensic Psychology History of forensic Psychology Forensic Psychology in court Subfields of forensic Psychology Difference in the function of forensic and clinical psychology Difference in forensic and clinical assessment Roles of forensic Psychology Ethical considerations

1. FORENSIC
PSYCHOLOGY

2. DEFINITION
• “forensic” meaning ‘legal’ or
‘judicial’, is derived from latin
word forensis, which literally
means ‘realting to the forum
or market’.
• Forensic Psychology is the
branch of psychology
concerned with the
production and application
of psychological knowledge
and principles within the
legal process.

3. History
• J. McKeen Cattell conducted some of the
earliest research on the psychology of
testimony. He posed a series of questions to
students at Columbia University, asking them
to provide a response and rate their degree of
confidence in their answer (1895).
• Cattell’s results indicated a surprising degree
of inaccuracy, which generated interest among
other psychologists who went on to conduct
experiments on eyewitness testimony.

4. • Inspired by Cattell's work, Alfred Binet
replicated Cattell’s research and studied the
results of other psychology experiments that
applied to law and criminal justice (Bartol,
2005). His work in intelligence testing was also
important to the development of forensic
psychology, as many future assessment tools
were based on his work.

5. • Psychologist William Stern also studied witness
recall. In one experiment, students were asked to
summarize a dispute they witnessed between
two classmates. Stern discovered that errors
were common among the witnesses, concluding
that emotions decrease the accuracy of witness
recall (Stern, 1939). Stern continued to study
issues surrounding testimony and later
established the first academic journal devoted to
applied psychology.

6. Forensic Psychology in Court:
• During this time, psychologists were also
beginning to act as expert witnesses in
criminal trials throughout Europe. In 1896, a
psychologist by the name of Albert von
Schrenck-Notzing testified at a murder trial
about the effects of suggestibility on witness
testimony (Bartol, 2005).

7. • Hugo Munsterberg's (refereed as 1st forensic
psychologist) ardent belief that psychology
had practical applications in everyday life also
contributed to the development of forensic
psychology.
• In 1908, Munsterberg published his book On
the Witness Stand, advocating the use of
psychology in legal matters. Despite his
contributions, Munsterberg was generally
disliked by many of his peers in psychology
and by much of the legal community.

8. • Stanford psychologist Lewis Terman began
applying psychology to law enforcement in
1916. After revising Binet’s intelligence test,
the new Stanford-Binet test was used to
assess the intelligence of job candidates for
law enforcement positions.
• In 1917, psychologist William Marston (a
student of Munsterberg) found that systolic
blood pressure had a strong correlation to
lying. This discovery would later lead to the
design of the modern polygraph detector.

9. • Marston testified in 1923 in the case of Frye
vs. United States. This case is significant
because it established the precedent for the
use of expert witnesses in courts. The Federal
Court of Appeals determined that a
procedure, technique, or assessment must be
generally accepted within its field in order to
be used as evidence.

10. Post-World War II Growth:
• Significant growth in American forensic
psychology did not happen until after World
War II. Psychologist served as expert
witnesses, but only in trials that weren’t
perceived as infringing on medical specialists,
who were seen as more credible witnesses. In
the 1940 case of the People vs. Hawthorne,
the courts ruled that the standard for expert
witnesses was in the extent of knowledge of a
subject, not in whether or not the witness had
a medical degree.

11. • Forensic psychology has continued to grow
and evolve during the past three decades.
Increasing numbers of graduate programs
offer dual degrees in psychology and law,
while other offer specialized degrees
emphasized forensic psychology.
• In 2001, the American Psychological
Association officially recognized forensic
psychology as a specialization within
psychology.

12. Subfields of Forensic Psychology
• Clinical-Forensic Psychology
Very similar to clinical psychology. Clients here are not only
suffering from some type of mental problem, but their issues
are of importance to legal decision making as well.
• Developmental Psychology
Deals w/ juveniles, the elderly, and the law. Focus on policy
making rather than treatment of those with mental problems.
• Social Psychology
Concerned with how jurors interact and arrive at a group
decision.
• Cognitive Psychology
Closely associated w/social psychology subfield, but looks
more into how people make decisions in legal cases.
• Criminal Investigative Psychology
Police psychology, criminal profiling and psychological
autopsies. Experts may choose to conduct research and/or
work closely in analyzing the minds of criminal suspects

13. Differences in the Functions of Forensic
Psychology and Clinical Psychology:
a. Forensic Interview
1. Goal: to obtain information
as reliable and accurate as
possible
2. Fact-finding focus – accurate
recollection of events
important
3. Objectivity, neutrality,
avoidance of biases
4. Court is the client
5. Interviews are formal and
restrictive
a. Clinical Interview
1. Goal: to assess and provide
treatment of symptoms
2. Therapeutic focus –
Attributions and perceptions of
events important
3. Empathy, therapeutic
alliance, support of Client
4. Child is the client
5. Interviewing strategies are
variable

14. a. Forensic Interview
6. Consent to obtain outside
information and disclose
information is obtained and
understood prior to
proceeding with the interview
7. Confidentiality restricted
8. Competency of client
questioned
9.Recorded
a. Clinical Interview
6. Client’s consent required to
seek external verification of
information and to provide
information to outside sources
7. Traditional confidentiality
8. Competency of client not
the primary concern
9. Private

15. Forensic assessment
Forensic assessment is used when a psychologist is
hired to answer a specific legal question (i.e.
competency, insanity, etc.).
Depending on the specific question, the
psychologist will conduct a clinical interview,
collateral interviews (e.g. with witnesses, family,
friends, attorneys, police officers, etc.) review
records (i.e. medical, psychological, criminal,
school, etc.), administer psychological tests, and
form an opinion to answer the legal question.

16. b. Difference in Forensic assessment
and Clinical assessment
When a client is referred for clinical assessment,
he or she is often posing their own questions
regarding treatment, diagnosis, progress, etc. In
forensic evaluations, the client can be court
ordered or referred by their attorney to assist in
their legal case. Therefore, forensic assessment
can often create an adversarial relationship
between the psychologist and client, as opposed
to a therapeutic one. Other differences include:

17. • A narrow focus to answer the specific legal
question
• A focus on the client's accurate portrayal of
information (rather than his or perspective)
• A lack of guidance or autonomy on behalf of
the client to answer his or her own questions
• The possibility of the client's distortion or
inaccurate portrayal of information

18. • The psychologist does not act in a therapeutic
or "helping" role, as the goal of the evaluation
is not to provide therapeutic feedback
• The setting of a forensic evaluation does not
always take place in a psychologist's office, but
can take place in a jail or other correctional
setting
• Can be limited by time restraints

19. Roles of a Forensic Psychology:
1. Competency to stand trial: Also known as
fitness to plead, which refers to the
defendant’s mental capacity to make a
proper defense i.e., to understand the legal
proceedings and the charges against him or
her.
2. Criminal responsibility: Also known as insanity
defense, which refers to the time of the alleged
offense and more specifically asks the question

20. whether the defendant had the mental capacity
to distinguish between right and wrong at the
time of the alleged offense and could control
his/her conduct accordingly.
3. Other defenses:
a) Intoxication by alcohol or other drugs,
because it is self-induced and temporary, is
seldom given complete guiltless/innocent effect.
The major exception is when the substance
abuse has been prolonged to a point where it
has produced a serious mental disorder.

21. b) Amnesia at the time of the offense is one of
the most common defenses heard in the
criminal court, especially concerning violent
crimes. It is also one of the most difficult
defenses to assess. It is not only difficult to
determine the weight that should be given to
the claimed amnesia, but also to distinguish
between genuine and stimulated amnesia.

22. c) Dissociative identity disorder formerly called
multiple personality disorder, is primarily
characterized by the presence of two or more
distinct personalities that in turn take control of
the person’s behaviour. However, the disorder is
highly controversial and sometimes called the
‘UFO of mental health’. Experts admit that it is
very difficult to distinguish between real cases
and malingering.

23. 4. Prediction of violent behaviour: To
determine the tendency for future
violence/crime. However, the role of the
mental health professional in violence
prediction is controversial.

24. 5. Sentence Mitigation: Even in situations where
the defendant's mental disorder does not meet
the criteria for a not guilty by reason of insanity
defense, the defendant's state of mind at the
time, as well as relevant past history of mental
disorder and psychological abuse can be used to
attempt a mitigation of sentence. The forensic
psychologist's evaluation and report is an
important element in presenting evidence for
sentence mitigation.

25. Ethical Considerations
1. Identification of the client:
a) The individual – via his/her lawyer
b) The guardian of the individual
c) The court which has ordered the evaluation
2. Informed consent or Disclosure: Regardless of
whether an informed consent or disclosure process
is used, the individual being evaluated should be
informed about:
a) The name or agency requesting the
evaluation and the intended recipient of the
product

26. b) Other professionals or
agencies who will have access
to the report
c) Limits of confidentiality and
the absence of privileged
communication
d) Non- Therapeutic nature of
the relationship
e) The psycho-legal or referral
question to be addressed in
the evaluation (e.g., mental
state at the time of offense)

27. f) The type of material that will be collected, and
the methods by which the information will be
obtained (e.g., interview, psychological tests)
g) The nature of the legal proceedings at which
the examiner may be required to testify (e.g.,
trial or sentencing)
h) The type of information which may require
mandatory reporting (e.g., child abuse)
i. Whether the examinee has a right to
decline participation in the evaluation and the
possible consequences for declining.

28. 3. Producing a forensic report without a clinical
interview: In some instances, an interview is not
possible because either the evaluee declines to
participate, or circumstances do not allow the
possibility of an interview.
In such cases, forensic psychologists can prepare a
report when there is sufficient collateral
information to formulate an opinion with a
reasonable degree of clinical certainty. Clearly
stating in their report the limitations that this
situation imposes.

29. 4. Confidentiality: In forensic arena,
psychologists are advised to assume non-
confidentiality as a general matter, and to
conduct evaluations accordingly. However
ethical standards require that the examinee
be informed, at the beginning, of the
absence of confidentiality.

30. 5) Presence of Lawyer during evaluation: In
cases where a court order specifies the presence
of the lawyer, or instances where a particular
lawyer wants to be present during the interview.
Another option would be observation of the
interview by the lawyer from a location which is
out of the visual field of the evaluee.

31. 6) Multicultural competence: Apart from
knowing the mainstream culture, psychologists
must learn and understand other cultures.
Especially in case of forensic evaluations, where
impartiality and the avoidance of undue bias are
critical, psychologists should actively pursue
multicultural learning on an ongoing basis.
Further psychologists must be aware of their
own biases, attitudes and beliefs and how they
can potentially influence their interpretations.

32. THANK YOU