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In recent years forensic psychology and related topics such as criminal profiling have been the subject of a whole host of books, films and television series. While this has undoubtedly raised the profile of forensic psychology, the subject has often been presented in a distorted, sensationalised and inaccurate way.

With this very much in mind, this article outlines what you need to be aware of in order to provide a satisfactory answer to the question, what is forensic psychology?

When my students arrived for their first lecture, I would always start by giving them 10 minutes to write down an answer to the question what is forensic psychology? Before reading on, why not quickly write down what you think forensic psychology is.

The reason I did this was because despite the fact that every single undergraduate psychology student (about 180 of them) chose to do the forensic psychology course, not one of them came to see me in advance to ask what the course was about. Now bear in mind students chose their optional courses well in advance of the start date, and in order to make an informed choice they were all strongly advised to speak to the lecturer running the courses they were interested in before making a final decision.

So why the no show?

I suspect, actually I know because I discussed it with the students afterwards, that they didn’t feel they had to find out what forensic psychology is, because they already had a preconceived idea.

I mentioned that at the start of the first lecture I would give students 10 minutes to write down an answer to the question what is forensic psychology. What I didn’t mention, however, is that after about 2 minutes I would ask for their attention and apologise for forgetting to tell them that they weren’t allowed to use the words serial killers or silence of the lambs in their answer. It was usually as this point that most of the writing in the lecture theatre stopped.

If you’re thinking I would have stopped writing as well, please contain your disappointment and don’t rush off just yet. The answer to the question, what is forensic psychology may not quite be what you thought, but that doesn’t mean that the subject has to be any less engaging.

The first thing to appreciate when addressing the question is that even psychologists in the field are divided as to what the answer is. The division of criminological and legal psychology within the British Psychological Society argued for twenty years as to whether their members should be entitled to call themselves Chartered Forensic Psychologists. It was finally agreed that they should, however, there still remains a great deal of debate and controversy surrounding the issue.

The central problem is that its members are drawn from a wide range of disciplines, so it is always difficult to state what the boundaries are when you talk of Forensic Psychology.

A fragmented discipline?

Psychologists in the prison/correctional services. Clinical psychologists in special hospitals & the psychiatric services. Educational psychologists. Occupational psychologists. Academics

Now while it is important to acknowledge that this fragmentation of role exists, it is just as important to realise that these different groups are linked to forensic psychology because their work, expert knowledge or research activity is somehow connected with the law.

This legal connection makes perfect sense when you consider that the word forensic comes from the Latin forensis, which literally means appertaining to the forum, specifically the imperial court of Rome. So in essence:

The debate as to what is and what isn’t forensic psychology rests primarily on the nature of psychology’s relationship with the legal system.

Let me give you an example, imagine 2 clinical psychologists meet at a conference and they begin talking about the work they do. The first psychologist tells the second that she recently gave expert testimony in court arguing that the defendant in a murder case was criminally insane; the judge and jury agreed and having been found guilty on the grounds of diminished responsibility the defendant was going to be sent to a secure psychiatric unit. Now there’s a coincidence the second psychologist says I work in the unit where they’re sending him, so I’ll be dealing and treating this guy when he arrives.

So here you have a situation where two psychologists are linked to the legal system by way of a legal decision and you could argue, therefore, that both deserve to be seen as engaging in Forensic Psychology. However, there’s a crucial difference.

The first psychologist actually helped inform the legal decision based on her psychological knowledge and expertise. The second psychologists’ involvement on the other hand arose as a consequence of a legal decision that she had no direct influence over.

My preferred forensic psychology definition acknowledges this key distinction, namely:

That branch of applied psychology which is concerned with the collection, examination and presentation of evidence for judicial purposes’ (Haward 1981).

If you adopt this definition you are stating categorically that Forensic Psychology relates to:

The provision of psychological information for the purpose of facilitating a legal decision (Blackburn 1996).

So in the case of our two psychologists, strictly speaking only the first can be said to be engaged in Forensic Psychology.

Not everybody would agree with this, because there is a school of thought that would claim that any activity that links psychology to the law deserves to be described as Forensic. I’m not going to try and convince you which is right, although I do have a strong opinion on the mater; the main thing is that you know that this debate exists.

Summary

In answering the question, what is forensic psychology we have discovered that:

In essence, forensic psychology refers to the application of psychology within a legal context.

The debate as to what is & what is not forensic psychology relates to the nature of this legal application & the level at which it is applied.

And this debate raises a number of questions that you need to think about. In particular:

The boundaries of forensic psychology?

The role of the forensic psychologist?

The credibility of forensic psychology.

To find out more about the fascinating world of forensic psychology visit www.all-about-forensic-psychology.com

Psychology is a very large area of study and there are constantly new advances being made with regards to solving the problems that many of us face. To let other psychologists see and understand the various new strides that have been made in their field of study there are large numbers of psychological journal articles that you can read.

These psychological journal articles can be found in the various journals and magazines that deal with psychology. Sometimes these journals will feature the work of famous psychologists. Reading these psychological journal articles will keep you up to date with all of the occurrences in the field of psychology. You will be able to see how other psychologists deal with situations that could be similar to what you are experiencing.

You will also be able to find information that could be helpful if you have to deal with a client who refuses to cooperate. The many psychological journal articles that can be found in the various issues of psychology magazines will give you lots of information. You can also find various psychological journal articles that have interesting theories that have yet to be verified.

Since these theories have not yet been completed you can use the time that you have free to research and see if these psychological journal articles can give you more accurate information. As these psychological theories in the various psychological journal articles have yet to be completed they will provide you with an understanding of how such theories are developed.

This type of information is vital for the new student of psychology. The data that can be found in the psychology journal articles can help the psychology student understand how their field of study is related with human behavior. The interactions that are displayed by people in various situations are generally documented and written in some of these psychology journal articles.

The main bulk of psychology journal articles deal with various issues that psychologists are interested in. It is to these that a novice psychologist should refer to when they are trying to figure out why certain people react the way that they do. While the information is not fully stated it will be possible for the psychology student to use these ideas as a springboard into developing their own theories about people.

As the wealth of information that is in these psychology journal articles increases so too does the understanding of humanity. These psychology journal articles just provide us with a small glimpse into the human psyche.

Carl Gustav Jung (Carl Jung) is one of the famous Swiss psychiatrists and well known as the founder of analytical psychology (also known as Jungian psychology). Born on 26th July, 1875, Carl Gustav Jung belonged to the family of pastor and became the first modern psychologist to state and explain that the human psyche and explore its in depth. He is one of the few renowned psychologists whose approach towards psychology has constantly influenced the different fields of psychology and counter-cultural movements all across the globe.

Childhood Days

Carl was the only son of Johannes Paul Achilles Jung and Emilie Preiswerk living in Kesswil, Switzerland. Carl’s eccentric and depressed mother lived separate from him for several months in the hospital due to unknown physical ailments. At the age of four, the family moved to Basel. Young Carl lived most of his life without his mother due to her psychological disease. His mother’s depressed mood influenced his attitude towards women at young age. Although Carl Jung had least interest in psychology, but his interest developed in this field only after he started studying psychiatric textbook.ItII It appeared very exciting and interesting to him. He instantly realized that this is a field he can make his career. In fact, it was the combination of both biology and spiritual facts, which became the most favorite subject for him.

Career as a Psychologist

In the year 1895, at the University of Basel, Jung studied about medicines. Later, in the year 1900 he worked in a psychiatric hospital of Zurich named Burgholzli. His dissertation titled ‘On the Psychology and Pathology of So-Called Occult Phenomenon’ was published in 1903. After three years, another book named ‘Studies in Word Association’ published. Later he sent an edition of this book to Sigmund Freud, after their friendship started and followed for next six years. In 1912 their friendship broke when Jung published ‘Wandlungen und Symbole der Libido’. This publication unfortunately raised a theoretical variance between Carl and Freud. For the period of First World War, Carl Jung was appointed as a doctor in army and soon he became commandant of an internment camp for British army.

Personal life

In 1903 Jung married to Emma Rauschenbach and five children, named as Gret, Franz, Marianne, Helene and Agathe. Their married life lasted until Emma’s death in 1955. Jung dedicated his life to his writings and psychological practice. After living truly as one of the great minds of psychology he had to give up his work in 1944 due to a severe heart attack. His career included the professorship of medical psychology at the University of Basel and the titular from 1933 until 1942. He founded the C. G. Jung Institute in Zurich in 1948. He was also honored with doctorates by many important universities all over the world. After serving his life as a famous psychologist he died in the Kusnacht on 6th June, 1961.