Forensic Psychology Deals with Both Law and Psychology

Forensic (criminal) psychology is a job field that deals with both psychology and law. The field has experienced dramatic growth in recent years due to the role of popular movies, television programs and books popularizing the field. Often these individuals are depicted as vivid components in solving vicious crimes or timing out a criminal’s next home. While these depictions of certainly entertaining, yet these portrayals are not necessarily precise. Forensic psychologists play an instrumental role in the criminal justice system while applying psychological principles to the legal system. The crossover of the two spheres is best decided in the Encyclopedia of Psychology,

“Law and psychology are two separate disciplines, but have much in common. While psychology’s goal is to understand behavior and law’s goal to regulate it, both fields make assumptions about what causes people to act the way they do...”

Forensic psychology is one of the newest sections of psychology and has been recognized by the American Psychological Association (APA). Psychology is known as the science of mental processes and behavior. The term forensic means different scientific techniques and tests that correlate to a discovery of a crime. When combining the two together, forensic psychology can be defined as “The use of psychology in evaluating mental processes and behaviors within the application to several justice systems” (Bartol & Bartol).

Usually forensic psychology is defined as the intersection of psychology and the law. Yet, in many cases not all individuals working within criminological psychology are not necessarily "forensic psychologists." These individuals might actually be clinical psychologists, or adolescent psychologists, neurologists or psy...

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... psychologists assist with the development of the minors.

Forensic psychology is a continually adapting sphere. It is hard to have one solid definition for the field, as there are so many aspects that interlock. Within each attribute of the forensic psychology has roles and responsibilities to sustain. The rapid growth and emerging importance of this field volumes of information will be developed in the next decade.

Works Cited

American Psychological Association (APA)." Http://www.apa.org. N.p., n.d.

Bartol, Curt R., and Anne M. Bartol. Current Perspectives in Forensic Psychology and Criminal Behavior. Los Angeles, CA: Sage Publications, 2008. Print.

Elwork, Amiram. Psycholegal Assessment, Diagnosis, and Testimony. New York: Plenum, 1984. JSTOR.

Kazdin, Alan E. Encyclopedia of Psychology. Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association, 2000. .