SUBJECT FORENSIC SCIENCE

Paper No. and Title PAPER No.15: Forensic Psychology

Module No. and Title MODULE No.1: Forensic Psychology: Introduction

Module Tag FSC_P15_M1

FORENSIC SCIENCE PAPER No.15: Forensic Psychology

MODULE No. 1: Forensic Psychology: Introduction
 TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Learning Outcomes
2. Introduction to Forensic Psychology
3. History and Development of Forensic Psychology
4. Role of a Forensic Psychologist
5. Scope and Significance
5.1 Malingering
5.2 Competency Evaluations
5.3 Insanity Evaluations
5.4 Sentence Mitigation
5.5 Other Evaluations
6. Ethics of Forensic Psychology
7. Summary

FORENSIC SCIENCE PAPER No.15: Forensic Psychology

MODULE No. 1: Forensic Psychology: Introduction
 1. Learning Outcomes

After studying this module, you shall be able to know about,

 The definition of Forensic Psychology

 The origin of and growth of Forensic Psychology
 The role of a Forensic Psychologist in any legal proceedings
 The scope and significance of this branch of Forensic Science
 The ethics to be followed in Forensic Psychology

2. Introduction to Forensic Psychology

Forensic Psychology is the application of the methods, theories, and concepts of
psychology to the legal system. Forensic psychologists may serve as expert witnesses,
carry out competence evaluations, and otherwise assist litigations and fact finders.
Forensic psychology is a specialized area. Psychological reports often play an important
role in determining what happens to a client in the criminal and civil justice systems,
whether through trial, sentencing, compensation, or release plans from prison. However,
much of the work of the forensic psychologist relates to specific populations, e.g., sexual
offenders, violent offenders, drug and alcohol related crime, child custody work, about
which they should be informed. For example, it is difficult to make sanctions for
sentencing for a sexual offender without being cognizant of the literature on the risk of
re-offending.

Forensic Psychology is in fact the juncture between psychology and the criminal justice
system. It comprises of understanding the fundamental legal principles, mainly with
respect to expert witness testimony and the particular content area of concern like
competence to stand trial. A vital part of forensic psychology is the capacity to give
evidence in court as an expert witness, reforming psychological outcomes into the legal
language of the courtroom, giving information to legal persons in a manner that can be
understood.

The domain of criminology is enormous, comprising any field or practice that overlaps
with the scientific study of crime and criminality.

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MODULE No. 1: Forensic Psychology: Introduction
 Criminology is therefore a field of study that is composed of and informed by a
combination of sub-disciplines. Even though, criminology is a behavioural science as
well as an applied science, it is also a highly synthetic science and not at all an exact
science like physics and mathematics. It receives it contributions from experts in such
disciplines as Biology, Anthropology, Physiology, Medicine, Psychiatry, Psychology,
Social Administration, Sociology, Economics, Law, Political Science, and Penology and
Corrections. Psychology itself has many has many subdivisions. Undoubtedly, the most
attractive is Forensic Psychology.

3. History and Development of Forensic Psychology

An American, James McKeen Cattell is considered to have started the work in the field of
forensic psychology. He conducted his early studies in 1893 at Columbia University.
Cattell’s research ignited the interests of other psychologists. Cattell conducted his
informal and preliminary study, it was reasonably well established that eyewitness
accounts of events were unreliable and incomplete. Cattell himself was surprised at both
the degree of inaccuracy he discovered and the wide range of individual differences in the
levels of confidence expressed by the students. Cattell’s study probably was the genesis
of modern forensic psychology. Joseph Jastrow replicated Cattell’s experiment at the
University of Wisconsin and obtained similar results.

Most significant for the historical development of forensic psychology was the apparent
fascination of Cattell’s experiment and Binet’s work held for William Stern, who had
received his doctorate in psychology at the University of Berlin under the tutelage of
Hermann Ebbinghaus. In 1901, Stern collaborated with the criminologist F V Liszt in an
attempt to advance realism to the Cattell design. In 1901, William Stern teamed up with a
criminologist on an exciting research that additionally displayed the level of
impreciseness in eyewitness accounts. Based on his research, Stern made a variety of
conclusions, including: suggestive questions could compromise the accuracy of
eyewitness reports; major dissimilarities between adult and child eyewitnesses and the
happenings that ensue between the new event and its recollection can intensely affect
memory.

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MODULE No. 1: Forensic Psychology: Introduction
 Stern also established and edited the first journal on the psychology of testimony-
Betrage zur Psychologie der Aussage (Contributions to the Psychology of Testimony),
which was published in Leipzig. The journal was superseded in 1907 by the much
broader Zeitschrift für Angewande Psychologie (Journal of Applied Psychology), edited
by Stern and his associate Otto Lipmann.

In the meantime psychologists also started testifying in court as expert witnesses. The
first example of this was in Germany. In 1896, Albert von Schrenck-Notzing had given
view evidence in the trial of a man suspect of assassinating three women. The case
acknowledged a lot of press coverage. According to Schrenck- Notzing, ‘the shocking
pretrial anxious witnesses’ memories because they were unable to separate their own
original accounts with the press reports. He substantiated his opinion with psychological
research. In 1906, a defense attorney asked German psychologist Hugo Munsterberg to
evaluate his imprisoned client’s inquiry and trial records. The client had confessed to
murder but then denied. Munsterberg assumed that the man, who was psychologically
incapacitated, was perhaps not guilty, and he was cynical about how the confession was
obtained. Unfortunately, the judge rejected to analyze the case and the man was executed.
This was one of the proceedings that provoked Munsterberg to publish On the Witness
Stand in 1908. In it, he clarified that psychology was significant in the courtroom, how
proposal could generate false retentions and why eyewitness testimony was considered
untrustworthy.

Some other interesting events also contributed a lot to forensic psychology’s

development. For example, in 1917, Lewis Terman was the first psychologist to use
mental tests to screen police offers. Later, psychologists used personality evaluations for
screening. In 1922, William Marston, a student of Munsterberg’s, was appointed the first
professor of legal psychology at American University. He revealed a connection between
dishonest and an individual’s blood pressure, which would become the base for the
Polygraph. During 1940s and 1950s, psychologists began regularly testifying in courts
as experts on a range of psychological topics. In the early 20th century, psychologists
tested prisoners for “feeblemindedness,” which was believed to lead to a lifetime of
criminal behavior. For the duration of this time, psychologists also worked on classifying
prisoners. In the 1970s, a psychologist identified 10 types of inmates, categories that were
used to assign prisoners to jobs, programs and other placements.

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MODULE No. 1: Forensic Psychology: Introduction
 4. Role of a Forensic Psychologist
Forensic psychologists carry a wide variety of responsibilities in the criminal justice
system. Generally, a forensic psychologist is designated as an expert in a particular area
of expertise. The number of areas of expertise in which a forensic psychologist qualifies
as an expert increases with experience and reputation. Forensic Neuropsychologists are
usually asked to look as expert witnesses in court to converse cases that comprise
subjects with the brain or brain injury. They may also deal with subjects of whether an
individual is lawfully capable to face trial.

Questions enquired by the court of a forensic psychologist are usually not questions
concerning psychology but are legal inquiries and the reaction must be in language the
court understands. For instance, a forensic psychologist is often selected by the court to
assess a defendant's competence to stand trial. The court also regularly appoints a
forensic psychologist to evaluate the state of mind of the respondent at the time of the
offense. This is said to an assessment of the defendant's sanity or insanity (which relates
to criminal responsibility) at the time of the crime. These are not mainly psychological
questions but slightly legal ones. Thus, a forensic psychologist should be able to decipher
mental information into a lawful structure. Forensic psychologists may be entitled to
make available pass judgment references, treatment references or any other facts the
judge desires, such as information regarding mitigating factors, assessment of future risk
and evaluation of witness credibility.

The roles of forensic psychologists in these contexts can be broad and varied. At a micro
level, their work can involve conducting and reporting the results of psychological
assessments or conducting case-specific research, both with the intent of providing case-
relevant knowledge to the legal decision maker that it would not otherwise have, so that
more informed and better decisions are made.

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 At the other end of the spectrum at the macro level, psychologists can help policy
makers, legislators, and decision makers better understand the need for or potential
impact of proposed legislation or the legal system and its operation.

5. Scope and Significance of Forensic Psychology

Forensic psychology works complimentary with the legal system in evaluating an
individual's capability to face trial, defenses grounded on psychological diseases or
deficiencies (e.g., insanity) and sentencing recommendations. There are two main areas
of criminal assessments in forensic psychology. These are Capability to Stand Trial
(CST) and Mental State at the Time of the Offence (MSO).

Though, according to R J Gregory in Psychological Testing: History, Principles, and

Application, the scope of forensic psychology in the court system is eight-fold:

 Evaluation of possible Malingering

 Assessment of psychological state for irrationality plea
 Competence to face trial
 Prediction of viciousness and valuation of risk
 Evaluation of child custody in divorce
 Assessment of individual injury
 Interpretation of polygraph data
 Specialized forensic personality valuation

5.1 Malingering

A prevailing subject in any kind of forensic evaluation is the subject of malingering and
deception. Subject may deliberately overstress or simulate mental disorder symptoms.
The forensic psychologist must always keep this possibility in mind. If the forensic
psychologist has the chance to witness the subject across time and in different settings,
the likelihood that he or she will notice dishonesty likely increases as usually have
trouble upholding false symptoms consistently over time and across situations. In some
criminal cases, the court opinions malingering or pretending illness as obstacle of justice
and sentences the defendant accordingly.

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 On the other hand, malingering or feigning illness during a competency evaluation could
be considered as obstacle of justice and led to an enhanced sentence. Malingering is a
clinical issue that is central to most criminal forensic evaluations. However, it is not
included in any legal standard. Thus, an instrument measuring malingering would be
forensically relevant instrument, but not a forensic assessment instrument.

5.2 Competency Evaluations

Psychologists involved in forensic assessment and consultation are likely to have more
experience with competency evaluations than those of criminal responsibility. If there is a
query of the accuser’s capability to face trial, a forensic psychologist is selected by the
court to inspect and assess the individual. The person may be in custody or may have
been free on bail. Based on the forensic valuation, a recommendation is done to the court
whether or not the defendant is capable to continue to trial. If the defendant is considered
incompetent to proceed, the report or testimony will include recommendations for the
interim period during which an attempt at restoring the individual's competency to
understand the court and legal proceedings, as well as participate appropriately in their
defense will be made. Often, on the assistance of a forensic psychologist, to a psychiatric
treatment facility may be provided for such time period as the person is believed
competent.

5.3 Insanity Evaluations

Forensic psychology gives the Court an opinion as to whether a perpetrator was able to
know what he/she was doing at the time of the crime. The forensic psychologist may also
be selected by the court to assess the defendant's condition of mind at the time of the
crime. In other situations, the defense lawyer may decide to have the defendant plead not
guilty by cause of insanity. In this case, generally the court employs forensic inspectors
and the defense may appoint their own forensic expert. In real exercise, this is
infrequently a plea in a trial. A plea for insanity is really used in only 1 in 1000 cases.
However, much of forensic psychologists are guided by significant Court rulings or laws
that bear on this area which include the following three standards:

 Mc Naughten Rule: When the offender, because of a flaw of reason or disease of

the mind, does not aware with the nature and quality of the act, or, if he does, does
not know that the act is incorrect, he did no wrong.

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 Precisely it says that a defendant is not guilty if the crime, of which he is accused, is
the product or result of a mental disease.

 Durham Rule: An accused is not criminally responsible if his unlawful act was the
product of mental disease of mental defect. An act is the product of a disease if it
would not have occurred except for the disease or defect.

 ALI Test: It is a test established by the Model Penal Code which provides that a
defendant would not be criminally responsible for conduct if as a result of mental
disease or defect or he lacked substantial capacity either to appreciate the
wrongfulness of his conduct or to follow his conduct to the necessities of law.

5.4 Sentence Mitigation

Even in circumstances where the perpetrator's mental disorder does not encounter the
criteria for a not- guilty by cause of insanity protection, 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 assessment and
report is a significant component in giving evidence for verdict mitigation. Precisely, the
court stated that such analysis must comprise associates of the defendant's instantaneous
and prolonged family, medical history, and family and social history including physical
and mental abuse, domestic violence, experience to traumatic events and criminal
violence.

5.5 Other Evaluations

Forensic psychology frequently deals with the questions involving the evaluation of a
person's acuteness or risk of re-offending. Forensic psychologists may make available
information and references essential for sentencing resolutions, allowances of trial, and
the preparation of circumstances of parole, which often involves an assessment of the
offender's ability to be rehabilitated.

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 6. Ethics in Forensic Psychology
A forensic psychologist usually performs in the limitations of the courtroom,
incarceration facilities and other legal setting. It is significant to recall that the forensic
psychologist is equally expected to be affirming for the prosecution as for the security
attorney. The ethical values for a forensic psychologist vary from those of a medical
psychologist or other working psychologist since the forensic psychologist is not an
advocate for the client and nothing the client says is guaranteed to be kept confidential.

All psychologists are guided by the Moral Principles and Code of Conduct, published by
the American Psychological Association and recently revised in 2002. The ethical
exercise of forensic psychology is also told by the Specialty Guidelines for Forensic
Psychologists published in 1991. Psychologists practicing forensic psychology can use
these two documents to help explain ethical queries. Nevertheless, the likelihood of
ethical dilemmas should be a constant concern for forensic psychologists. The actual
nature of the training of psychology in the legal arena can lead to ethical conflicts.

As with the profession of psychology, the legal professional also required to stick to to
ethical standards. The ethical morals for the practice of law can at times be in direct
conflict with the ethical practice of forensic psychology. Lawyers must be their
customer’s advocate and are expected to zealously represent their client, but a
psychologist should not coach the subject how to answer psychological test questions.
Besides this, there are important differences between the ethical practice of forensic
psychology and the ethical practice of clinical psychology.

Weissman and DeBow provided a comprehensive list of impediments to the ethical

practice of psychology. This list includes the following obstacles:

 Ignorance of specialized psycho-legal knowledge.

 Lack of specialized forensic training.
 Assuming that the lawyer will provide the expert with the necessary legal, ethical,
and professional information.
 Assuming that different jurisdictions are similar in laws and how the laws are
implemented.
 Not appreciating the different levels for the burden of proof between the disciplines
and within the legal system.

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  Failure to understand the unique issues associated with confidentiality and privilege
communications in forensic work.
 Failure to appreciate the unique role assessment plays in forensic settings and using
inappropriate tests.
 Inadequate documentation and failing to recognize the need for meticulous notes.
 Failure to use all appropriate sources of information expected in a forensic
evaluation, such as interviews with third parties.

7. Summary

 Forensic Psychology is the application of the field of psychology pertaining to the

questions and issues in the legal system.
 James McKeen Cattell carried out the very first research in the field of forensic
psychology in 1893 at the Columbia University so as to explore the psychology of
testimony.
 Psychologists also began testifying in court as expert witnesses. The earliest example
of this was in Germany in 1896.
 Forensic psychologists carry out a wide variety of tasks within the legal system. A
forensic psychologist is often hired by the court to evaluate a defendant's capability
to stand trial.
 Two chief parts of criminal evaluations in forensic psychology are Competency to
Stand Trial (CST) and Mental State at the Time of the Offence (MSO).
 All psychologists are guided by the Ethical Principles and Code of Conduct,
published by the American Psychological Association and recently revised in 2002.

FORENSIC SCIENCE PAPER No.15: Forensic Psychology

MODULE No. 1: Forensic Psychology: Introduction