Forensic Psychology - Kelley Kline Phd - Florida State U法医心理学-凯利克莱恩博士——佛罗里达州立大学.pptVIP

Forensic Psychology Psychology the Legal System FSU-PC Dr. Kelley Kline Psychology and Law Psychology- is the study of human behavior mental processes. The Legal system—is used as a formal method by which society uses laws to regulate human behavior. The concepts of psychological behavioral science are relevant to every area of law. I. What is Forensic Psychology? It is the application of psychological findings to legal processes. This means forensic psychologists may be involved in the assessment, evaluation, treatment of criminal offenders as well as other areas of the legal system (determining mental fitness for trial, etc.) A. Forensic Psychology-development Two branches of development in this field: 1. Psychological research findings have increasingly been used to inform various legal processes. 2.???? The practice of clinical forensic psychology has become an integral part of the overall field of forensic science. ? II. Historical Origins of Forensic Psychology: Eyewitness testimony Hugo Munsterberg (1908) argued on the basis of psychological research that eyewitness testimony was unreliable shouldn’t be used by the legal system to bolster convictions. In 1974, Buckhout published the results of an experiment in which subjects (Ss) witnessed a purse-snatching crime were asked to identify the perpetrator. Only 7 of 52 Ss made the correct identification. Buckhout concluded, after a series of similar findings, that memory is selective, influenced by other factors, fallible. He argued that eyewitness identification is faulty over 90% of time. Why are there so many problems with eyewitness identifications? 1.?Humans are fairly unreliable in how we process information. We are heavily influenced by our emotions at the time of the crime (e.g., rape, assault), may focus our attention on salient features of the crime (e.g., weapon), unsuitable environmental conditions (e.g., darkness; rain) stress may impair recollection. 2.?Procedu