Forensic psychology is psychology applied to the law, derived from the Latin “forensis” – pertaining to a forum, or court of law. This specialty is currently in transition between two very different definitions.
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The traditional, broad definition of forensic psychology: “the science and practice of psychology applied to legal issues,” including all aspects of law – criminal law (offenders, victims, witnesses, police, attorneys, courts, corrections), civil law (competence, disability, personal injury), family law (child custody, guardianship), and other branches.
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The more modern and narrow definition of forensic psychology is simply that part of clinical psychology focused on the mentality and behavior of individuals in the legal system. More formally, the 1991 Specialty Guidelines define this as: “all forms of professional psychological conduct when acting, with definable knowledge, as a psychological expert on explicitly psycholegal issues, in direct assistance to courts, parties...
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References
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Takooshian, H., Caffrey, T.A. (2012). Forensic Psychology. In: Rieber, R.W. (eds) Encyclopedia of the History of Psychological Theories. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-0463-8_12
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