Forensic Psychology According to Literature - Research Paper Example

? Forensic Psychology My PSY 131 General Psychology Fall Brandi Marten Forensic Psychology Introduction The term ‘forensic’ refers to matters that pertains “to courts or to law, both civil and criminal” (Bartol and Bartol, 2008, p. 3). Bartol and Bartol (20008, p. 3) pointed out that “forensic science involves the application of scientific knowledge to legal problems” (Bartol and Bartol, 2008, p. 3). According to Bartol and Bartol (2008), psychology is one such science and there are two definitions of forensic psychology: the narrow and the broad definitions. The narrow definition holds that “forensic psychology refers to the application and practice of psychology in the legal system, particularly the courts” (Bartol and Bartol, 2008, p. 4). Bartol and Bartol (2008, p. 4) stressed that that the narrow definition “focuses heavily on clinical practice.” In contrast, the broad definition emphasizes that forensic psychology covers much more than what the narrow definition imply (Bartok and Bartol, 2008). Between the narrow and broad definitions, however, the former is the one favored by American Psychology Association in 2001 (Bartol and Bartol, 2008). Nevertheless, Bartol and Bartol (2008) preferred the broad definition. Quoting their earlier works, Bartol and Bartol (2008, p. 4) articulated that forensic psychology is “both (1) the research endeavor that examines aspects of human behavior directly related to the legal process …and (2) the professional practice of psychology within, or in consultation with, a legal system that embraces both civil and criminal law.” Thus, Bartol and Bartol argued that the “broad definition includes not only clinicians (also called practitioners) but also social, developmental, counseling, cognitive, experimental, industrial-organizational, and social psychologists, some---but not all---of whom are clinicians.” According to Bartol and Bartol (2008, p. 5), however, “the common link is their contribution on eyewitness testimony.” Elaborating on their definition of forensic psychology, Bartol and Bartol (2008, p. 5) pointed out that “the social psychologist who conducts research on eyewitnesses, the psychologist who offers workshops to police on interviewing child witnesses, and the clinician who initiates a sex offender treatment program in a prison setting are all engaging in forensic psychology, broadly defined, even though they may not call themselves forensic psychologists.” In line with their broad definition of forensic psychology, Bartol and Bartol (2008, p. 5) pointed out that the field of forensic psychology “also includes research and theory building in criminology; the design and implementation of intervention, prevention, and treatment for youthful offenders; and counseling of victims of crime.” Further, Bartolo and Bartolo (2008, p. 5) held that a possible way to divide the “subspecialties” of forensic psychology are as follows: (1) police psychology, (2) psychology of crime and delinquency, (3) victimology and victim services, (4) psychology in the courts, and (5) psychology applied to corrections. Powell (2006, p. 1) defined a forensic evaluation as “a report for use in court proceedings that should clearly communicate psychological data, findings, and recommendations about an individual’s cognitive functioning, personality, behavior, and social influences, generally in response to referral question relevant to the proceedings.” The forensic evaluation report can either provide the justification for the meting out of the appropriate punishment or exoneration of an accused under the criminal justice system (Powell 2006, p. 1). Scope of Work of Forensic Psychology According to Literature Perhaps, a good way to find out how the practice of forensic psychology is through the studies covered by the professional journals of the forensic psychologists. Literature suggests that the scope of work described for forensic psychology is more consistent with Bartol and Bartols’s (2008) concept of broad definition for forensic psychology. Writing for an international journal of forensic psychologists, Andry (2003) gave an overview on what forensic psychologists do. In the overview, Andry (2003, p. 45) started with the word “forensic” which he said “has its own cross cultural roots in the antiquity of the Greek ‘Agoras’ and Roman ‘Forum’ where matters of justice were discussed, not in secret, but openly, a tradition still upheld as an ideal by all those believing in the supremacy of law.” Andry’s attempt to associate forensic with justice and transparency is not explicit but it seems that the author’s point was to associate the “term” forensic with justice and transparency or clarity of evidence. After associating the term forensic with justice and transparency, Andry gave an overview on how forensic psychology is practiced in many countries. According to Andry (2003, p. 49), in Australia, forensic psychology became important because of the country’s “gradual shift from punishment to rehabilitation.” Another important factor that increased the importance of forensic psychology in Australia was the establishment of the Melbourne Children’s Court Clinic that gave multidisciplinary services to the court and general public (Andry 2003). In Great Britain, landmark studies in juvenile delinquency showed that the separation of children from their mothers at young ages deprived children of affection “during the critical period between 6 months to 3 years of age,” implying that emotional deprivation was the determinant of delinquent behavior (Andry, 2003, p. 49). The interpretation of results from the landmark studies supposedly highlighted the importance of forensic psychology in understanding criminal or delinquent behavior. Andry (2003, p. 49) narrated the increasing role of psychological or psychotherapy for war veterans “who would normally have been court marshaled,” implying that this is also within the scope of work of the forensic psychologist. In the case of the war veterans, Andry (2003, p. 49) noted the importance of group work in the rehabilitation of “shell-shocks.” According to Andry (2003, p. 50), the increasing popularity of psychoanalysis raised the awareness of the British public on “how one’s early childhood experience can influence some later social behavior,” implying that forensic psychology can be valuable in identifying cases where a criminal or a delinquent act can merit lighter or heavier sentences. In France, Andry (2003, p. 50) argued that a forensic psychology perspective is valuable because it will allow one to understand that “if a ‘total zero tolerance’ were applied to delinquents in one part of Paris, this would only result in riots breaking out in another district.” In the United States, “reality group therapy” appeared to be helpful among delinquents for counseling and rehabilitation purposes and supposedly highlighted the importance of forensic psychology or the role of psychologists in the criminal justice system (Andry, 2003). In the prisons, those who have been institutionalized for long periods are being tapped for counseling young delinquent probationers (Andry, 2003). Andry (2003), however, did not make explicit identification on the role a forensic psychologist could do in many situations he had identified but he implied that the role of psychologists in the criminal justice system is being recognized and the phenomena increasingly highlights the important role forensic psychologists can play in the criminal justice system. The forensic psychological/psychiatric study of Friel et al. (2008) dealt with the problem of posttraumatic stress disorder and criminal responsibility. The study traced the introduction of the condition into the diagnostic and statistical manual on mental disorders, the epidemiology of the condition, and reviewed the literature on the state of knowledge on the condition for forensic psychology purposes. The Friel et al. study (2008, pp. 66-67) noted that the disorder can be diagnosed by the “presence of causative factors” or “stressors” and emphasized that “to assess for and establish a diagnosis of PTSD it is necessary to consider the nature of the trauma, assess for symptoms within each of three core symptom groups, and establish a causal link between the two.” Friel et al. (2008, p. 67) pointed out that the literature recognized “the possibility of a latent period prior to the onset of the symptoms.” The finding can have significant legal implications, of course, for court purposes. Friel et al. (2008, p. 67) also noted that in assessing for PTSD, “multi-modal assessment allows the potential limitations of any one psychometric instrument to be overcome.” One important implications of this point is that to establish a case for PTSD, one must make multi-modal assessments. According to Friet et al. (2008, p. 68), forensic psychologists must be concerned of the “subjective nature of the symptoms” of the PTSD and “the risk of malingering or fictitious PTSD for either financial gain to diminish or remove responsibility for the criminal act.” Friel et al. (2008) identified instances where PTSD has been made as an excuse for a criminal act. Yet, at the same time, Friel et al. (2008) cited data that indicate the prevalence of PTSD among those serving prison terms. The authors also pointed out that PTSD cases are found not only among veterans or soldiers. Education for Forensic Psychology and Careers/Opportunities In America, based on the official websites, some of the schools that are offering forensic psychology include the University of North Dakota, University of Denver, and Tiffin University. Based on the forensic psychology programs of the three schools, one needs the minimum of a master’s degree to become forensic psychologists even as EHow, a website, argues that one needs a PhD to be a forensic psychologist. The University of Dakota offers a Master’s Degree in Forensic Psychology online. The University of Denver calls their Master’s Degree for Forensic Psychology as MAFP. Finally, the Tiffin University through its official website describes its forensic psychology program as a “blend of psychology and criminal justice” also offers a master’s degree in forensic psychology. Based on the narrow definition of forensic psychology (basically true as well for the broad definition), the opportunities open for forensic psychology are largely in the government public service. Let us see their job descriptions in some of the government offices. A job description document that is immediately available is the Michigan Civil Service Commission (2008) job description for a forensic psychologist. In the job description, a Forensic Psychologist 11 “conducts clinical interviews, gathers and reviews medical and psycho-data, administers and interprets psychological tests, and performs other psychodiagnostic examinations as ordered by the courts to provide forensic assessments to determine competency to stand trial and other forensic issues.” Meanwhile, a Forensic Psychologist 12 in Michigan “provides expert witness testimony and consultation to court officials relative to an individual’s competency to stand trial, criminal responsibility (legal insanity), or other forensic issues.” Conclusion In conclusion, it seems that despite the broad definition of Bartol and Bartol (2008), the narrow definition is the one really operative for forensic psychology in the United States legal system. According to the Bartol and Bartol (2008) themselves, the narrow definition is the one officially adopted by the American Psychology Association and, therefore, it is the can be strongly argued that it is a reliable definition. Of course, there is a need for psychologists other than forensic psychologists in America’s legal system and these were the ones covered by Bartol and Bartol’s (2008) “broad definition.” Perhaps later or in a few years from now, other names or titles can be given to the other psychologists covered by Bartol and Bartol’s (2008) “broad definition.” Some of those described as “forensic psychology” can be defended instead as “criminal rehabilitation psychology” rather than "forensic psychology.” Criminal rehabilitation psychology seeks to rehabilitate the criminal while the interest of forensic psychology may be to assess whether the alleged criminal must be prosecuted to the full extent of the law or exonerated based on his or her psychological state. Recall that the Bartol and Bartol (2008) recommendation is to have five sub-specializations instead for forensic psychology. Bibliography Andry, R. (2003). Cross cultural and international forensic psychology: A personal and historic overview. International Journal of Forensic Psychology, 1 (1), 45-48. Bartol, C. and Bartol, A. (2008). Introduction to Forensic Psychology: Research and Applications. Sage Publications. Friel, A., White, T., and Hull, A. (2008). Posttraumatic stress disorder and criminal responsibility. The Journal of Forensic Psychiatry and Psychology, 19 (1), 64-85. Michigan Civil Service Commission. (2008). Job description of a forensic psychologist. Michigan: Michigan Civil Service Commission. Powell, T. (2006). Forensic psychological evaluations: The methods in our madness. The Vermont Bar Journal (Winter) 2005-2006: 1-7. Read More