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Forensic psychology is a hot topic in modern media. Think about all the books, movies, and television shows about delving into the minds of those behind the crimes to solve crimes and bring justice to victims. Andforensic psychologyplays an important role in real life. It involves the psychological assessment of those involved in the legal system. Here’s a look at how this fascinating specialty in the field of psychology evolved.

Early Research

The first seeds of forensic psychology were planted in 1879 whenWilhelm Wundt, often referred to as the father of psychology, founded his first lab in Germany.Since Wundt, the field of forensic psychology has blossomed, with contributions from lots of other experts in the field.

James McKeen Cattellconducted some of the earliest research on the psychology of testimony.He posed a series of various questions to students at Columbia University, asking them to provide a response and rate their degree of confidence in their answer.

He found a surprising degree of inaccuracy, inspiring other psychologists to conduct their own experiments in eyewitness testimony. With even eyewitnesses being unsure of themselves, this raised serious issues about the validity of their usefulness in court.

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Psychologist William Stern also studied witnesses' ability torecall information. In one of his experiments, he asked students to summarize a dispute they witnessed between two classmates.Stern discovered errors were common among witnesses and concluded that a person’s emotions could affect how accurately he remembered things. Stern continued to study issues related to court testimony and later established the first academic journal devoted to applied psychology.

Forensic Psychology in the Courts

The German-American psychologist Hugo Munsterberg’s believed psychology had practical applications in everyday life, which in turn contributed to the development of forensic psychology. In 1915, Munsterberg published “On the Witness Stand,” a book advocating the use of psychology in legal matters.

Stanford psychologist Lewis Terman began applying psychology to law enforcement in 1916. Terman revised Binet’s intelligence test to create the new Stanford-Binet test, which assessed the intelligence of job candidates for law enforcement positions.

In 1917, psychologist William Marston found that systolicblood pressurehad a strong correlation to lying. This discovery would later lead to the design of the modern polygraph detector.

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Marston testified in 1923 in the case of Frye v. the United States, which was significant because it established the precedent for the use of expert witnesses in courts.The Federal Court of Appeals determined that a procedure, technique, or assessment must be generally accepted within its field in order to be used as evidence.

Forensic Psychology Gains Traction

Significant growth in American forensic psychology did not happen until after World War II. Prior to that time, psychologists served as expert witnesses, but only in trials where they were not perceived as infringing on medical specialists, who were still seen as more credible witnesses. In the 1940 case of People v. Hawthorne, the courts ruled that the standard for expert witnesses depended on how much the witness knew about a subject, not whether the person had a medical degree.

In the landmark 1954 case of Brown v. Board of Education, several psychologists testified for the plaintiffs and the defendants. Later, the courts gave support to psychologists serving as mental illness experts in the case of Jenkins v. the United States.

Forensic psychology has continued to grow and evolve throughout the the past three decades. Increasing numbers of graduate programs offer dual degrees in psychology and law, while others offer specialized degrees emphasizing forensic psychology.

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9 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Titchener EB.Wilhelm Wundt.American Journal of Psychology. 1921;32(2):161-178. doi:10.2307/1413739Cattell JM.Measurements of the accuracy of recollection.Science. 1895;2(49):761–766. doi:10.1126/science.2.49.761Michell J.Alfred Binet and the concept of heterogeneous orders.Front Psychol. 2012;3:261. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2012.00261Stern W.The psychology of testimony.Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology.1939;34(1):3–20. doi:10.1037/h0054144Crawford MA.History of forensic psychology.Walden University; 2014. doi:10.13140/2.1.5147.9849Münsterberg H.On the witness stand: Essays in psychology and crime. New York, NY: Doubleday, Page & Company; 1915. doi:10.1037/10854-000Terman LM, Otis AS, Dickson V, Hubbard OS, Norton JK, Howard L, . . . Cassingham CC.A trial of mental and pedagogical tests in a civil service examination for policemen and firemen.Journal of Applied Psychology.1917;1(1):17–29. doi:10.1037/h0073841Synnott J, Dietzel D, Ioannou M.A review of the polygraph: history, methodology and current status.Crime Psychol Rev. 2015;1(1):59-83. doi:10.1080/23744006.2015.1060080American Psychological Association.Jenkins v. United States.Additional ReadingBartol CR, & Bartol AM.History of forensic psychology. In: Weiner I, Otto R, eds.The Handbook of Forensic Psychology(4th ed).Hoboken, NJ: Wiley; 2013:1-27.

9 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Titchener EB.Wilhelm Wundt.American Journal of Psychology. 1921;32(2):161-178. doi:10.2307/1413739Cattell JM.Measurements of the accuracy of recollection.Science. 1895;2(49):761–766. doi:10.1126/science.2.49.761Michell J.Alfred Binet and the concept of heterogeneous orders.Front Psychol. 2012;3:261. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2012.00261Stern W.The psychology of testimony.Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology.1939;34(1):3–20. doi:10.1037/h0054144Crawford MA.History of forensic psychology.Walden University; 2014. doi:10.13140/2.1.5147.9849Münsterberg H.On the witness stand: Essays in psychology and crime. New York, NY: Doubleday, Page & Company; 1915. doi:10.1037/10854-000Terman LM, Otis AS, Dickson V, Hubbard OS, Norton JK, Howard L, . . . Cassingham CC.A trial of mental and pedagogical tests in a civil service examination for policemen and firemen.Journal of Applied Psychology.1917;1(1):17–29. doi:10.1037/h0073841Synnott J, Dietzel D, Ioannou M.A review of the polygraph: history, methodology and current status.Crime Psychol Rev. 2015;1(1):59-83. doi:10.1080/23744006.2015.1060080American Psychological Association.Jenkins v. United States.Additional ReadingBartol CR, & Bartol AM.History of forensic psychology. In: Weiner I, Otto R, eds.The Handbook of Forensic Psychology(4th ed).Hoboken, NJ: Wiley; 2013:1-27.

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Titchener EB.Wilhelm Wundt.American Journal of Psychology. 1921;32(2):161-178. doi:10.2307/1413739Cattell JM.Measurements of the accuracy of recollection.Science. 1895;2(49):761–766. doi:10.1126/science.2.49.761Michell J.Alfred Binet and the concept of heterogeneous orders.Front Psychol. 2012;3:261. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2012.00261Stern W.The psychology of testimony.Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology.1939;34(1):3–20. doi:10.1037/h0054144Crawford MA.History of forensic psychology.Walden University; 2014. doi:10.13140/2.1.5147.9849Münsterberg H.On the witness stand: Essays in psychology and crime. New York, NY: Doubleday, Page & Company; 1915. doi:10.1037/10854-000Terman LM, Otis AS, Dickson V, Hubbard OS, Norton JK, Howard L, . . . Cassingham CC.A trial of mental and pedagogical tests in a civil service examination for policemen and firemen.Journal of Applied Psychology.1917;1(1):17–29. doi:10.1037/h0073841Synnott J, Dietzel D, Ioannou M.A review of the polygraph: history, methodology and current status.Crime Psychol Rev. 2015;1(1):59-83. doi:10.1080/23744006.2015.1060080American Psychological Association.Jenkins v. United States.

Titchener EB.Wilhelm Wundt.American Journal of Psychology. 1921;32(2):161-178. doi:10.2307/1413739

Cattell JM.Measurements of the accuracy of recollection.Science. 1895;2(49):761–766. doi:10.1126/science.2.49.761

Michell J.Alfred Binet and the concept of heterogeneous orders.Front Psychol. 2012;3:261. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2012.00261

Stern W.The psychology of testimony.Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology.1939;34(1):3–20. doi:10.1037/h0054144

Crawford MA.History of forensic psychology.Walden University; 2014. doi:10.13140/2.1.5147.9849

Münsterberg H.On the witness stand: Essays in psychology and crime. New York, NY: Doubleday, Page & Company; 1915. doi:10.1037/10854-000

Terman LM, Otis AS, Dickson V, Hubbard OS, Norton JK, Howard L, . . . Cassingham CC.A trial of mental and pedagogical tests in a civil service examination for policemen and firemen.Journal of Applied Psychology.1917;1(1):17–29. doi:10.1037/h0073841

Synnott J, Dietzel D, Ioannou M.A review of the polygraph: history, methodology and current status.Crime Psychol Rev. 2015;1(1):59-83. doi:10.1080/23744006.2015.1060080

American Psychological Association.Jenkins v. United States.

Bartol CR, & Bartol AM.History of forensic psychology. In: Weiner I, Otto R, eds.The Handbook of Forensic Psychology(4th ed).Hoboken, NJ: Wiley; 2013:1-27.

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