Forensic psychology
Forensic psychology is a branch of psychology that focuses on how psychology is related to the law. The main part of forensic psychology is working with the criminal justice system in order to better study the human mind and crime. Most of a forensic psychologist’s time is spent in a courtroom working as a witness for the court, answering questions based on the interviews and discussions with people suspected of a crime. The job of the forensic psychologist is to decide on the suspect’s ability to stand trial, and his or her thoughts about the crime. A forensic psychologist acts as an expert who uses psychology to study a suspect to see if they were capable of doing the crime in question.
[change] Major Roles
Forensic psychology has some major roles in a court that bring psychology into a legal arena. The first is "malingering" a defendant is pretending to have a mental illness, or is lying to the court about his state of mind. A forensic psychologist keeps in mind that a defendant may have a mental disorder but also keeps in mind to watch for signs of deception, or errors in the defendant’s story. Another job of a forensic psychologist is to investigate the state of mind of the defendant at the time he or she committed the crime. Another is to see whether or not the defendant is able to be charged with the crimes due to his or her mental condition. Another job is to evaluate the defendant to see if he or she are able to be rehabilitated, or if they might commit the crime again. These are a few of the jobs that forensic psychologists do. Their work in and out of courtrooms and with police and criminals extends to all different directions in the world of criminal justice and evidence.
