Psychology and Law

This important book captures contemporary attempts to build bridges between the two very different disciplines of law and psychology, and establish the true nature of the interaction between the two.

It is unusual both in including contributions from lawyers, psychologists, sociologists and criminologists as well as in the very diverse range of jurisdictions from which they come, including the USA, Europe and Australia. The book sets out to bridge the inherent gap between the practice of law and the profession of psychology at an international level.

The authors show that bridges are needed for the many different contexts in which the law interacts with psychology. They throw light on how psychology connects with, inter alia, the courts, prisons, community care, clinics, long-stay hospitals, police investigations and legislative bodies. This allows coverage of well established areas such as the study of and challenges to eyewitness testimony, and the nature of Psychopathy for example. More recent contributions of social science to legal proceedings are also covered, such as the liability that arises from not preventing crimes happening or the systematic prediction of likely violence by an offender.

The book will be essential reading not only for academics and professionals in psychology, the law, and related disciplines, wishing to understand the broadening base of psychology within the legal process but also for students trying to form an understanding of the emerging science and the associated career opportunities for this exciting field.