Psychology and Law - often called legal psychology - is the field that studies how psychological principles, theories, and methods apply within the legal and justice systems. It’s an interdisciplinary area that combines knowledge from psychology (how people think, feel, and behave) with law (rules, systems, and decision-making).
Here are the main aspects:
Understanding human behavior in legal contexts
Psychologists study how people involved in the justice system - judges, juries, victims, witnesses, police, and offenders - think and act.
Eyewitness testimony
Research explores how memory, stress, suggestion, and bias affect what witnesses recall, and how reliable their testimony is.
Jury decision-making
Psychologists analyze how jurors form opinions, evaluate evidence, and are influenced by group dynamics or pretrial publicity.
Competency and responsibility
Forensic psychologists assess whether someone is competent to stand trial, understands their legal rights, or was criminally responsible at the time of an offense.
Risk assessment and rehabilitation
Psychology helps courts and corrections estimate the likelihood of reoffending and design programs to reduce future crime.
Police and investigative psychology
Involves profiling, interrogation methods, and understanding decision-making under pressure.
Child custody and family law
Psychologists may provide evaluations to guide decisions about children’s best interests.
In short: Psychology and Law aims to improve justice by applying psychological science to legal questions.
Shervan K Shahhian
LIBERTY PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION 