Forensic Psychology
Field applying psychology to legal questions — witness memory, interrogations, competence, and risk assessment.
Specifications & Metrics
- focus
- Memory and testimony, jury decision making, assessment for courts, offending behavior
- pioneer
- Hugo Münsterberg (On the Witness Stand, 1908)
- method
- Mock-jury and eyewitness experiments, validated risk instruments, expert evaluation
Core Principles & Analysis
- Hugo Münsterberg's 1908 On the Witness Stand first argued that experimental psychology belonged in courtrooms.
- Eyewitness-memory research changed police practice, including lineup and interview procedure reform.
- Modern work ranges from competency evaluation to statistical risk assessment of reoffending.
Sources