Main description:

Psychology's formal interaction with law began early in the twentieth century, though little in the way of substantive scholarly and professional development occurred until several decades later. The emergence of psychology and law as a modern field of scholarship was marked by the founding of the American Psychology-Law Society (AP-LS) in 1969, now approaching its 50th anniversary. The scientific foundation upon which the modern field now rests was established by a
small group of psychological researchers, legal scholars, and clinicians.

The Roots of Modern Psychology and Law: A Narrative History reveals how the field developed during the first decade following the founding of the American Psychology-Law Society. The contributors to this edited volume, widely considered to be among the "founders" of the field, were responsible for establishing and nurturing many of the subfields and topics in psychology and law or forensic psychology that flourished across the next fifty years. In each chapter, these leaders explain in
narrative form how and why the field and the Society developed in its early years through the recounting of key professional events in their careers during the 1970s. In some cases this was their first major research study using psychology applied to legal issues. In others it was their development of
seminal ideas or organizational innovations that had a later impact on the field's development. The volume chronicles how an emerging AP-LS and field of psychology and law were shaped by these psychologists, and how their own initial work was, in turn, shaped by the organization.

Contents:

Table of Contents

Contributor List

Editors' Prologue
Stanley L. Brodsky and Thomas Grisso

Chapter 1: The Evolution of Psychology and Law
Thomas Grisso

Section I: Psychological Science and Law

Chapter 2: Eyewitness Testimony: An Eyewitness Report
Elizabeth F. Loftus

Chapter 3: Applying Social Psychology to Law and the Legal Process
Michael J. Saks

Chapter 4: Jury Research
Shari Seidman Diamond

Chapter 5: Mental Health Law and the Seeds of Therapeutic Jurisprudence
David B. Wexler

Chapter 6: Mental Disability, Criminal Responsibility, and Civil Commitment
Stephen J. Morse

Chapter 7: Framing, Institutionalizing, and Nurturing Research in Psychology and Law
Bruce D. Sales

Section II: Assessment, Interventions, and Practice in Legal Contexts

Chapter 8: Forensic Mental Health Services and Competence to Stand Trial
Ronald Roesch

Chapter 9: Predictions of Violence
John Monahan

Chapter 10: Juveniles' Psycholegal Capacities
Thomas Grisso

Chapter 11: Correctional Psychology
Stanley L. Brodsky

Chapter 12: The Founding and Early Years of the American Board of Forensic Psychology
Florence W. Kaslow

Chapter 13: Community Psychology, Public Policy, and Children
N. Dickon Reppucci

Epilogue: Psychology and Law at AP-LS' Fiftieth Anniversary
Thomas Grisso and Stanley L. Brodsky

Index of Names