Product Description

Written by two of the leading authorities in the field, FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGY, Second Edition introduces students to the practice of forensic psychology by showing readers how psychologists aid the legal system by serving as expert witnesses, criminal profilers, and trial consultants for jury selection and child custody hearings. Wrightsman and Fulero present the roles and responsibilities of forensic psychologists, and addresses both the opportunities and temptations inherent in those roles. Through this lens, the authors explore the ethical issues facing practicing forensic psychologists, such as promising clients too much, the possibility of becoming advocates rather than objective scientists, and the pitfalls associated with substituting one's values for data. Wrightsman and Fulero provide students with an accurate and candid picture of the field, and the range of careers in forensic psychology.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #537063 in Books
• Published on: 2004-07-21
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 480 pages

Review
"I loved the inclusion of scales that measure juror bias (students also seem to love "real world" examples of the tools of the trade - it makes understanding less abstract for them when actual items are presented)."

"This is a great introductory chapter to the field of forensic psychology. It offers undergraduate students an opportunity to see the diversity of the field, learn the history of forensic psychology and the impact that it has on society, be made aware of the continuing controversies in this field, and identify the differences between psychology and the law which leads to the uneasy alliance between the two disciplines."

"I have used (Wrightsman’s) Psychology and Law book through each of the revisions...and each time the book gets better."



"I think the greatest strength is that the book achieves its main goal...to provide an overview and sampling of the varied roles of forensic psychology."

"This text is, in my opinion, the only text of its like appropriate for the advanced undergraduate student. My students are eager to learn the information in the text, and they use this as the stepping stone for further inquiry. I have never had students perform better in a course than this one, and I attribute the majority of the credit to the author(s) of the text."

"It is probably the best text for introductory courses on forensic psychology. It covers extensively the issues facing psychologists who find themselves in positions that interact with the criminal justice system."

About the Author
Lawrence S. Wrightsman is professor of Psychology at the University of Kansas, Lawrence. Wrightsman is an author or editor of ten other books relevant to the legal system, including PSYCHOLOGY AND THE LEGAL SYSTEM, FIFTH EDITION, THE AMERICAN JURY ON TRIAL, and JUDICIAL DECISION MAKING: IS PSYCHOLOGY RELEVANT? He was invited to contribute the entry on the law and psychology for the ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PSYCHOLOGY, sponsored by the American Psychological Association and published by Oxford University Press. His research topics include jury selection procedures, reactions to police interrogations, and the impact of judicial instructions. He has also served as a trial consultant and testified as an expert witness. Wrightsman is a former president of both the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues and the Society of Personality and Social Psychology. In 1998 he was the recipient of a Distinguished Career Award from the American Psychology-Law Society.

Customer Reviews

Fair introductory text, but disappointed by lack of depth
I am an attorney for a psychiatric hospital and purchased this text, which was the primary required textbook in a graduate level Psychology and Law class that I took last Fall. The book served its purpose as a very general, basic introduction to the field, but if you are looking for a reference text, as I had hoped this would be, this book will likely fail to meet your needs. I found the bibliographic references to primary sources in the literature to be the best part of the book; without that, I probably would have given the text one (1) star.

I like this book.
I like this book. It is filled with a lot of interesting information about how the U.S. justice system uses psychology and psychologists. It also clearly defines what a forensic psychologist is. I am a fourth year psychology major and have read many psychology books about a variety of psychological subjects, and this book is one of the most intresting I have read in a while. The only thing I do not like about it is that it has no glossary of the bold words, only a subject and name index. This makes it a little difficult to completely understand what the vocabulary words mean especially since many of them are legal terms.

Adequate Forensic Psychology Text
I would agree with the previous poster that this test is best intended for an introductory course for Forensic Psychology. Its function is to provide the basics and foundations of the many and varied role Forensic Psychologists face and are utilized in the criminal justice system. It's not overwhelmingly long, and written in a clear, concise manner that the student can find very manageable. This test was used in my Forensic Psychology course at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, MI in the summer of 2008. It serves its purpose for allowing psychology and other related social science background to see if the forensic realm of psychology is a field that they would find interesting to pursue. The authors give lots of real life examples of each subject in the chapters, as well as data to support their arguments.