E-Book Overview
Lie detection, offender profiling, jury selection, insanity in the law, predicting the risk of re-offending , the minds of serial killers, and many other topics that fill news and fiction are all aspects of the rapidly developing area of scientific psychology broadly known as Forensic Psychology. This fascinating Very Short Introduction discusses all the aspects of psychology that are relevant to the legal and criminal process as a whole. It includes explanations of criminal behavior and criminality, including the role of mental disorder in crime, and it reveals how forensic psychology contributes to helping investigate the crime and catching the perpetrators. David Canter also explains how psychologists provide guidance to all those involved in civil and criminal court proceedings, including both the police and the accused, and what expert testimony can be provided by a psychologist about the offender at the trial. Finally, Canter describes how forensic psychology is used, particularly in prisons, to help in the management, treatment and rehabilitation of offenders, once they have been convicted.
E-Book Content
Forensic Psychology: A Very Short Introduction VERY SHORT INTRODUCTIONS are for anyone wanting a stimulating and accessible way in to a new subject. They are written by experts, and have been published in more than 25 languages worldwide. The series began in 1995, and now represents a wide variety of topics in history, philosophy, religion, science, and the humanities. The VSI library now contains over 200 volumes—a Very Short Introduction to everything from ancient Egypt and Indian philosophy to conceptual art and cosmology— and will continue to grow to a library of around 300 titles. Very Short Introductions available now: ADVERTISING Winston Fletcher AFRICAN HISTORY John Parker and Richard Rathbone AMERICAN POLITICAL PARTIES AND ELECTIONS L. Sandy Maisel THE AMERICAN PRESIDENCY Charles O. Jones Colin Ward ANCIENT EGYPT Ian Shaw ANARCHISM ANCIENT PHILOSOPHY Julia Annas ANCIENT WARFARE Harry Sidebottom Mark Chapman ANGLICANISM THE ANGLO-SAXON AGE John Blair ANIMAL RIGHTS ANTISEMITISM David DeGrazia Steven Beller THE APOCRYPHAL GOSPELS Paul Foster Paul Bahn ARCHITECTURE Andrew Ballantyne ARISTOTLE Jonathan Barnes ART HISTORY Dana Arnold ART THEORY Cynthia Freeland ATHEISM Julian Baggini AUGUSTINE Henry Chadwick AUTISM Uta Frith BARTHES Jonathan Culler BESTSELLERS John Sutherland THE BIBLE John Riches ARCHAEOLOGY BIBLICAL ARCHEOLOGY Eric H. Cline BIOGRAPHY Hermione Lee THE BOOK OF MORMON Terryl Givens Michael O’Shea BRITISH POLITICS Anthony Wright BUDDHA Michael Carrithers BUDDHISM Damien Keown BUDDHIST ETHICS Damien Keown CAPITALISM James Fulcher CATHOLICISM Gerald O’Collins THE CELTS Barry Cunliffe CHAOS Leonard Smith CHOICE THEORY Michael Allingham CHRISTIAN ART Beth Williamson CHRISTIANITY Linda Woodhead CITIZENSHIP Richard Bellamy THE BRAIN CLASSICAL MYTHOLOGY Helen Morales CLASSICS Mary Beard and John Henderson Michael Howard THE COLD WAR Robert McMahon COMMUNISM Leslie Holmes CONSCIOUSNESS Susan Blackmore CLAUSEWITZ CONTEMPORARY ART Julian Stallabrass CONTINENTAL PHILOSOPHY Simon Critchley Peter Coles COSMOLOGY THE CRUSADES Christopher Tyerman CRYPTOGRAPHY Fred Piper and Sean Murphy John D. Lyons DADA AND SURREALISM FRENCH LITERATURE David Hopkins DARWIN Jonathan Howard THE FRENCH REVOLUTION THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS FREUD Timothy Lim Bernard Crick DESCARTES Tom Sorell DESERTS Nick Middleton DESIGN John Heskett DINOSAURS David Norman DEMOCRACY DOCUMENTARY FILM