Psychology and Law: A Critical Introduction by Andreas Kapardis

Psychology and Law: A Critical Introduction by Andreas Kapardis

Introduction

“Psychology and Law: A Critical Introduction” by Andreas Kapardis provides an updated assessment of the influence of psychological phenomena and inquiry on selected issues of criminal law. This second edition adds to the noteworthy input made to these areas of inquiry by the first edition of this book in the year 1995. The detail that this book is brought in and authorized by one of the leading researchers in this field, David Farrington, itself point towards its quality.

Discussion

Similar to the first edition, this second edition is of particular importance for the researchers and undergraduate as well as postgraduate students in the field of legal psychology. With respect to students, the most important advantage of this book is its reporting of a selection of major present-day issues on the subject of the interaction between criminal law and psychology (Kapardis, 2009). The chapters of this book generally fall within two classes: the first 6 chapters contend with courts and psychology, discuss issues relating to the evidence of eyewitness, the jury, kids as witnesses, psychologists as skilled or expert witnesses and sentencing. After that the last 4 chapters deal with the psychology of a variety of characteristics of human conduct inside the legal system: persuasion and advocates, procedures of witness recognition, the exposure of deception, and the police and psychology.

The book also covers the responsibilities of a Forensic Psychologist whose major responsibilities are to offer psychological services to the courts, and also offer consultation in criminal inquiries (Ramsland, 2013). These individuals are also liable to assess behaviors like malingering, pleading guilty to an offense, or acting in the depths of despair. While majority of such psychologists are clinicians with a specialty in forensic matters, this practical discipline also ...