PSYC - 375. Forensic Psychology

3 credit(s)
Forensic psychology is a cutting-edge interdisciplinary arena that spans the fields of psychology, sociology, law, criminal justice, and public policy, among others. Forensic psychology unites various areas of clinical psychology, with its emphasis on psychopathology (e.g., the insanity defense) and psychological assessment (e.g., the use of assessment devices in determinations of competence and in child custody evaluations) and social psychology, with its body of literature on psychological phenomena salient to legal processes (e.g., interpersonal persuasion, the reliability of memory in eyewitnesses, psychological factors relevant to jury selection, the detection of lying) with the theory and practice of law. As a profession, the subspecialty of forensic psychology prepares psychologists to interact with the legal arena in a variety of roles, including expert witness, child custody evaluator, determiner of mental competence and dangerousness of criminal defendants, police psychologist, prison psychologist, and consultant to military, federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies.

Prerequisite(s): PSYC 100.
Attribute: (ATTR: ARTS).