NCJ Number
232718
Editor(s)
Par Anders Granhag
Date Published
2010
Length
352 pages
Annotation
Leading researchers in forensic psychology from the Nordic countries (Sweden, Iceland, Norway, and Finland) explore the distinctive characteristics of the Nordic legal systems in the context of both local and international research in forensic psychology and then narrow their focus to investigative psychology and the use of forensic psychology in the courts.
Abstract
The two chapters of Part 1, "Nordic Light on Forensic Psychology," sets the stage for subsequent chapters by explaining why it is important to highlight the distinctive contributions of forensic psychology in the Nordic context. This is done by presenting a brief update on past and current research in forensic psychology in the Nordic region. The second chapter compares legal procedures in the Nordic countries and in the United States, with attention to investigative issues, adversarial versus inquisitorial models, and the courts. The chapter advises caution in applying international research in forensic psychology in the Nordic context. Part 2 contains eight chapters related to "Investigative Psychology," defined as "all aspects of psychology that are relevant to the conduct of criminal and civil investigations." The chapter topics pertain to investigators' decisionmaking, interviewing witnesses and victims, interviewing to detect deception, the background and "current landscape" regarding false confessions in the Nordic countries, the implications of developmental memory for children's testimony, and social influence on eyewitness memory. In addition to these areas of research on investigative psychology in the Nordic context, two of the chapters address offender profiling and stalking. The seven chapters of Part 3, "Psychology in Court and Beyond," pertain to research in the psychology underlying the presentations and activities in the courtroom during trials. Issues addressed include the evaluation of evidence, the psycho-legal aspects of visual courtroom technology, ethnicity and gender biases in the courtroom, eyewitness confidence, and assessment of reliability. Chapter references, tables, and figures, and a subject index