ABSTRACT
Forensic psychologists have an abundance of information to refer to, including mainstream psychological research from the fields of cognitive and social psychology. Research from cognitive psychology has been particularly helpful in areas such as understanding how our memory performs under stressful conditions, and the best ways of maximising memory retrieval. In the case of social psychology, understanding how social biases and attitudes interact to affect our perceptions of people has led to research findings about how the physical appearance of a defendant can influence the jury’s verdict. To understand how forensic psychologists can help improve practice in the criminal justice system, from its initial stage of police evidence-gathering to presenting a case in the courtroom, the legal process needs some explanation. Forensic psychological research has been particularly helpful in different areas of police investigation such as interviewing witnesses and victims, and interrogating suspects; in the recognition of deceit; in profiling offence and offender; and in techniques of identification.
