Research in Criminal Psychology

Criminal psychology is a broad field that overlaps with several subareas of psychology, including correctional (applications to prison settings) and forensic (applications in courtroom settings) psychology. A widely used umbrella term, psychology-law, also reflects the interdisciplinary commitment of researchers in criminal psychology, who draw from many traditional domains of psychology, including clinical (e.g., assessment, treatment); social (how people and contexts influence us); cognitive (how we think and make decisions) and developmental (how we grow and change); and neuropsychology (the biological basis of behavior). This entry provides an overview of criminal psychology by exploring the shared reliance on scientific method characteristic of modern psychology, introducing contemporary research in criminal psychology sampling the major research methods in the field, emphasizing the importance of evidence-based approaches, and outlining ...