Psychology and Law

Historical and Organizational Development

The historical development of legal psychology is not one of steady progress and refinement; in fact, in its early days it was synonymous with the work of individuals, such as Hugo Münsterberg (1863–1916), who were well versed in both psychology and law. Another feature of its development has been that it has taken a transnational perspective, not merely focused in one country.

The emphasis by legal philosophers in the United States in the first half of the twentieth century on lawin-action instead of law-in-the-books provided a good opportunity for psychologists to contribute to bridging the gap between psychology and law. However, despite some important early publications in legal psychology, it was not until the 1960s that lawyers acknowledged and appreciated psychology's contribution to legal work on both sides of the Atlantic.

Research into, and the practice of, legal psychology has a tradition exemplified since the beginning of the twentieth century by excellent, pioneering work. For instance, the French psychologist, Alfred Binet (1857–1911), known for his work on developing a standard intelligence test, published an article in 1905 on the science of witnessing. In the same year, Carl Gustav Jung (1875–1961), the Swiss psychiatrist who founded the analytical school of psychology, published a paper on psychological diagnoses of criminal acts. Finally, Hugo Münsterberg, a Harvard University psychology professor from Germany, in 1908 published works on the eyewitness in court and the psychological aspects of crimes. Furthermore, several well-known figures in psychology, such as James McKeen Cattell (1860–1944), the founder of psychoanalysis Sigmund Freud (1856–1939), and the pioneering Russian neuropsychologist Alexander Romanovich Luria (1902–1977), showed an interest in the early part of the twentieth century in applying psychology's findings to various areas within law.

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