Legal psychology is the branch of psychology that studies psychological phenomena in legal contexts.
Brief History
From the end of the eighteenth century to the beginning of the twentieth century, legal psychology was in its infancy. The first seeds of legal psychology were planted when some researchers began to study and apply principles of criminal psychology and forensic psychology, which are two major branches of legal psychology. Representative works on legal psychology during this period include The Role of Criminal Psychology in the Criminal Justice System (1790). Criminal Psychology (1792), and Basics of Criminal Psychology: Based on Criminal Legislation in Germany and Austria (For Use of Jurists) (1872) by German psychiatrist Richard Freiherr von Krafft-Ebing.
Psychological principles have been applied to the legal system since the twentieth century. In the early days of legal psychology, Wilhelm Wundt, Sigmund Freud, Lightner Witmer and Hugo Münsterberg all made remarkable...
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Further Reading
Luo D-H (1994) Legal psychology in China: past decade. China University of Political Science and Law Press, Bei**g
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© 2024 Encyclopedia of China Publishing House
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Ai, M. (2024). Legal Psychology. In: The ECPH Encyclopedia of Psychology. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-6000-2_320-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-6000-2_320-1
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