Famous forensic Psychologists
Forensic psychology hasn't officially been around for very long, and it has always flown under the radar. There haven't really been any massive breakthroughs in the field, and there has never been a major, public case in which a forensic psychologist played an important role in. Because of this, any forensic psychologist that would be considered famous is virtually unknown. They are quite important though, and famous in their own right.
James McKeen Cattell (1860-1944)- Studied the psychology of testimony. He gave students at Columbia University a series of questions, and had them respond and rate their level of confidence in their answers. He realized there was a startling amount of inaccuracy, and lack of confidence in responses.
Alfred Binet (1857-1911)- Replicated Cattell's experiment. Part of the Binet-Simon scale. This scale was used to identify students in need of alternative education. The score the child got would reveal the child's mental age. He stressed diversity of intelligence and the need to therefore study it using qualitative, not quantitative measures. The Simon-Binet scale was soon Americanized, with a new objective that would ultimately result in "...the elimination of an enormous amount of crime..."
William Stern (1871-1938)- Researched witness recall. Developed study in which he asked his students to summarize a fight they had seen. He realized errors were common among the students about the event, though they had all seen the same thing. He later concluded that emotions help a decrease in accuracy during witness recall.
Hugo Munsterberg (1863-1916)- Believed psychology could be used in everyday life. Published a book called "On the Witness Stand" that was a collection of articles that had already been published by him. He used the articles to help discuss the psychological factors that can change a trials outcome. He also helped point the way to rational and scientific ways to for judging the facts given by witnesses with the application of experimental psychology to law.
Ray Bull (????-Present)- Currently a professor at the University of Leicester's School of Psychology. He is primarily interested in investigative interviewing. He also conducts research on witness memory, including voice recognition. He has been published multiple times on effective police interviewing techniques, and won several awards for his contributions to psychology and investigative interviewing.
David Canter(1944-Present)- Began his career as an architectural psychologist, studying the interactions between people and buildings. Pioneered investigative psychology in Britain, and helped police with the Railway Rapist case. Since then, he has published a book, available on Amazon, called "Forensic Psychology: A Very Short Introduction". , He currently teaches at the University of Huddersfield.
Aldert Vrij(1960-Present)- Primarily studies verbal and nonverbal cues for deception, and lie detection. He advises the police about suspects, and acts as an Expert Witness in court. He has currently published more than 300 articles or chapters about the cues and deception. He is the editor of "Legal and Criminological Psychology" and currently teaches in the University of Portsmouth's Department of Psychology.
Elizabeth Loftus(1944-Present)- Fundamentally a cognitive psychologist. Has conducted extensive research on the malleability of human memory. She has done ground breaking work on the misinformation effect and eyewitness memory, along with the creation of false memories. She has been involved in applying he research to legal settings, and has been given numerous awards. Currently teaches at the University of Washington.
James McKeen Cattell (1860-1944)- Studied the psychology of testimony. He gave students at Columbia University a series of questions, and had them respond and rate their level of confidence in their answers. He realized there was a startling amount of inaccuracy, and lack of confidence in responses.
Alfred Binet (1857-1911)- Replicated Cattell's experiment. Part of the Binet-Simon scale. This scale was used to identify students in need of alternative education. The score the child got would reveal the child's mental age. He stressed diversity of intelligence and the need to therefore study it using qualitative, not quantitative measures. The Simon-Binet scale was soon Americanized, with a new objective that would ultimately result in "...the elimination of an enormous amount of crime..."
William Stern (1871-1938)- Researched witness recall. Developed study in which he asked his students to summarize a fight they had seen. He realized errors were common among the students about the event, though they had all seen the same thing. He later concluded that emotions help a decrease in accuracy during witness recall.
Hugo Munsterberg (1863-1916)- Believed psychology could be used in everyday life. Published a book called "On the Witness Stand" that was a collection of articles that had already been published by him. He used the articles to help discuss the psychological factors that can change a trials outcome. He also helped point the way to rational and scientific ways to for judging the facts given by witnesses with the application of experimental psychology to law.
Ray Bull (????-Present)- Currently a professor at the University of Leicester's School of Psychology. He is primarily interested in investigative interviewing. He also conducts research on witness memory, including voice recognition. He has been published multiple times on effective police interviewing techniques, and won several awards for his contributions to psychology and investigative interviewing.
David Canter(1944-Present)- Began his career as an architectural psychologist, studying the interactions between people and buildings. Pioneered investigative psychology in Britain, and helped police with the Railway Rapist case. Since then, he has published a book, available on Amazon, called "Forensic Psychology: A Very Short Introduction". , He currently teaches at the University of Huddersfield.
Aldert Vrij(1960-Present)- Primarily studies verbal and nonverbal cues for deception, and lie detection. He advises the police about suspects, and acts as an Expert Witness in court. He has currently published more than 300 articles or chapters about the cues and deception. He is the editor of "Legal and Criminological Psychology" and currently teaches in the University of Portsmouth's Department of Psychology.
Elizabeth Loftus(1944-Present)- Fundamentally a cognitive psychologist. Has conducted extensive research on the malleability of human memory. She has done ground breaking work on the misinformation effect and eyewitness memory, along with the creation of false memories. She has been involved in applying he research to legal settings, and has been given numerous awards. Currently teaches at the University of Washington.