The Roots of Modern Psychology and Law ― A Narrative History

Psychology's formal interaction with law began early in the twentieth century, though little in the way of substantive scholarly and professional development occurred until several decades later. The emergence of psychology and law as a modern field of scholarship was marked by the founding of the American Psychology-Law Society (AP-LS) in 1969, now approaching its 50th anniversary. The scientific foundation upon which the modern field now rests was established by a small group of psychological researchers, legal scholars, and clinicians.

The Roots of Modern Psychology and Law: A Narrative History reveals how the field developed during the first decade following the founding of the American Psychology-Law Society. The contributors to this edited volume, widely considered to be among the "founders" of the field, were responsible for establishing and nurturing many of the subfields and topics in psychology and law or forensic psychology that flourished across the next fifty years. In each chapter, these leaders explain in narrative form how and why the field and the Society developed in its early years through the recounting of key professional events in their careers during the 1970s. In some cases this was their first major research study using psychology applied to legal issues. In others it was their development of seminal ideas or organizational innovations that had a later impact on the field's development. The volume chronicles how an emerging AP-LS and field of psychology and law were shaped by these psychologists, and how their own initial work was, in turn, shaped by the organization.

Thomas Grisso, Ph.D, is Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry (Clinical Psychology) at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. He was president of the American Psychology-Law Society in 1990 and Executive Director of the American Board of Forensic Psychology. He has received outstanding achievement awards from both organizations as well as the American Psychological Association.

Stanley L. Brodsky, Ph.D, is Professor Emeritus and Scholar-in-Residence at The University of Alabama, where has was a faculty member from 1972-2016. He was a founding member of the American Psychology-Law Society and has received awards for Outstanding Achievement from the American-Psychology-Law Society and the American Association of Correctional Psychologists.