The Field of Psychology and Law
Psychology and Law is a healthy and growing area of research interest
within the discipline of Psychology. Few psychology departments offered
even a single course in psychology and law before 1973. By 1982, 1/4 of
psychology graduate programs had at least one course, and a number had begun to
offer minors and/or joint J.D./Ph.D. programs. Now, psychology and law courses are common. Psychology and Law's
scholarly output is represented in specialty journals (e.g., Law and Human
Behavior); in introductory psychology, social psychology, and psychology and
law textbooks; in reviews in the Annual Review of Psychology; and in the
American Psychological Association by Division 41. The surprising element
in this history is that it has taken so long for the specialty to develop.
If psychology is the study of human behavior, it necessarily includes law, which
is a primary instrument used by society to control human behavior.