Forensic psychology in Canada a century after Münsterberg.

Abstract

AbstractMunsterberg initially outlined the promise of psychology applied to the law in the first decade of the 20th century. This great psychologist gets at most a passing reference in textbooks (and an occasional slurred acknowledgment) yet his vision for applied psychology generally, and forensic psychology in particular, was accurate, forceful, and presented widely to the general population. The seed he planted was slow in germinating for forensic practitioners yet when it did emerge in the last quarter of the century, Canadian psychologists made disproportionate contributions to the science on which professional applications stood. To understand the development and future prospects for Canadian forensic psychologists requires a broad view of our teaching, research, and practice and the application of lessons from the genesis of our specialty.Keywords: Munsterberg, forensic psychology, state-of-the-artResumeMunsterberg a ete un pionnier de la psychologie appliquee qui a fait valoir ses possibilites dans le contexte du droit, au tout debut des annees 1900. C'est a peine si ce grand psychologue est mentionne dans les manuels scolaires (et ses travaux sont a l'occasion mentionnes en passant). Pourtant, sa vision de la psychologie appliquee et de la psychologie judiciaire en particulier s'est revelee juste et puissante, et a ete presentee a la population generale. Les graines qu'il a semees ont mis du temps a germer au sein du domaine medicolegal, mais lorsqu'elles ont pris de l'ampleur, dans les 25 dernieres annees du siecle, les psychologues canadiens ont grandement contribue a la science sur laquelle reposaient les applications professionnelles. Pour comprendre l'evolution et les perspectives d'avenir pour les psychologues judiciaires canadiens, il faut presenter un apercu elargi de l'enseignement, de la recherche, de la pratique et de l'application des lecons tirees de la genese de ce domaine specialise.Mots-cles : Munsterberg, Wigmore, psychologie judiciaire, recher- che, enseignement, formation.The genesis of forensic psychology is usually traced to Hugo whose eclectic interests in the second stage of his career led him to the forefront of many types of applied psychol- ogy (Hale, 1980; Munsterberg, 1922). Benjamin (2006, p. 421) notes that Munsterberg was a tireless spokesperson for the cause of applied psychology, telling anyone who would listen about the great potential in putting to use the mental facts that psychology had discovered yet he initially was an opponent to applied psy- chology-endorsing the views of his teacher, Wundt. is responsible for not only planting the seeds of forensic psychol- ogy, but also contributed to the beginnings of business psychology, clinical psychology, educational psychology, industrial psychol- ogy, and the psychology of cinema. Although he was the most widely recognised psychologist in the world in the first two de- cades of the 20th century-reaching an audience of millions with his articles in the popular press- his significant contributions did not receive much attention after his sudden death at age 53 from a cerebral aneurysm as he took to the lectern at Radcliffe College on the morning of Saturday, December 16, 1916. Looking back al- most a century after his death, it is easier to explain the posthu- mous neglect of his ideas due to his strong German partisanship leading up to the entry of the U.S. involvement in World War I (Moskowitz, 1977). What is harder to understand are several myths that have developed in mainstream forensic psychology textbooks about Munsterberg, suggesting that psychologists tend not to be the best historians- even of their own history. As just one example, Goldstein (2003), although acknowledging that is generally credited with founding the field of fo- rensic psychology, undercuts his importance by indicating that wrote relying on his own experience as an expert witness and although considered many legally rele- vant topics in his best-selling 269 page book On the Witness Stand (Munsterberg, 1908), it lacked any references. …

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