Exploring the Field of Forensic Psychology A specialized area of psychology called forensic psychology connects ideas from psychology with the principles of the legal and criminal justice systems. This particular field involves the use of psychological concepts and strategies to understand and solve legal and criminal situations. In every area of the legal system, from criminal investigations to legal hearings, forensic psychologists are important. There are many different sub areas in forensic psychology including: criminal profiling, hostage negotiation, psychological assessments, evaluations, serving as expert witnesses in trials, legal consultations, victim services and correctional psychology. There are many positive aspects in regards …show more content…
In this area, counseling and rehabilitation for offenders is a huge aspect of this subarea of psychology. In this field, there are also some negative aspects because of the potential emotional toll on the psychologists. Forensic psychologists may experience burnout and various traumas as a result of working with violent crimes and child abuse cases. These are two of the dark and frequently upsetting areas of the judicial system. Mental health can be negatively impacted by the exposure to human suffering, as well as the burden of accountability for influencing court decisions. There is also the issue of working with the opposing side, such as the prosecution or defense. In these cases, they may face ethical dilemmas or have a conflict of interest, making their professional and moral considerations put into question. The last disadvantage is the bias and subjectivity that could arise from the psychological assessment. Reliability and accuracy can be called into question or even thrown out in court hearings. This may be frustrating to the psychologists, as it may require more time and more scientific research to come up with the results. To interpret the data for average salaries, I used