Carson and Bull assembled a book of some 50 professionals in fields to opine on the impact of advanced psychological understanding of witnesses in litigation. Carson opines in the Introduction Chapter concerning how psychology and the law are related..... "Which is it? Is psychology and law a sub-discipline and, if so, of psychology, of law or both? Is it an example of two disciplines collaborating towards greater understanding of their interrelationship, and if so is it best described as psychology in law, law in psychology or psychology and law? [Or is it an attempt by lawyers to more effectively penetrate a witness's thinking for good or bad purposes?]
Should it be broadened to ‘behavioral sciences’ rather than just ‘psychology’? Or is it a coming together, a commitment, of psychologists and lawyers to improve the quality and efï¬ciency of our laws and legal systems? Clearly, we do not have a consensus on such issues. Does that matter? Do we need to decide? Are we missing anything by not identifying, debating and tackling such issues?
This Handbook contains chapters that exemplify each of the three approaches: sub-discipline, collaboration and ‘project’. But it does not follow that the authors would argue that their approach is the only appropriate position or approach. How we ‘do’, or what we write, in psychology and law does not, necessarily, reflect what we would like to see happening at the macro or organizational level. As individuals and groups, we tend to focus on an arrow range of topics, with a view to gaining recognition for our expertise. This chapter will argue that we have not, to our loss, paid sufï¬cient attention to the structural and thematic issues in this developing interest area. Organizational arrangements, particularly internationally (between national and regional bodies) and structurally (between researchers and practitioners but also between psychologists and lawyers)."
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