Careers in Psychology and Law
 

	The United States is a nation that believes strongly in the rule of law. Laws of one type or another pervade every aspect of our lives-from traffic regulations to tax laws, from homeowner's associations to laws about hiring and firing. Many of our relationships, including family, professional, and student-teacher relationships, are based on legal requirements or expectations. Psychology's contribution to law and legal system has been a fairly recent development. Yet in a brief span of thirty years, psychological research and practice has left its mark on the law. Just as we are a nation that adheres to the rule of law, we are also a litigious society. People routinely take their complaints against each other to court. And the criminal justice system has grown enormously in the past twenty years, as is evidenced by the more than 2 million people in U.S. prisons today. If you are interested in law or law enforcement, a career in law and psychology might be of interest to you. Division 41 of the American Psychological Association (APA) is devoted to law and psychology. Go to this page on the Division's web site and read about the role of psychologists in legal settings. Answer the question and e-mail the answers to your instructir or print them and hand them in. http://www.unl.edu/ap-ls/CAREERS.htm What type of activities are involved in the field of psychology and the law? What are the five subspecialty areas of careers in psychology and the law and what are the main services that these specialties provide to the courts and litigants? What is criminal profiling? What are the employment opportunities for criminal profilers? Based on what you have read, what are the most important contributions that you think the field of psychology can make to the criminal or civil justice systems?   Submit your responses to your instructor by e-mail, or print them out and hand them in to your instructor.