American Psychology–Law Society
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The American Psychology–Law Society (AP–LS) is an academic society for
legal Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...
and
forensic Forensic science, also known as criminalistics, is the application of science to Criminal law, criminal and Civil law (legal system), civil laws, mainly—on the criminal side—during criminal investigation, as governed by the legal standard ...
psychologist A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation, observation, and interpretation of how indi ...
s, as well as general psychologists who are interested in the application of psychology to the law. AP–LS serves as Division 41 of the
American Psychological Association The American Psychological Association (APA) is the largest scientific and professional organization of psychologists in the United States, with over 133,000 members, including scientists, educators, clinicians, consultants, and students. It ha ...
and publishes the
academic journal An academic journal or scholarly journal is a periodical publication in which scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. Academic journals serve as permanent and transparent forums for the presentation, scrutiny, and d ...
'' Law and Human Behavior''.


Goals and publications

The American Psychology–Law Society has three main goals, which are to advance the contributions of psychology to the understanding of law and legal institutions through basic and applied research, to promote the education of psychologists in matters of law and the education of legal personnel in matters of psychology, and to inform the psychological and legal communities and the general public of current research, educational and service activities in the field of psychology and law. The AP-LS publishes the journal '' Law and Human Behavior'' and a newsletter entitled AP-LS News.


History

The American Psychology–Law Society (AP-LS) was developed at a
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
meeting in September 1968, by founders Eric Dreikurs and Jay Ziskin. The society was created for
forensic Forensic science, also known as criminalistics, is the application of science to Criminal law, criminal and Civil law (legal system), civil laws, mainly—on the criminal side—during criminal investigation, as governed by the legal standard ...
and
clinical psychologists Clinical psychology is an integration of social science, theory, and clinical knowledge for the purpose of understanding, preventing, and relieving psychologically based distress or dysfunction and to promote subjective well-being and persona ...
. The first newsletter was published in October 1968. The original constitution was published later that year, and outlined the reasons for creating the society. These were to promote the study of law, influence legislation and policy, and to promote psychology in legal processes. A year after the San Francisco meeting, the AP-LS had 101 members. Most of the members were clinical psychologists, and nine of these original members were women. This group had a stronger focus on psychology, as opposed to the
Law and Society Association The Law and Society Association (LSA), founded in 1964, is a group of scholars from many fields and countries who share a common interest in the place of law in social, political, economic and cultural life. It is one of the leading professional a ...
, which has similar goals, but a broader focus. There was a controversy in 1971, when the founder, Jay Ziskin, wrote a book which stated that psychological evidence often did not meet reasonable criteria and should not be used in court of law. This statement sprouted debate in the society and caused the society's popularity to decline for a while. After this,
June Louin Tapp June is the sixth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and is the second of four months to have a length of 30 days, and the third of five months to have a length of less than 31 days. June contains the summer solstice in ...
became president of the society. In 1976, Bruce Sales became the society's president, and helped refocus the society on the field of psychology and law. Sales had the goal to have the American Psychology–Law Society be the driving force behind the group. Sales, along with Ronald Roesch, helped the group publish many books, including '' Psychology in the Legal Process'', '' Perspectives in Law and Psychology'', and ''Law and Human Behavior''. In the 1980s,
Florence Kaslow Florence Kaslow is an American psychologist. In addition to studying and instructing psychology she also practices. She served as the president of Div. 43 (Society for Family Psychology), Div. 46 (Media Psychology and Technology) and co-chair of ...
asked the group to help develop a certification for forensic psychologists, but the group was not interested. This led Kaslow to create the American Board of Forensic Psychology, which helped keep the American Psychology–Law Society and forensic psychology separated. In the 1980s
Division 41 Division or divider may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication *Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting ...
of the APA began to discuss law and psychology, and began covering many similar policies of the AP-LS. Therefore, in 1983, Division 41 and AP-LS merged, under the agreement that Law and Human Behavior would be the journal for the group, and that the biennial meetings would continue to be held. The "new AP-LS" allowed for previous presidents to have a second term in the society, including Bruce Sales, who was the first president of the merged society.


Specialty Guidelines

In 1991, the
Committee on Ethical Guidelines for Forensic Psychologists A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...
began working to establish rules for forensic psychologists to follow in the court room. In 1992, the committee released "Specialty Guidelines" for forensic psychologists, on top of the
Code of Conduct A code of conduct is a set of rules outlining the norms, rules, and responsibilities or proper practices of an individual party or an organization. Companies' codes of conduct A company code of conduct is a set of rules which is commonly writt ...
that they already were required to follow. Additionally in the 1990s, the society also established the
Committee on Careers and Education A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...
, to help students find training programs to become psychologists in the legal system. In 1995, they held a conference to discuss education at undergraduate and post doctorate levels, how to offer legal psychology courses in the curriculum, and how to offer students experiences. The AP-LS also provides
grants Grant or Grants may refer to: Places *Grant County (disambiguation) Australia * Grant, Queensland, a locality in the Barcaldine Region, Queensland, Australia United Kingdom *Castle Grant United States * Grant, Alabama *Grant, Inyo County, C ...
and funding for students who are interested in attending school for law-related psychology. The Specialty Guidelines for Forensic Psychologists were first published in 1991. They are guidelines for forensic psychologists to encourage professional, quality, and systematic work in the
law system The contemporary national legal systems are generally based on one of four basic systems: civil law (legal system), civil law, common law, statutory law, religious law or combinations of these. However, the legal system of each country is shaped ...
and to those who the forensic psychologists serve. These are the only sets of APA-approved guidelines for a specific area of practice. The guidelines cover 11 points – responsibilities, competence, diligence, relationship, fees, informed consent notification and assent, conflicts in practice, privacy confidentiality and privilege, methods and procedures, assessment, and professional and other public communications. After an extensive revision process, the Specialty Guidelines for Forensic Psychology were updated in October 2012.


Membership

The AP-LS is composed of APA members, graduate and undergraduate students, and people in related fields to join the society. The members primarily have an interest in psychology and law issues. Many members are also members of the
American Psychological Association The American Psychological Association (APA) is the largest scientific and professional organization of psychologists in the United States, with over 133,000 members, including scientists, educators, clinicians, consultants, and students. It ha ...
, though it is not a requirement. Members gain access to the publications of Law and Human Behavior and the American Psychology-Law newsletter.


Awards and honors

The AP-LS offers many grants and aid for undergraduates, graduates, early careers, and research. In addition to grants, many awards are handed out yearly. * The AP-LS Award for Best Undergraduate Paper: This award is given to an undergraduate student who has a paper focused on psychology and law. * Dissertation Awards: These awards are distributed for scientific research relevant to the study of psychology and law. Winners may present their research at the AP-LS annual conference. *
The Saleem Shah Award ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
: This award is also sponsored by the American Academy of Forensic Psychology. It is awarded for early career excellence and contributions to the field. * Outstanding Teaching and Mentoring in the Field of Psychology and Law: This is an award to recognize excellence in teaching of subjects related to psychology and law. * AP-LS Award for Distinguished Contribution to Psychology and Law: This is not awarded on a regular basis. It is an award reserved for unusual excellence and contributions in the field that are so important that it merits special commendations. *
The American Psychology-Law Society Book Award ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
: This is awarded to a book each year to recognize outstanding scholarship in the field of psychology and law. * AP-LS/AACP Award for Contributions to Correctional Psychology: This is also given by the American Association for Correctional Psychology. This award is given to professionals who have made an impact on the field of correctional psychology.


Publications

*'' Law and Human Behavior'': This journal is published six times a year. It discusses the issues that arise in law an psychology, including the legal process, the legal system, and the relationships between these and human behavior. * AP-LS News: This is a newsletter that the society publishes three times each year. These newsletters update on activities, important legal cases that are occurring, new publications, and emerging topics in the field of psychology and the law.


Division 41 Presidents


References


External links


American Psychology–Law Society Website
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20070928144001/http://www.ap-ls.org/conferences/apls2008/index.html 2008 AP-LS Conference {{DEFAULTSORT:American Psychology-Law Society Law-related professional associations Law-related learned societies Forensics organizations Forensic psychology Psychology organizations based in the United States Divisions of the American Psychological Association