Forensic Psychology Personal Statement

Throughout my educational journey, my interest and attention was always captivated by classes which had even the slightest tendency towards Forensic Psychology. Yet, my passion remained unconscious until I took a class of Criminal Law in Business, class which seemed to hold the answer for the consuming question “What am I going to study at University?” From there, I began putting the puzzle pieces together, determined to find the source of the spark- Law, Criminology, Forensic Science all seemed to bring me closer to the right one for me: Forensic Psychology. Reading the first few lines of the field description was enough to assure me that there is no other subject could fascinate, intrigue and motivate me to give by best to apart from this. I became infatuated with the evidence that evil in a human being can be so incandescent, transparent and mischievous that it could bring down any barrier of normality. I became absorbed by its power to grow into the mind and punish the

My entire life I have always been on the search of a career that would fit my persona, fit who I truly am, and to become someone who will constantly have the ability to help people through their difficult problems that they face. Throughout my life I have been deemed the type of person that people felt comfortable coming to with their problems. Maybe people feel this way because they sense that I have a sympathetic ear? Well, all I can say is that human behavior has always seemed interesting to me and that is probably why I made the decision to go down the psychology career pathway.

In recent years, Forensic Psychology has grown to be a very fascinating and popular sub discipline of psychology. If you are a frequent watcher of television programs like; CSI, Criminal Minds, Cracker or Law and Order, you perhaps think you have the ideal perception of who a forensic psychologists is and what their job description entails based on these shows. Well, you might just need to double take. Maybe you have acquired a trick or two on how to mask or disguise crimes that you have committed or will commit, but for the greater part, you may have some huge misconceptions about Forensic psychologists. The reality is that these television programs are idealistic and the truth about these individuals is much more complex and challenging.

“Few fields of study offer more career opportunities than does psychology” (Sternburg 3). There are a wide selection of specialties a person could go into with a bachelor’s degree in psychology. In graduate school, which is a must to attend, there is the option to explore the different specialities or to go into the desired specialty without any research of the others. There are also many options within a specific specialty. There is the option to be a teacher, to work for various organizations, be a speaker, to have your own practice, and many others. In the psychology field these options can all be combined. In fact it is expected of psychologists to do more activities involving their specialty than solely sit in an office and listen to patients. There are two specialities that I am interested in however, over the years, these specialties have become very similar. Clinical and counseling psychology have evolved to become one in the same. Someone who specializes in clinical psychology are more

The Insanity defense is mentioned as confusing to the psychiatric and legal concept. Furthermore, it is explained that the word “insane” is more of a legal word, then a medical term, and therefor to prove a person or a criminal insane, one must find the mental condition, of a criminal, severely impaired to the point of losing one’s free will. A psychiatrist may be or may not able to determine such illness, and a jury’s decision solely based on a psychiatrists’ opinion may be grounded on unreliable evidence. Retrieved from; West's Encyclopedia of American Law, edition 2 (2008).

This caught my attention right away and hooked me in. Along with being a topic I was quite interested in (reference to last nonfiction book report), the first two sentences got me wondering. What could be told from a murdered person’s body? I already had a lot of background information from research and watching shows on mystery and homicide but this question led to a million answers. Some answers were cause of death, manner of death. time of death, weapon used, etc, all of which were related because this was sparked from the thought of a dead person and my ideas. From this, I read on to determine what could be told from an expert’s point of view.

1). Forensic Psychology is the application of the theories of psychology to law and the legal system. Issues of violence and its impact on individuals and/or groups delineate the main and central concerns in Forensics within the adult, juvenile, civil, and family domains. Forensic psychologists provide advice to legislators, judges, correctional officers, lawyers, and the police. They are called upon, for example, to serve as an expert witness, diagnose and treat incarcerated and probationed offenders, and screen and evaluate personnel in the law enforcement and judicial systems. Forensics encompasses a wide range of academic orientation. Synonyms for Forensic psychologists include criminal psychologist,

I have studied not only Psychology in school but also English Language and Literature, all of these subjects will help me in my field of study. Psychology is based on the study of the mind, enabling a helpful starting point for studying Criminology. It has helped me analyse different aspects of the mind from many different perspectives and in turn I am able to use this in all aspects of my life now, not just in school but looking at different situations from different perspectives.

I chose to learn about forensic psychology. Working as a forensic psychologist you have many responsibilities, you must carry out one-on-one assessments, often to assess the risk of reoffending (for lifers being released into the community or sex offenders after a treatment program) or of suicide, self-harm or other high-risk behaviour. You can undertake the bullying going in the jail or analysis for client profiling or undertake projects to evaluate situations affecting prisoners. In order to become a forensic psychologist you need at least a bachelor’s degree in psychology and criminology, but usually a bachelor’s is not enough to pursue forensic psychology career. Master’s or a doctorate are necessary for this field. I didn’t realize that

As an undergraduate at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, I am eager to be faced with the opportunity to earn a higher education both inside and outside of the classroom. I intend to study forensic and investigative sciences, a topic that has held my interest since a young age, and later pursue a career as a DNA analyst. Attending IUPUI is in my best interest as I would be given the privilege to be a part of one of the best forensic science programs in the world. Because many universities don’t offer degrees in forensic science, I am amazed to have found a program that I feel I could make a great addition to. As student, I already work to maintain the best grades to my potential, and plan to continue this habit. While I look

As field, psychology was born of ancient philosophy and philosophers, and began to take root and grow in the 19th century (Candalis &Neal, 2014, p. 20). Psychologists started working with, and within, the courts in the early 1900’s (DeMatteo, Krauss, Marczyk & Burl, 2009, p. 185), however, the first big strides for forensic psychology were not made until 1954,

Psychology is the study of how individuals act with one another, the relationships between their social group, and the correlation within their environment. Psychology plays a major role in everyday life, especially in the nursing division. As a nurse, I will need the basic skills of psychology. For example, a part of the course was learning about the psychological diseases in which I could be working in a psychiatric ward. Another was learning about behavior therapies like operant conditioning. I could be a pediatric nurse and one of my patients could be like my brother. He is autistic and needed behavioral therapy to be specific, operant conditioning. In the future, I will benefit from the information that I have learned from

For me, school is more than just grades, and while undoubtedly it is a large component, I want to soak up all the knowledge I can. Being in college it is a time to start understanding and putting into practice what you learn. My goal is that by enjoying the learning process my grades will follow, and so far they have. With my college degree I plan on pursuing a career in psychology, and ultimately want to get my Ph.D. in forensic psychology. To be honest it took me a while to find my career path. I waited nine years after graduating high school to continue my education and psychology had always stuck in the back of my mind during that time. I also realized subjects such as law and criminology piqued my interest. When I first started at community

The criminal mind has always fascinated me to no ends for as long as I can remember. When the information is laid out before me, I soak up the knowledge similar to a sponge. In fact, due to the endless pursuit to know and learn more about the criminal mind, I have chosen Forensic Psychology as my major. I spend a large portion of my time watching interviews, documentaries, reading books, taking classes, and discussing psychology with teachers and other professionals to further myself in this knowledge set. My main points of interest include, but are in no ways limited to: Adolescence and family history, behaviours and brain activity, and lastly thought process and emotions. The listed topics are grouped due to a distinct correlation between

Forensic (criminal) psychology is a job field that deals with both psychology and law. The field has experienced dramatic growth in recent years due to the role of popular movies, television programs and books popularizing the field. Often these individuals are depicted as vivid components in solving vicious crimes or timing out a criminal’s next home. While these depictions of certainly entertaining, yet these portrayals are not necessarily precise. Forensic psychologists play an instrumental role in the criminal justice system while applying psychological principles to the legal system. The crossover of the two spheres is best decided in the Encyclopedia of Psychology,