Adli Psikoloji’nin Tarihine Kısa Bir Bakış

Forensic psychology is one of the rapidly growing and developing psychology specialties in the world. Psychology has been in law since ancient times. However, the science of psychology became an official academic discipline with the establishment of the first psychology laboratory at the University of Leipzig. Well-educated psychologists here are spread throughout Europe and then to America. Many researches have also been carried out in new psychology laboratories that are opened one after another. The research findings obtained have been used in various phases of the forensic system. The relationship between law and psychology, which started with the mental illness-criminal capacity relationship, has gained depth by examining the reliability of witness statements over time. Psychologists have taken more positions in courts over time and have expressed their expert opinions on various topics. After the world war period, psychologists were very often present in courts. The acceleration of forensic psychology came after the 1970s, and finaly in 2010, forensic psychology was recognized as a specialization branch by the American Psychological Association (APA). In this study, the emergence process of “McNaughten Rules”, which forms the basis of forensic psychiatry and therefore forensic psychology, important names and psychological researches contributing to the judicial process, psychologists' acceptance in courts, recognition of forensic psychology as an official speciality and the recent development process.