Hugo Münsterberg's Psychology and Law: A Historical and Contemporary Assessment

Though widely regarded as a founder of the modern field of psychology and law, German-American psychologist Hugo M�nsterberg's now century-old ideas and research approaches continue to thrive. In fact, the discipline still grapples with many of the issues raised by M�nsterberg in his seminal 1908 book, On the Witness Stand. Hugo M�nsterberg's Psychology and Law makes M�nsterberg's enduring insights available to a new generation of scholars, presenting the "state of the science" on the concepts that M�nsterberg was one of the first to investigate. These include eyewitness memory, deception detection, false confessions, and the causes of criminal behavior. Opening with a brief biography of M�nsterberg and a historical overview of the field, the book's organization follows that of On the Witness Stand, with each chapter providing a summary of M�nsterberg's work followed by a contemporary perspective on the topic. Chapters challenge readers to consider what we have learned since M�nsterberg's time and whether subsequent research has shown him to be right or wrong. The final chapter asks what M�nsterberg may have missed, and what we may be missing today. This volume will be of interest to a broad range of scholars, practitioners, and professionals in the legal and mental health fields.

About the Author :
Brian H. Bornstein is Professor Emeritus at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. His research interests include jury decision making, the reliability of eyewitness memory, and the application of decision-making principles to everyday judgment tasks. He has authored or edited 20 books and over 170 journal articles and book chapters, and has received grant funding for his research from several agencies, including the National Science Foundation and the National Institute of Justice. He has received research, mentoring, and book awards from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the American Psychology-Law Society. Jeffrey S. Neuschatz is a Distinguished Professor of Psychology at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. His primary research interests include eyewitness memory, line-up identification, secondary confessions, and jury decision making. He has published over 50 articles and chapters, and co-authored the 2012 book The Psychology of Eyewitness Identification.

Review :
"A fascinating volume for those interested in psychology and law. Readers will be treated to a chapter by chapter examination of M�nsterberg's seminal book On the Witness Stand (1908), that presents case studies and modern research to help the reader understand which of M�nsterberg's conclusions have withstood the test of time." -- Jonathan Golding, PhD, Professor of Psychology, University of Kentucky "Psychology and law is one of the most successful areas in applied psychology. It encompasses cognitive, social, developmental, personality and clinical psychology and covers a range of topics involving legal actors and decision makers at verious levels. Psychology and the law is also a field with a long and distinguished history that contemporary researchers are often woefully unaware of. Bornstein and Neuschatz's book is a wonderful addition because it seamlessly merges the historical with the contemporary. The volume provides a detailed historical analysis of the seminal work of Hugo M�nsterberg with present day research in a variety of areas of psychology and law. It is a must have book that belongs on the bookshelf of any serious student of psychology and the law." -- James Michael Lampinen, PhD, Distinguished Professor of Psychological Science, University of Arkansas