Customer Reviews

Introduction to Forensic Psychology, Second Edition: Issues and Controversies in Crime and Justice

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Intro to Forensic Psych was a rather enjoyable read for me. Although a textbook, I bought it out of curiousity of the subject and to read for my personal enjoyment. The grouping of the material was different from a usual textbook, and the author admits this in the introduction. His organization does not change the ease with which one can read the book, and it makes it so the reader may jump from topic to topic without having to worry about missing some piece of information that will be needed to understand the rest of the material.

Although the author briefly gives background needed to understand some aspects of psych testing or sociology theories, previous knowledge of this material (i.e. interpretation of MMPI results or specific knowledge of social psych or sociological explainations of deviance) served to make the material more relevant.

The only major fault I found with the book was the brevity and cursory discussion of each topic. However, this is an introduction book, and the author does point out that he could write an entire book on each individual section, had he the time. This "fault" was more because the information presented fascinated me, and I wanted to read as much as I could about it.

One thing that I would have liked to see more of was case histories, how forensic psych was applied and actual outcomes. Many of the vignettes given were ficticious and few, if any, clear solutions or outcomes were ever mentioned.

Were I to take a course with this book as the text, I would find it helpful mostly in introducing topics for dicussion or debate in smaller lectures, and a good place to explore the various aspects of forensic psych work that students might not have previously considered. It would also be useful as a starting point to find more information on any dicussed topic through the use of cited works. I enjoyed the book and the author's writing style as it wasn't overly dry, even for a textbook . I would consider buying other books written by this author as he demonstrated, to me at least, a mastery of the subject matter.

I had recieved this book as a gift. I had wanted it for a while, because I someday hope to make a profession outof forensic psychology. Overall, this book was both intresting and informative. It had, for every topic there was, a real life parallell. The way it is organized, it is very easy to skip around, so you can basically read about what you want and not feel completely lost. The only downside to this book is that it sort of seemed like a very detailed outline. Every section was split the same way and had about a paragraph or two under it - I had expected a little more detail, shall we say. Also, I had expected a book such as this to me MUCH bigger, especially for the price. But like I said - overall it was intresting and informative, and quite educational. I learned many things, and was generally satisfied. Hope this helps!!

Introduction To Forensic Psychology: Issues And Controversies In Crime And Justice is written and designed for the beginning student of forensic psychology and includes adult, juvenile, family, and civil components of this specialized discipline. Bruce Arrigo (California School of Professional Psychology, Fresno, California) presents an informative, "reader friendly" text covering the full spectrum of contemporary debate on crime, law, and psychology. Introduction To Forensic Psychology is very highly recommended reading for anyone studying psychology, law, the criminal justice system, or related public policy issues.

The book was well packaged, arrived on time, and was in very good condition. It's a little more basic than what I was expecting, but it offers a great foundation for forensic psychology.

Easy to read and understand text, different lay out to more theoretical texts , this text used case studies to exemplify a point and raises current issues ripe for further investigation. Its actually a pleasure to read!!

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Introduction to Forensic Psychology, Second Edition: Issues and Controversies in Crime and Justice

Don't you luv it when the author writes his own review on the book? Goodness.