Forensic + Legal Psychology
Social justice. Evidence-based practices. Open science.
The Forensic Psychology section is based at the faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience at Maastricht University. The section was founded in 2006 by Prof. Dr. Harald Merckelbach.
The members of the section of Forensic Psychology strive to generate knowledge that serves to enhance the quality of legal decision making in both criminal and civil cases. Thus, our research focuses on core investigative procedures (e.g., interviewing techniques, deception detection), decision making (e.g., eyewitness identification, expert bias), and forensic risk assessment (e.g., predicting recidivism).
Our mission is to describe, explain, predict, and provide solutions for psychological issues that have a profound impact on the lives of victims, suspects, offenders, and on professional practice. We aim to create quality in legal and forensic psychology and to train young psychologists to work in the field of criminal and civil law.
Therefore, next to research activities, the Forensic Psychology section leads an excellent two-year teaching program in Forensic Psychology and an one-year master in Legal Psychology.
Legal & Forensic Psychology Masters at Maastricht University
Prof. Corine de Ruiter presents the two Master programs offered by the Forensic Psychology Section at Maastricht University.
Areas of Research
Deception & Malingering
This research line focuses on the detection of deception and malingering in a variety of settings. Topics studied include lie detection by means of psycho-physiological recordings such as skin conductance and electroencephalography, but also the use of content analysis to assess the veracity of statements. In addition, research is concerned with malingering and related phenomena and how these can best be detected with tests and tasks (symptom validity testing).
Witness Memory
This research line deals with current issues and controversies in the area of eyewitness memory and false memories. Specifically, researchers in this domain examine under which circumstances eyewitnesses are able to accurately identify the culprit from a lineup. Furthermore, they investigate how the overwhelmingly stressful nature of being an eyewitness or victim to a crime affects their memory for that event. In addition, research focuses on a variety of memory illusions such as why children and adults sometimes develop memories of events (e.g., sexual abuse) that never occurred and the impact that these false memories may have in legal proceedings. The effectiveness of structured forensic interview protocols in interviewing alleged victims of child abuse is studied in actual child protection practice.
Psychological Assessment & Interviewing
The studies in this line of research focus on the development and validation of evidence-based risk assessment tools for different forms of violence and antisocial behaviour in adults (e.g., intimate partner violence, child maltreatment) and youth (e.g., violence, self-harm). Furthermore, research into risk and protective factors is combined with intervention studies for different types of harmful behaviours towards others. Key words to describe the recent work of the Forensic Section researchers in this domain are: trauma-focused, strengths-based and positive forensic psychology.
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