Hugo Munsterberg’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 Munsterberg’s now century-old ideas and research approaches continue to thrive. In fact, the discipline still grapples with many of the issues raised by Munsterberg in his seminal 1908 book, On the Witness Stand.Hugo Munsterberg’s Psychology and Law makes Munsterberg’s enduring insights available to a new generation of scholars, presenting the state of the science on the concepts that Munsterberg 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 Munsterberg 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 Munsterberg’s work followed by a contemporary perspective on the topic. Chapters challenge readers to consider what we have learned since Munsterberg’s time and whether subsequent research has shown him to be right or wrong. The final chapter asks what Munsterberg 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.