Experts Debate The Role Of Psychology In Interrogations

Main Category: Psychology / Psychiatry
Article Date: 29 Dec 2007 - 1:00 PDT

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The involvement of psychologists in interrogations is a subject of great interest among practicing psychologists, researchers, policy advocates and interrogators. There are greatly varying opinions about what role psychologists should play in interrogation settings. For example, at last summer's meeting of the American Psychological Association in San Francisco, representatives of the APA Council of Representatives voted against banning participation of psychologists, and in favor of adopting an alternative resolution.

The new issue of Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy presents the scope of views represented by experts from multiple areas within psychology and addresses the differing perspectives about interrogation and psychological roles and responsibilities. Although the articles in this volume were written before the APA meeting, they represent a full range of perspectives, and provide background information on the continuing debates among psychologists.

Topics discussed in the interrogations papers include:

-The situational ethics involved in dealing with classified information, national security and client privileges.

-An outline of the significant actions and positions taken by the Board and Council of the American Psychological Association.

-A review of the available evidence concerning connections between psychology and torture.

-The ethical and scientific considerations involved in evaluating the proper role of psychologists in national security interrogations. -The balance of ethics and research findings.

Other papers in this volume examine other important issues of policy and practice including:

-Social science evidence and the recent K-12 school desegregation court rulings.

-Social science evidence on issues of immigration.

-Psychology and the environment.

-Community perceptions of sex offenders.

"The articles address important and timely social issues, and are focused squarely on the relations of research and theory with practice and public policy," says Dr. Geoffrey M. Maruyama, Editor of Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy.

Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy (ASAP) is an electronic journal of the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues (SPSSI). It is published in print every December. The journal is an outlet for timely and innovative psychological and related social science scholarship with implications for social action and policy. ASAP provides a forum for publishing new work as well as discussion on alternative approaches to a variety of important and current social problems. ASAP facilitates communication between social science researchers and practitioners and policy makers, as well as with the public as a whole. For more information, please visit http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/loi/asap.