The Psychology and Law division is currently one of the smallest in the
Association. One of the most important
divisional activities has been to attempt to increase divisional membership. The division’s regional representatives have
been active in this regard, as has the division’s president who has publicised
the division during an Invited Address at the Annual Conference of the European
Association of Psychology and Law (EAPL), at invited lectures (funded by an
Invitation Fellowship from the Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science)
in Tokyo and Fukuoka to the newly formed Japanese Society for Law and
Psychology, and at invited seminars to the Australia and New Zealand
Association of Psychology, Psychiatry and Law.
These activities may not have resulted in much increased IAAP membership
because of the growth in such psychology-law organisations. Nevertheless, interest in presenting on
psychology-law topics at ICAP in Singapore is relatively strong.
Liaison between our division and the EAPL has increased while our
secretary/treasurer (FransWillem Winkel) has also been President of EAPL.
Several countries have recently seen growth in graduate courses in
psychology-law/forensic psychology and those who run these courses can be asked
to encourage those graduating from them to join IAAP.
One consequence of the terrible events in New York on September 11th
is that governments and other organisations seem now more willing to fund
applied psychological research that relates to terrorism. I’m confident that in the coming years, when
I shall no longer be divisional president, applied psychology will continue to
provide benefits for humankind.