Forensic Psychology, 7th edition
Published by Pearson Canada (November 17, 2025) © 2026
  • Craig Bennell
  • Joanna Pozzulo
  • Adelle Forth
  • Kirk Luther

Title overview

For courses in Forensic Psychology.

Forensic Psychology is a market-leading Canadian text that provides stimulating and accessible course materials by pioneers in the field. The authors have taken a broad-based perspective that incorporates both experimental and clinical topics. The text covers topics that might otherwise be discussed in traditional social and cognitive psychology courses—including eyewitness testimony, jury decision making, and police procedures—as well as topics that are clinical in nature and might otherwise be discussed in traditional personality or abnormal psychology courses - such as the meaning of being unfit to stand trial, mentally disordered offenders, and psychopathy.

Hallmark features of this title

  • Profiles of Canadian Researchers. To expose students to the varied and excellent research in forensic psychology being conducted by Canadians, each chapter includes a profile of a key Canadian researcher whose work is relevant to the chapter topic. These profiles highlight educational background, current position, and research interests, along with a little about the researcher's personal life, so students realize the researchers featured are people too.
  • Theoretical Perspectives. Theories that provide accounts for specific topic areas are discussed in each chapter. The discussion of the various theories emphasizes a multidisciplinary approach, showing the interplay among cognitive, biological, and social factors in understanding the different forensic psychology areas.
  • Research Methodology. Research methodology specific to forensic topics is described in the relevant chapters, with the goal of helping students understand how studies in forensic psychology are conducted.
  • Law. Forensic Psychology provides the student with information on current Canadian law relevant to the psychological issues discussed. At times, Canadian law is contrasted with U.S. and/or British law; however, it is important to remember that the emphasis is on Canadian case law, statutes, regulations, and so on. We do not provide full coverage of law that is not Canadian, so students who are interested in the laws of other countries should refer to other resources.

New and updated features of this title

The biggest change to the seventh edition of Forensic Psychology is that two chapters from the previous edition (Intimate Partner Violence and Sexual Offenders) have been removed, and relevant information from those chapters has been integrated into the remaining chapters. For example, important material from the previous chapters on Intimate Partner Violence and Sexual Offenders has now been relocated into the Risk Assessment chapter (e.g., assessing for risk of domestic violence and sexual offences) and the Psychopathy chapter (e.g., types of sex offenders and their association with psychopathy). This was done for three reasons: Customer feedback that indicated these two chapters were the least-often assigned, overlap between this content and courses (and textbooks) on criminal behaviour where intimate partner violence and sexual offending are dealt with in more detail, and a desire to ensure that Forensic Psychology is suitable for undergraduate courses that tend to take place over a 12- to 13-week term (there are now 13 chapters in the book).

In addition to updating the content, we have made the following important changes in the seventh edition

  • Updated court cases and “In the Media” current issues boxes in each chapter.
  • Expanded number of tables and figures to illustrate concepts and research findings.
  • Updated all chapters to reflect the expanding field of forensic psychology, including recent changes to Canadian legislation and references to the DSM-5-TR.
  • New and updated profiles of prominent Canadian researchers.

Key features

Digital Assets in MyLab Psychology

  • “In the Media” Current Event Boxes. Current event boxes bring currency into your classroom, highlighting “hot” topics in the news that have not yet been the subject of much psychological research. Annually our authors add new or revised content or data to ensure students have relevant examples to help them engage with the course.
  • Video Lessons. Video lessons are brief two- to three-minute instructional videos that cover key definitions and concepts that are embedded within the eTextbook. They reinforce the content by expanding on examples and explaining key graphs and figures, which help students understand essential and difficult concepts. The videos appear in the eTextbook and can be assigned through the multimedia library of MyLab.
  • Learning Catalytics. Learning Catalytics™ allows students to use any web-enabled device to participate in class. Instructors can access a library of pre-built questions or construct questions on their own to keep students engaged in the lecture. Learning Catalytics can be assigned to students synchronously or asynchronously and used for individual or group work. It can also place students in discussion groups based on their responses and location, regardless of class size.
  • Freehand Grader. Freehand Grader is the grading technology in MyLab that creates an authentic assessment experience for both instructors and students. Freehand Grader, available as a new assignment type, allows you to quickly grade any kind of handwritten assignment. As you grade, you indicate the grading criteria and build the rubric question by question. This grade-as-you-go approach lets you add notes to provide students with individual feedback. Students upload their handwritten solutions, including all the steps that go into their responses. Their work provides insight into their thought processes, showing what they know, not just a final answer.

Table of contents

  1. An Introduction to Forensic Psychology
  2. Police Psychology
  3. The Psychology of Police Investigations
  4. Deception
  5. Eyewitness Testimony
  6. Child Victims and Witnesses
  7. Juries: Fact Finders
  8. The Role of Mental Illness in Court
  9. Sentencing and Parole in Canada
  10. Risk Assessment
  11. Psychopaths
  12. Assessment and Treatment of Young Offenders
  13. Homicidal Offenders

Author bios

Joanna Pozzulo, PhD, is a Chancellor’s Professor in the Department of Psychology at Carleton University. Her research and teaching broadly fall under the domain of forensic psychology (borrowing from developmental, social, and cognitive psychology). The primary goal of Dr. Pozzulo’s research is to understand how memory in the context of witnessing crime differs across the lifespan, focusing on the young eyewitness. On an applied level, Dr. Pozzulo is interested in developing age-appropriate identification procedures that police can use with eyewitnesses to reduce the likelihood of wrongful conviction. Relatedly, Dr. Pozzulo is interested in extralegal factors that influence juror decision making within a context of sexual assault. Dr. Pozzulo has authored the book Describing and Identifying Perpetrators: The Young Eyewitness, as well as several others. She also has co-edited several books, including Memory and Sexual Misconduct: Psychological Research for Criminal Justice. Dr. Pozzulo is a child clinical psychologist registered with the Ontario College of Psychologists.

Dr. Pozzulo has received a number of awards for her teaching and research. In 2014, Dr. Pozzulo received the Carleton University Graduate Student Mentoring Award, recognizing her exceptional service to graduate students as a supervisor and mentor. In 2010, Dr. Pozzulo won the Carleton University Research Achievement Award that recognized her outstanding research achievements. In 2009, Dr. Pozzulo, along with Dr. Bennell and Dr. Forth, received the Significant Contribution Award from the Criminal Justice Section of the Canadian Psychological Association for their textbook, Forensic Psychology (Pozzulo, Bennell, & Forth, 2008, second edition). In 2008, Dr. Pozzulo received the Carleton University Teaching Achievement Award. Also for her teaching, Dr. Pozzulo received the Capital Educators’ Award in 2003 from the Ottawa Centre for Research and Innovation. In 2001, her work on child eyewitness memory received the President’s New Researcher Award from the Canadian Psychological Association.

Craig Bennell, PhD, is a professor in the Department of Psychology at Carleton University, where he also serves as director of the Police Research Lab. He completed his PhD at the University of Liverpool, UK, under the supervision of Professor David Canter. Dr. Bennell’s research focuses on evidence-based policing. He has particular interests in how research can be used to improve use-of-force and de-escalation strategies, police responses to people experiencing mental health crises, and the quality of police investigations. He conducts most of his research in collaboration with policing organizations in Canada and abroad. In addition to publishing in peer-reviewed journals, he has co-authored numerous books, including Criminal Behaviour: A Canadian Perspective; Crime Linkage: Theory, Research, and Practice; Police in Schools: An Evidence Based Look at the Use of School Resource Officers; and Criminal Investigations of Sexual Offences: Investigative Techniques and Operational Challenges.

Dr. Bennell has won several awards for his teaching. These include a faculty teaching award in 2005, Carleton University’s Graduate Student Mentoring Award in 2010, and the prestigious Capital Educators’ Award in 2013. His research has also been recognized with several awards, including a Carleton University Research Achievement Award in 2013 and a Building Connections Award in 2015 for his collaborative research partnership with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Dr. Bennell is a past president of the Society for Police and Criminal Psychology and previous editor of the Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology. He co-edits Applied Police Briefings with Dr. Kirk Luther and serves on the editorial boards of several leading forensic and police psychology journals. He currently sits on the Research Advisory Committee and the Use of Force Committee for the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, the Advisory Board for the Canadian Police College, and the Program Advisory Committee for the Police Foundations Program at Algonquin College. .

Adelle Forth, PhD, is a professor of forensic psychology at the Department of Psychology at Carleton University. She completed her PhD at the University of British Columbia, studying criminal psychopaths, where she worked with Dr. Robert Hare to develop the Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised; she is the senior author of the Hare Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version. She is also the co-author on the Structured Assessment of Violence Risk in Youth, a risk scale for adolescent violence. In addition, with her forensic psychology colleagues at Carleton University, she has co-authored the textbook Criminal Behaviour: A Canadian Perspective. .

Dr. Forth has been recognized for her commitment to teaching and graduate supervision by being awarded the Capital Educators’ Award in 2008, the Carleton University Teaching Achievement Award in 2009, and the Graduate Student Mentoring award in 2015 and 2023. Her current research centres on studying the early manifestations of psychopathy, investigating the cognitive and affective mechanisms underlying psychopathy, development of assessments to identify psychopathic traits, and most recently studying the impact of psychopathy. She is currently on the Executive Committee for the Aftermath: Surviving Psychopathy Foundation. This not-for-profit organization is dedicated to educating the public and supporting those who have been negatively impacted by psychopathy. Since 2018 she has been supporting students as a member of the Carleton University dog therapy team. Currently, with her therapy dog Jazz, she holds weekly “pawffice” hours, which are very popular. She is actively involved in training mental health professionals on the assessment of psychopathy and risk assessment in North America, Asia, and Europe. .

Kirk Luther, PhD, is an assistant professor of forensic psychology at the Department of Psychology at Carleton University. He completed his PhD at Memorial University under the supervision of Dr. Brent Snook. His research focuses on improving investigative interviewing practices for vulnerable populations. He has published over 30 peer-reviewed articles in leading journals and has delivered over 50 invited talks and presentations worldwide (e.g., the European Commission). Dr. Luther has been recognized extensively for his contributions to improving investigative interviewing worldwide, including awards such as the SSHRC Talent Award, the Governor General’s Gold Medal, and the European Association of Psychology and Law (EAPL) Early Career Award. .

Dr. Luther’s research has had a global impact: It has been incorporated into practitioner training (Canadian Police College, Parole Board of Canada, European Commission) and Supreme Court of Canada case law. His research is also cited in the Méndez Principles on Effective Interviewing—United Nations’ global guidelines for investigative interviewing policy and practice. Dr. Luther is a passionate teacher of forensic psychology and police interviewing techniques, dedicated to mentoring the next generation of researchers. Dr. Luther is currently exploring the application of investigative interviewing techniques in new contexts, such as cold case investigations and for victims of traumatic events.

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