Personality as a Category of Legal Psychology

Abstract

The problem of personality relates to the fundamental theoretical and applied problems, while the category of personality – belongs to the basic categories of legal psychology. The main object of study in legal psychology is the personality in its specific behaviors, regulated by law. In this sphere different types of personality in specific professional legal practice (investigator, prosecutor, attorney, judge) with their corresponding functions are studied. Also, the personalities of the offender and the criminal with their inherent motivation and distorted sense of justice are studied. The personality of the victim and a witness are also explored. One of the strategic areas of theoretical and applied development of the category «personality» in legal psychology is its study in the context of offense. Within the general concept of «personality of the offender» various areas of law operate with more specific concepts. In particular, criminology uses the term «offender», criminal law – «person as the subject of crime», criminal procedural law – «guilty person», penal law – «sentenced person». The peculiarity of psychological-legal approach is that it combines the development of some of the common issues not strictly related to the specific legal status of the individual and the development of certain varieties of the offender (minor female person, guilty, sentenced and others.). Personality of «convicted» as specific version of the term «identity of the offender» is being developed by penitentiary psychology. The research of personality of the victim allows to establish cause-effect mechanism «offender – victim», facilitates determination of the motive of the crime, selection of the victim in each case, revealing the nature of the relationship between them, the role of the victim and the accused in a criminal situation interaction.