Abstract
M.Phil. (Industrial Psychology)
The objective of this study was to determine the psychologist-lawyer dynamics, prevalent in the psycho-legal activities of industrial psychologists. In order to reach this objective, repertory grid interviews were conducted with 10 participants, all of whom were industrial psychologists experienced in psycho-legal activities. During the interviews, the participants were asked to contrast their experiences in terms of the psychologist-lawyer dynamics, by eliciting similarities and differences between the psycho-legal cases which they identified. From the contrasts obtained in the interviews, the data were analysed in three consecutive stages, namely eyeball analysis, bootstrapping analysis, and the interpretation and sense-making of the themes. In the first stage of analysis, the repertory grids of the participants were scanned holistically to identify personal constructs. In the second stage of analysis, the personal constructs were categorised into themes, based on a process of continual scrutiny for similarities. During the final stage of analysis, the seven themes, categorised from the personal constructs of the participants, were interpreted and made sense of by using relevant literature on forensic psychology. The seven themes categorised from the data were: differing scientific worldviews of industrial psychologists and lawyers, the power differential in the psychologist-lawyer relationship, motives of the instructing lawyer, structure of the psychologist-lawyer relationship, the industrial psychologist's fees, objectivity of the industrial psychologist, and ethical principles in psycho-legal activities.
Based on the seven themes, recommendations are made to important stakeholders such as industrial psychologists, the Professional Board for Psychology, lawyers instructing industrial psychologists, and universities. Furthermore, important limitations of this study are noted, from where recommendations for future research are made. Recommendations for stakeholders and future research in terms of the psychologist-lawyer dynamics in industrial psychologists’ psycho-legal activities are aimed at mediating the interdisciplinary and inter-professional dynamics between industrial psychologists and lawyers, in order to aid the sustained practice of industrial psychologists’ psycho-legal activities.