Overview

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

An introduction to the area of law and psychology. The role and influence of psychology in the legal system will be discussed. Topics include: social psychology and law, developmental psychology and law, juvenile justice, experimental psychology and law, mental disability and law.

COURSE DETAILS:

Issues at the intersection of Psychology and Law have been studied for well over 100 years. In 1906 Sigmund Freud stated, in a speech to Austrian judges, that psychology has important applications to the legal system. In 1908, Hugo Munsterberg published On the Witness Stand, a review of issues that psychologists had studied that were relevant to the legal system. Between 1909 and 1918 Guy Whipple published a series of articles in Psychological Bulletin, on observations, memory, and witness testimony. Notwithstanding the contributions of these giants, sustained research in the area of Psychology and Law did not take hold until the mid 1960s. Since then, the discipline has advanced rapidly. Many and varied questions have been researched by psychologists who specialize in the area of forensic psychology and law including eyewitness identification, memory for crime, risk assessment, treatment of offenders, children’s competence as witnesses in court, juveniles in the criminal justice system. The list of topics is long and the research is extensive. We begin with this course, an Introduction to Psychology and Law. The course will introduce you to the varied topics being studied in psychology and law and an overview of the current state of knowledge in each. Topics: History of psychology and law The Canadian legal system Forensic assessment in criminal domains Forensic assessment in civil domains Forensic treatment Correctional psychology Children and the law Juveniles in the legal system Eyewitness identification Police interrogations and false confessions Police psychology Juries and legal decision making

Grading

Materials

REQUIRED READING: