Week 1 - Introduction and History of Psych and Law

Question 1

How would legal realists view the current relationship between social psychology and the law?

Question 2

Are judges qualified to evaluate scientific evidence? What are potential alternatives to judges as the gatekeepers of validity of expert witnesses?

Question 3

Could the legal system be improved by taking psychological methods into account? How?

Question 4

What obstacles prevent an easy interplay between psychology and the law?

Question 5

Under what conditions should expert psychological testimony be considered relevant? When should it be excluded?

Question 6

What are the distinctions among the advising, evaluating, and reforming roles for psychologists interacting with the law?

Question 7

What are the guidelines of the Daubert Trilogy and what impact have they had on the legal system?

Question 8

What did the Muller v Oregon case assist in doing for social psychology and the legal system?

Question 9

What are Karl Llewellyn’s core principles? (3)

Question 10

How do the differences in goals of psychology and law lead to frustrations?

Question 11

How do the methods vary between psychology and law?

Question 12

How do the styles of inquiry vary between psychology and law?

Question 13

What is forensic psychology (definition)?

Question 14

What are the 3 roles of psychologists in the legal system?

Question 15

How can psychologists act as advisors in the CJS?

Question 16

How can psychologists act as evaluators in the CJS?

Question 17

How can psychologists act as reformers in the CJS?

Question 18

What are the 5 possible pathways to influencing the legal system? What are potential issues with 2 of these pathways?

Question 19

Has psychology influenced the legal system? How?

Question 20

What has Ronald Cotton’s case taught us about eye-witness validity in identification?

Question 21

How did Freud’s speech influence the legal system?

Question 22

What did Munsterberg & Wigmore contribute to the relationship between psychology and the law?

Question 23

What is the significance of the Richard Ivens case?

Question 24

What is the significance of the Brown vs Board of Education case?

Question 25

What are the potential roles of each type of psychologist in the legal system? (Social, developmental, clinical, cognitive)

Question 26

Why might an eye-witness misidentify a suspect? How are the current processes increasing the likelihood of false identifications by eye-witnesses?