PSY328H1 Chapter Notes - Chapter 1: Precedent, Forensic Psychology, Falsifiability
Document Summary
Chapter 1: psychology and law: a cautious alliance. Legal realist movement was an early example of the influence of psychology on the law: law needed to promote the common good pragmatically and make use of social scientific research. Law can be thought of as a culture. Just as cultures have different goals, disputes, values beliefs, etc: law can be traced to underlying differences in goals, methods, and style of inquiry, psychology is descriptive, and law is prescriptive. Stare decisis (let the decision stand): the idea is not to move too far from established precedent. Trial consultants use psychological knowledge to attempt to shape the trial process in ways that produce favorable outcomes for clients: psychologists as evaluators: evaluation research is that any social program ought to be evaluated as to its effectiveness. Programs are put in place to achieve social goals, and it is only fair.
