Legal Psychology
Legal Psychology
Why do people falsely confess to crimes they didn’t commit? Why are innocent people sometimes identified by eyewitnesses? How can investigators get the best evidence from eyewitnesses? How do juries—groups of 12 strangers—come to a decision during a trial? These are some of the core questions that legal psychologists (and students like you) strive to answer. In this course, you will apply knowledge and theories from social, cognitive, and developmental psychology to issues facing the legal system?
Topics
Core topics
Psychology and law overview
Eyewitness memory
Investigative interviewing
Interrogations and confessions
Lie detection
Forensic science and cognitive biases
Jury selection and decision-making
Prisonization and the death penalty
Occasionally we'll discuss
Offender profiling
Competency to stand trial
Insanity defense
Recommended Readings
Great books to consider
Unfair: The New Science of Criminal Injustice by Adam Benforado
In Doubt: The Psychology of the Criminal Justice Process by Dan Simon
Peer-reviewed publications
coming soon