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Law and Psychology

Selected Works

Selected Works

2012

Articles 1 - 7 of 7

Full-Text Articles in Law

What's On First?: Organizing The Casebook And Molding The Mind, Donald G. Gifford, Joseph L. Kroart Iii, Brian Jones, Cheryl Cortemeglia Aug 2012

What's On First?: Organizing The Casebook And Molding The Mind, Donald G. Gifford, Joseph L. Kroart Iii, Brian Jones, Cheryl Cortemeglia

Donald G Gifford

This study empirically tests the proposition that law students adopt different conceptions of the judge’s role in adjudication based on whether they first study intentional torts, negligence, or strict liability. The authors conducted an anonymous survey of more than 450 students enrolled in eight law schools at the beginning, mid-point, and end of the first semester of law school. The students were prompted to indicate to what extent they believed the judge’s role to be one of rule application and, conversely, to what extent it was one of considering social, economic, and ideological factors. The survey found that while all …

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Happiness And Punishment, Jonathan S. Masur, Christopher Buccafusco, John Bronsteen Jun 2012

Happiness And Punishment, Jonathan S. Masur, Christopher Buccafusco, John Bronsteen

John Bronsteen

This article continues our project to apply groundbreaking new literature on the behavioral psychology of human happiness to some of the most deeply analyzed questions in law. Here we explain that the new psychological understandings of happiness interact in startling ways with the leading theories of criminal punishment. Punishment theorists, both retributivist and utilitarian, have failed to account for human beings' ability to adapt to changed circumstances, including fines and (surprisingly) imprisonment. At the same time, these theorists have largely ignored the severe hedonic losses brought about by the post-prison social and economic deprivations (unemployment, divorce, and disease) caused by …

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"Thinking" In A Deweyan Perspective: The Law School Exam As A Case Study For Thinking In Lawyering, Donald J. Kochan Apr 2012

"Thinking" In A Deweyan Perspective: The Law School Exam As A Case Study For Thinking In Lawyering, Donald J. Kochan

Donald J. Kochan

As creatures of thought, we are thinking all the time, but that does not necessarily mean that we are thinking well. Answering the law school exam, like solving any problem, requires that the student exercise thinking in an effective and productive manner. This Article provides some guidance in that pursuit. Using John Dewey’s suspended conclusion concept for effective thinking as an organizing theme, this Article presents one basic set of lessons for thinking through issues that arise regarding the approach to a law school exam. This means that the lessons contained here help exercise thought while taking the exam — …

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27. Does Valence Matter? Effects Of Negativity On Children's Early Understanding Of Truths And Lies., Lindsay Wandrey, Jodi A. Quas, Thomas D. Lyon Mar 2012

27. Does Valence Matter? Effects Of Negativity On Children's Early Understanding Of Truths And Lies., Lindsay Wandrey, Jodi A. Quas, Thomas D. Lyon

Thomas D. Lyon

Early deceptive behavior often involves acts of wrongdoings on the part of children. As a result, it has often been assumed, although not tested directly, that children are better at identifying lies about wrongdoing than lies about other activities. We tested this assumption in two studies. In Study 1, 67 3- to 5-year-olds viewed vignettes in which a character truthfully or falsely claimed to have committed a good or bad act. Children were biased to label claims that the character had committed a good act as the truth and claims that the character had committed a bad act as lies. …

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11. Twenty-Five Years Of Interviewing Research And Practice: Dolls, Diagrams, And The Dynamics Of Abuse Disclosure., Thomas D. Lyon Feb 2012

11. Twenty-Five Years Of Interviewing Research And Practice: Dolls, Diagrams, And The Dynamics Of Abuse Disclosure., Thomas D. Lyon

Thomas D. Lyon

A great deal of research in the past 25 years has contributed to our understanding of how best to interview children about suspected maltreatment. The disastrous failures of the highly publicized daycare abuse cases led to a flood of research, initially emphasizing the failures of conventional approaches, and more recently highlighting the potential for eliciting complete and accurate reports.  If a child has disclosed abuse, and is willing to disclose again, we know what to do. Research supports the use of interview instructions, narrative practice rapport building, and the use of open ended questions to elicit and to elaborate on …

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Book Review: International Human Rights And Mental Disability Law: When The Silenced Are Heard, Robert M. Sanger Dec 2011

Book Review: International Human Rights And Mental Disability Law: When The Silenced Are Heard, Robert M. Sanger

Robert M. Sanger

International Human Rights and Mental Disability Law: When the Silenced Are Heard by Michael Perlin is the definitive text on the analysis of international law, treaties, protocols, covenants, and conventions regarding mental disability issues. It also contains comparative law and philosophical analysis. Although a treasure to foreign and international teachers and practitioners, Professor Perlin’s book also focuses on areas — such as sanism and pretextuality — that may provide some insight for domestic criminal defense and mental health lawyers.

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26. “How Did You Feel?”: Increasing Child Sexual Abuse Witnesses’ Production Of Evaluative Information., Thomas D. Lyon, Nicholas Scurich, Karen Choi, Sally Handmaker, Rebecca Blank Dec 2011

26. “How Did You Feel?”: Increasing Child Sexual Abuse Witnesses’ Production Of Evaluative Information., Thomas D. Lyon, Nicholas Scurich, Karen Choi, Sally Handmaker, Rebecca Blank

Thomas D. Lyon

In child sexual abuse cases, the victim’s testimony is essential, because the victim and the perpetrator tend to be the only eyewitnesses to the crime. A potentially important component of an abuse report is the child’s subjective reactions to the abuse. Attorneys may ask suggestive questions or avoid questioning children about their reactions, assuming that children, given their immaturity and reluctance, are incapable of articulation. We hypothesized that How questions referencing reactions to abuse (e.g., “howdid you feel”) would increase the productivity of children’s descriptions of abuse reactions. Two studiescompared the extent to which children provided evaluative content, defined as …

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