Psychological Science and the Law

Psychological research can provide constructive explanations of key problems in the criminal justice system--and can help generate solutions. This state-of-the-art text dissects the psychological processes associated with fundamental legal questions: Is a suspect lying? Will an incarcerated individual be dangerous in the future? Is an eyewitness accurate? How can false memories be implanted? How do juries, experts, forensic examiners, and judges make decisions, and how can racial and other forms of bias be minimized? Chapters offer up-to-date reviews of relevant theory, experimental methods, and empirical findings. Specific recommendations are made for improving the quality of evidence and preserving the integrity of investigative and legal proceedings.

Author: Neil Brewer
Publisher: Guilford Publications
Published: 04/04/2019
Pages: 459
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.70lbs
Size: 9.50h x 6.30w x 1.00d
ISBN: 9781462538300

About the Author
Neil Brewer, PhD, is Matthew Flinders Distinguished Emeritus Professor of Psychology at Flinders University, South Australia. He is a Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science and of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia. His research addresses eyewitness identification and recall, juror judgments, and, recently, interactions between individuals with autism spectrum disorder and the justice system. Dr. Brewer has served as the editor of the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied and as an editorial board member for all the major psychology-law journals.

Amy Bradfield Douglass, PhD, is Professor of Psychology at Bates College. She teaches statistics and upper-level courses on psychology and law and psychology of religion. Her research focuses on how eyewitnesses make decisions, how eyewitness errors can be prevented, how social interactions with lineup administrators affect retrospective witness judgments, and how people perceive and evaluate eyewitnesses. Dr. Douglass is an editorial board member and former associate editor of Law and Human Behavior.