Psychology, Law,
and criminal justice
2021-2022
0
,Inhoud
Part 1. Sketching the interplay between psychology and law .................................................... 2
1. Introducing legal psychology .............................................................................................. 2
2. Legal psychology: informing criminal justice procedures and decisions ............................ 8
Part 2. The bigger picture: the importance of finding and applying best practices ................... 9
1. Miscarriages of justice ........................................................................................................ 9
2. Safeguarding procedural rights of persons involves in criminal proceedings .................. 16
Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 19
Part 3: Obtaining information from suspects, witnesses, and victims ..................................... 20
1. Investigative interviewing of suspects, witnesses, and victims ........................................ 20
2. Researching scenarios and the importance of alibis ........................................................ 27
3. Suspect vulnerability ........................................................................................................ 31
4. In search for the truth: lie detection techniques.............................................................. 39
5. Identifying perpetrators: eyewitness identification ......................................................... 48
Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 54
Part 4. Understanding and mitigating investigative biases ...................................................... 55
1. Common pitfalls in decision making in criminal proceedings ........................................... 55
2. The role of forensic expert witnesses............................................................................... 56
3. The importance and adequacy of procedural safeguards and legal provisions in general
.............................................................................................................................................. 61
Part 5. Future avenues for improving law enforcement practice and judicial decision-making
.................................................................................................................................................. 65
1. The importance of cross-fertilization between psychology and law ................................ 65
2. The need for improved training informed by best practices ............................................ 65
3. Improving judicial decision-making .................................................................................. 67
Conclusion on the career of a suspect’s statement ............................................................. 71
4. Changing beliefs and attitudes, changing practices ......................................................... 73
1
,Part 1. Sketching the interplay between psychology and law
1. Introducing legal psychology
The origins and history of psychology applied to law
1.1. A brief history of psychology and law
The trial is the most visible piece of our justice system. The legal system is saturated with
psychological concerns
• Developmental psychology
• Social psychology
• Clinical psychology
• Cognitive psychology
The full appreciation of the possible applications of psychology to the legal system began in
the early years of the 20th century.
German roots
• William Stern
o Psychology of witnesses
o Expert witness in the area of legal psychology and founded a journal:
“contributions to the psychology of testimony”
• Hugo Munsterberg
o “On the witness stand” on witness memory, false confessions, jury decision
making
Two events that triggered a broad recognition among psychologists that might be used to
transform the legal system
1. “On the witness stand” by Munsterberg
a. First to identify the psychological aspects of several topics that have become
thriving areas of research (witness memory, false confessions, jury decision
making)
2. Case of “Muller v. Oregon” that the workday of any woman employed in a laundry
factory should be limited to 10 hours
2
, The influence of psychology on the law
• The realist movement (Llewellyn) and their core principles
1. Society moves faster than the law, so laws must be continually re-examined
2. Law is “a means to social ends and not an end in itself”
3. Law must be evaluated in terms of its effects
• Case of “Brown v. Board of Education”
o Segregation between black and white children is a violation of the fourteenth
amendment’s guarantee of equal protection under law
• Broader psychological community
o Growing eagerness to find ways of applying theory and research to areas such
as law
o Establishment of the American Psychology-Law Society (APLS)
• Only in the 1970s was there a steady relationship between psychology and law
Practical examples of where psychology and law intersect in our culture
• Interrogation
• Individual therapy
• Group therapy for prisoners
Dimensions to differentiate cultures
• Uncertainty avoidance
• Power distance
Goals: approximate truth versus approximate justice (dimension uncertainty avoidance)
Psychology Law
Descriptive: how people actually behave Prescriptive: how people ought to behave
Goal: provide full and accurate explanation Goal: regulate human behaviour and provide
of human behaviour punishment when someone behaves in a
way that the law forbids
Interested in finding the truth Interested in rendering justice
Emphasizes the characteristics of groups Emphasizes individual cases
Research to uncover general principles of Research for the application of abstract
human behaviour: individuals are principles to specific cases
idiosyncratic so one person is not
representative of how others would behave
3
and criminal justice
2021-2022
0
,Inhoud
Part 1. Sketching the interplay between psychology and law .................................................... 2
1. Introducing legal psychology .............................................................................................. 2
2. Legal psychology: informing criminal justice procedures and decisions ............................ 8
Part 2. The bigger picture: the importance of finding and applying best practices ................... 9
1. Miscarriages of justice ........................................................................................................ 9
2. Safeguarding procedural rights of persons involves in criminal proceedings .................. 16
Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 19
Part 3: Obtaining information from suspects, witnesses, and victims ..................................... 20
1. Investigative interviewing of suspects, witnesses, and victims ........................................ 20
2. Researching scenarios and the importance of alibis ........................................................ 27
3. Suspect vulnerability ........................................................................................................ 31
4. In search for the truth: lie detection techniques.............................................................. 39
5. Identifying perpetrators: eyewitness identification ......................................................... 48
Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 54
Part 4. Understanding and mitigating investigative biases ...................................................... 55
1. Common pitfalls in decision making in criminal proceedings ........................................... 55
2. The role of forensic expert witnesses............................................................................... 56
3. The importance and adequacy of procedural safeguards and legal provisions in general
.............................................................................................................................................. 61
Part 5. Future avenues for improving law enforcement practice and judicial decision-making
.................................................................................................................................................. 65
1. The importance of cross-fertilization between psychology and law ................................ 65
2. The need for improved training informed by best practices ............................................ 65
3. Improving judicial decision-making .................................................................................. 67
Conclusion on the career of a suspect’s statement ............................................................. 71
4. Changing beliefs and attitudes, changing practices ......................................................... 73
1
,Part 1. Sketching the interplay between psychology and law
1. Introducing legal psychology
The origins and history of psychology applied to law
1.1. A brief history of psychology and law
The trial is the most visible piece of our justice system. The legal system is saturated with
psychological concerns
• Developmental psychology
• Social psychology
• Clinical psychology
• Cognitive psychology
The full appreciation of the possible applications of psychology to the legal system began in
the early years of the 20th century.
German roots
• William Stern
o Psychology of witnesses
o Expert witness in the area of legal psychology and founded a journal:
“contributions to the psychology of testimony”
• Hugo Munsterberg
o “On the witness stand” on witness memory, false confessions, jury decision
making
Two events that triggered a broad recognition among psychologists that might be used to
transform the legal system
1. “On the witness stand” by Munsterberg
a. First to identify the psychological aspects of several topics that have become
thriving areas of research (witness memory, false confessions, jury decision
making)
2. Case of “Muller v. Oregon” that the workday of any woman employed in a laundry
factory should be limited to 10 hours
2
, The influence of psychology on the law
• The realist movement (Llewellyn) and their core principles
1. Society moves faster than the law, so laws must be continually re-examined
2. Law is “a means to social ends and not an end in itself”
3. Law must be evaluated in terms of its effects
• Case of “Brown v. Board of Education”
o Segregation between black and white children is a violation of the fourteenth
amendment’s guarantee of equal protection under law
• Broader psychological community
o Growing eagerness to find ways of applying theory and research to areas such
as law
o Establishment of the American Psychology-Law Society (APLS)
• Only in the 1970s was there a steady relationship between psychology and law
Practical examples of where psychology and law intersect in our culture
• Interrogation
• Individual therapy
• Group therapy for prisoners
Dimensions to differentiate cultures
• Uncertainty avoidance
• Power distance
Goals: approximate truth versus approximate justice (dimension uncertainty avoidance)
Psychology Law
Descriptive: how people actually behave Prescriptive: how people ought to behave
Goal: provide full and accurate explanation Goal: regulate human behaviour and provide
of human behaviour punishment when someone behaves in a
way that the law forbids
Interested in finding the truth Interested in rendering justice
Emphasizes the characteristics of groups Emphasizes individual cases
Research to uncover general principles of Research for the application of abstract
human behaviour: individuals are principles to specific cases
idiosyncratic so one person is not
representative of how others would behave
3
