LAW 284:

INTRODUCTION TO LAW AND PSYCHOLOGY

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 COURSE LECTURER:

Oyesoji Aremu

(PROFESSOR OF COUNSELLING PSYCHOLOGY AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE)

DEPARTMENT OF GUIDANCE AND COUNSELLING,

UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN

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BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE COURSE AND LEARNING OUTCOME

This course is application of psychology, its processes and theories to the field of Law. It
involves application of psychological principles to legal concerns; and the interaction of
psychology and law for the overall wellness of man and its society. The course would encompass
contributions made by psychologists (including 21st century thoughts) and the application of
same to law. This is otherwise, refers to psychology and law (Forensic psychology and
criminology). There are therefore, many knowledge intersections between law and psychology.

During and at the end of the course, learners are expected to;

 Significantly improve on their entry rudimentary knowledge on the subject matter of Law
and Psychology,
 Understand the interplay and meeting point of Law and Psychology as a seamless body of
knowledge,
 Understand the difference and relationship between Law and Psychology,
 Integrate the knowledge of Law and Psychology as a learning process; and
 Facilitate the knowledge of Law and Psychology to meet societal demands

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COURSE OUTLINE

1. The History of Psychology Schools of Thought

2. What Psychology is and its Science
3. Principles and Methods of Psychology
4. Goals of Psychology and Sub-specialties:
 Legal and Forensic Psychology
 Developmental Psychology
 Social Psychology
 Cognitive Psychology
 Community Psychology
 Criminologists
5. Contemporary Perspectives in Psychology
 Behavioural Perspective
 Humanistic Perspective
 Sociocultural Perspective
6. Law in Context
7. Law and Psychology: The Nexus
8. Psychology of Peace
9. Behavioural Perspective and Law
 Intelligence and Emotional Intelligence
 Criminological Theories and Dimension of Law
10. Psychology and Law of Fact Finding
11. Psychology and Criminal Thinking

Course Requirements
Continuous Assessment: 40 Marks
Examination: 60 Marks
Total: 100%

Reading Resources
Applying Psychology to Criminal Justice (2007) Eds. David Carson, Becky Milne, Francis
Pakes, Karen Shalev and Andrea Shawyer. John Wiley & Sons, England.
The Social Animal (2008). Elliot Aronson http://www.amazon.com/social-animal
Social Psychology (2009). Baron, R.A., Bryne, D., & Branscombe, N.R. Boston, MA:
Pearson/Allyn and Bacon.
Policing and Terrorism: Challenges and Issues in Intelligence (2014). Oyesoji Aremu. Stirling-
Horden Publishers: Ibadan.
Understanding Nigerian Police: Lessons From Psychological Research (2009). OyesojiAremu.
Spectrum Books Ltd, Spectrum House: Ibadan.

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LECTIRE ONE:
THE HISTORY OF PSYCHOLOGY SCHOOLS OF THOUGHT

Objectives:
At the end of this lecture, learner should be able to:

1. Explain how psychology changed from a philosophical to a scientific discipline.

2. List some of the most important questions that concern psychologists.
3. Outline the basic schools of psychology and how each school has contributed to
psychology.

Psychology has a long past but only a short history. With these few words, Hermann
Ebbinghaus, one of the great thinkers in psychology, aptly captured the essence of this field’s
development. Since time immemorial, men and women have pondered over questions that are
psychological in nature. From the early Egyptians to the ancient Greek philosophers, there has
been no letup in efforts to understand human thought and behaviour.

Many cultures throughout history have speculated on the nature of the mind, heart, soul, spirit,
brain, etc. For instance, in Ancient Egypt, the Edwin Smith Papyrus contains an early description
of the brain, and some speculations on its functions (though in a medical/surgical context).
Though other medical documents of ancient times were full of incantations and applications
meant to turn away disease-causing demons and other superstition, the Edwin Smith Papyrus
gives remedies to almost 50 conditions and only two contain incantations to ward off evil
(Bartlett, 1937).

Yet, in spite of its long past, the formal history of psychology dates back only 133 years to 1879
– the year when Wilhelm Wundt opened the doors of the first psychology laboratory in Leipzig,
Germany. As a result of this significant move, Wundt is widely regarded as the founder of
psychology. Yet, this was just the beginning of Wundt’s contributions to the field. Wundt was
also the first person to refer to himself as a psychologist. He went on to become the first of
several spirited speakers to engage in an ongoing debate over what should be the focus of
psychology. The history of psychology is indeed short, but it has never been short of drama.
With that said, let the drama unfold…

Structuralism

By Wilhelm Wundt

Wundt’s ideas formed the basis of the first school of thought (or perspective) in psychology,
known as structuralism. In reality, though, it was one of Wundt’s students, Edward B. Tichener,
who formally established this psychological school of thought. Structuralism, as the name
suggests, was centered on investigating the structure of the mind. Wundt believed that
psychology should focus on breaking down consciousness into its basic elements, in much the

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same way a child would pull apart a toy to reveal its component parts. The idea of determining
the specific structure of something so abstract and dynamic as the mind may seem absurd to
many today. Yet, structuralists were confident that not only could they accomplish this goal, but
that they could do so scientifically.

Wundt advanced the technique of introspection as the “scientific” tool that would enable
researchers to unveil the structure of the mind. Introspection involves looking inwards; reflecting
on, analyzing and trying to make sense of our own internal experiences as they occur. In
employing this technique, trained subjects were presented with various forms of stimuli and
asked to describe as clearly and “objectively” as possible what they experienced. Reports would
then be examined to determine the basic elements of consciousness. For example, if you were
presented with a slice of cake, it would not be enough to simply identify the type of food before
you. You would also need to explain the basic elements of the cake that you able to sense. For
example, you might describe the taste, smell, texture, colour, and shape of the cake in as much
detail as possible.

Structuralism played a significant role in shaping the field of psychology during its formative
years. Wundt and his followers helped to establish psychology as an independent experimental
science and their emphasis on scientific methods of inquiry remains a key aspect of the discipline
today. Nevertheless, structuralists could not escape criticism. Despite their noble attempt at
scientific investigation, introspection was less than ideal because no two persons perceive the
same thing in exactly the same way. Subjects’ reports therefore tended to be subjective and
conflicting. Some of the fiercest criticisms of structuralism came from the person of William
James, one of the leading proponents of the functionalist perspective.

Functionalism

By Williams James

Functional psychology or functionalism refers to a psychological philosophy that considers

mental life and behaviour in terms of active adaptation to the person's environment. As such, it
provides the general basis for developing psychological theories not readily testable by
controlled experiments and for applied psychology. Functionalism arose in the U.S. in the late
19th century as an alternative to structuralism. While functionalism never became a formal
school, it built on structuralism's concern for the anatomy of the mind and led to greater concern
over the functions of the mind, and later to behaviourism.

From the point of view of American scholar William James, structuralists were sorely
misguided. The mind is fluid, not stable; consciousness is ongoing, not static. Attempts to study
the structure of the mind would therefore be futile at worst and frustrating at best. A more fruitful
endeavor, they argued, would be to study the function, as opposed to the structure, of the mind.
Function in this sense can mean one of two things first, how the mind operates that is, how the
elements of the mind work together and second, how mental processes promote adaptation.
Clearly influenced by the teachings of Charles Darwin and the principle of natural selection
(survival of the fittest), James believed that mental processes serve vital functions that enable us

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to adapt and survive in a changing world. Thus, while the structuralists asked “what happens”
when we engage in mental activity, the functionalists were more concerned with “how it
happens” and “why.” Functionalism contributed greatly to the development of psychology. It
extended both the subject matter of psychology as well as the range of methods use to acquire
data. For example, the functionalists’ emphasis on:

1. Adaptation led them to promote the study of learning since this is believed to improve
our adaptability and chances of survival.
2. Their concern with “why” certain mental processes occur also meant that they did
extensive work on motivation.
3. Functionalists are also credited with bringing the study of animals, children and abnormal
behaviour into psychology, as well as an emphasis on individual differences
(Hergenhahn, 2009).
4. In addition, while the structuralists established psychology as a pure science, the
functionalists broadened this narrow focus by also concentrating on the practical
application of psychology to real-world problems.
5. As it relates to research methods, functionalists added to the existing repertoire by
utilizing mental tests, questionnaires and physiological measures, in addition to
introspection (Schultz & Schultz, 2011).
6. Nevertheless, functionalists had their share of flaws. Like structuralists, they relied
heavily on the technique of introspection with all the shortcomings previously mentioned
and were criticized for only providing a vague definition of the term “function.” Despite
repeated verbal attacks aimed at each other, neither structuralism nor functionalism
remained at the forefront of psychology for very long. Both made significant
contributions to psychology but neglected one important influence on human thought and
behaviour – the unconscious. Here is where Sigmund Freud made his great début.
Psychoanalysis

By Sigmund Freud

Mention the word psychology, and few persons would fail to recall Sigmund Freud.
Psychoanalysis is a set of psychological and psychotherapeutic theories and associated
techniques, created by Austrian physician Sigmund Freud and stemming partly from the clinical
work of Josef Breuer and others. Over time, psychoanalysis has been revised and developed in
different directions. Some of Freud's colleagues and students, such as Alfred Adler and Carl
Jung, went on to develop their own ideas independently. Freud insisted on retaining the term
psychoanalysis for his school of thought, and Adler and Jung accepted this. The Neo-
Freudians included Erich Fromm, Karen Horney, and Harry Stack Sullivan.

Like the structuralists and functionalists before him, Freud believed in studying covert
behaviour, but unlike his predecessors, Freud was not content with examining only conscious
thought; he dived head-first into the unconscious. Freud compared the human psyche to an
iceberg – only a small portion is visible to others with most of it lying below the surface. Freud
also believed that many of the factors that influence our thoughts and actions lie outside of
conscious awareness and operate entirely in our unconscious. Psychology therefore needed to

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 study these unconscious drives, motives and impulses to arrive at a more complete understanding
of the individual.

Not all modern psychologists subscribe to Freud’s psychoanalytic theory but none can deny the
significant impact that this man has had on psychology. He opened up whole new frontiers in
psychology and proposed one of the most comprehensive theories of personality ever written,
complete with explanations of how the unconscious mind works and how personality develops in
the early years of life. Many later theorists were influenced directly and indirectly by Freud as
they either built on, modified or reacted to his sometimes controversial views. Freud’s work led
to the development of the first form of psychotherapy – one which has been modified and used
by countless therapists throughout the history of psychology. Even all this, to use Freud’s
analogy, is just the very “tip of the iceberg” as far as his contributions are concerned. No other
psychological school of thought has received as much attention, admiration and criticism as
Freud’s psychoanalytic theory. One of the biggest criticisms is that his theory falls short of being
scientific as many of his concepts are not testable. Freud also failed to recognize how
experiences after childhood contribute to personality development and focused mainly on
psychological disorders rather than more positive, adaptive behaviours (Burger, 2011).
The basic tenets of psychoanalysis include:

1. A person's development is determined by often forgotten events in early childhood rather than by
inherited traits alone
2. Human attitude, mannerism, experience, and thought is largely influenced by irrational drives
that are rooted in the unconscious
3. It is necessary to bypass psychological resistance in the form of defense mechanisms when
bringing drives into awareness
4. Conflicts between the conscious and the unconscious, or with repressed material can materialize
in the form of mental or emotional disturbances, for example: neurosis, neurotic
traits, anxiety, depression etc.
5. Liberating the elements of the unconscious is achieved through bringing this material into the
conscious mind (via e.g. skilled guidance, i.e. therapeutic intervention).

Behaviourism

By John B. Watson

Despite their differences, structuralism, functionalism and psychoanalysis all shared an emphasis
on mental processes – events that are unseen to the naked eye. John B. Watson, a staunch
supporter of behaviourism, strongly objected to this approach and prompted a revolution in
psychology. Watson was an advocate of scientific scrutiny but for him, covert behavior,
including mental processes, could not be studied scientifically. The emphasis, from his
perspective, should only be on overt or observable behavior. Behaviourists believed that human
behavior can be understood by examining the relationship between stimuli (events in the
environment) and responses (observable behavior). They saw no need to employ subjective
techniques such as introspection to infer mental processes over which even trained subjects and

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 researchers could not agree. What was once the study of the mind thus became the study of
observable behaviour.

B.F. Skinner, another famous behaviourist, supported Watson’s view by advancing the idea that
human behaviour can be explained by reinforcement and punishment – observable,
environmental factors – with no need to consider inner mental processes. Later behaviourists
adopted a more balanced view of matters, embracing the study of both overt and covert behavior.
These became known as cognitive behaviourists.

Watson’s call for greater objectivity, radical as it was, greatly propelled psychology along the
path to becoming a science rather than a mere body of philosophical thought (Benjafield, 2004,
cited in Coon & Mitterer, 2010). Many of the learning theories used by psychologists today were
also born out of the behaviourist school of thought and are frequently applied in behavior
modification and the treatment of some psychological disorders (e.g. phobias). Nevertheless, the
strict behaviourist view of Watson, was in no way superior to the narrow emphasis of
structuralists and functionalists on mental life alone. Indeed, “many aspects of human experience
(e.g. thinking, intrinsic motivation, creativity) lie outside a strict behavioural definition of
psychology” (Walters, 2002, p.29). These too must be studied in order to gain a more complete
understanding of the individual. This was one of the key arguments of another emerging school
of thought known as Gestalt psychology.

There is no universally agreed-upon classification, but some titles given to the various branches
of behaviorism include:
 Methodological Behaviorism: Watson's behaviorism states that only public events (behaviours
of an individual) can be objectively observed, and that therefore private events (thoughts and
feelings) should be ignored.
 Radical: Skinner's behaviorism theorizes that processes within the organism should be
acknowledged, particularly the presence of private events (such as thoughts and feelings), and
suggests that environmental variables also control these internal events just as they control
observable behaviours. Radical behaviorism forms the core philosophy behind behaviour
analysis.
 Teleological: Post-Skinnerian, purposive, close to microeconomics. Focuses on objective
observation as opposed to cognitive processes.
 Theoretical: Post-Skinnerian, accepts observable internal states ("within the skin" once meant
"unobservable", but with modern technology we are not so constrained); dynamic, but eclectic in
choice of theoretical structures, emphasizes parsimony.

 Biological: Post-Skinnerian, centered on perceptual and motor modules of behavior, theory of

behavior systems.

 Psychological behaviourism (PB): This version of behaviorism centers on the practical control
of human behaviour. It is noted for its use of time-outs, token-reinforcement and other methods,
which importantly influenced modern approaches to child development, education, and abnormal
psychology.

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GESTALT PSYCHOLOGY

The word “gestalt” means “form, pattern or whole.” Gestalt psychologists believed that
psychology should study human experience as a “whole,” not in terms of separate elements as
the structuralists would contend. Their slogan, “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts”
conveyed the idea that meaning is often lost when psychological events are broken down; only
when these pieces are analyzed together and the whole pattern is visible do we find true meaning
in our experiences. To use an example, imagine breaking apart the words you are now reading
into individual letters and scattering them as you wish across the page. Would you be able to
discern anything meaningful from them? Quite likely, you wouldn’t. Only when the letters are
properly combined to form words and then structured into sentences do you grasp any true
meaning. The “whole” then becomes something different, something greater than the
accumulation of its “parts.”

Gestalt psychologists, such as Max Wertheimer, did extensive work on various aspects of
cognition, including perception, problem-solving and thinking. Additionally, their insistence on
studying individuals and experiences as wholes is still preserved in psychology today. Their
work also led to the emergence of a form of psychotherapy widely practiced by modern
psychologists.

Contemporary Theory and Practice

Gestalt therapy theory essentially rests atop four "load-bearing walls": phenomenological
method, dialogical relationship, field-theoretical strategies, and experimental freedom. Although
all these tenets were present in the early formulation and practice of Gestalt therapy, as described
in Ego, Hunger and Aggression in his Therapy, Excitement and Growth in the Human
Personality. The early development of Gestalt therapy theory emphasized personal experience
and the experiential episodes understood as "safe emergencies" or experiments. More recently,
Gestalt methods have been combined with meditation practices into a unified program of human
development called Gestalt Practice, which is used by some practitioners.

Phenomenological Method
The goal of a phenomenological exploration is awareness. This exploration works systematically
to reduce the effects of bias through repeated observations and inquiry. The phenomenological
method comprises three steps: (1) the rule of epoché (suspension), (2) the rule of description, and
(3) the rule of horizontalization. Applying the rule of epoché one set aside one's initial biases and
prejudices in order to suspend expectations and assumptions. Applying the rule of description,
one occupies oneself with describing instead of explaining.

Applying the rule of horizontalization one treats each item of description as having equal value
or significance. The rule of epoché set aside any initial theories with regard to what is presented
in the meeting between therapist and client. The rule of description implies immediate and
specific observations, abstaining from interpretations or explanations, especially those formed
from the application of a clinical theory superimposed over the circumstances of experience. The
rule of horizontalization avoids any hierarchical assignment of importance such that the data of
experience become prioritized and categorized as they are received. A Gestalt therapist utilizing

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the phenomenological method might say something like, “I notice a slight tension at the corners
of your mouth when I say that, and I see you shifting on the couch and folding your arms across
your chest … and now I see you rolling your eyes back”. Of course, the therapist may make a
clinically relevant evaluation, but when applying the phenomenological method, temporarily
suspends the need to express it.

Dialogical Relationship

To create the conditions under which a dialogic moment might occur, the therapist attends to his
or her own presence, creates the space for the client to enter in and become present as well
(called inclusion), and commits him or herself to the dialogic process, surrendering to what takes
place, as opposed to attempting to control it. With presence, the therapist judiciously “shows up”
as a whole and authentic person, instead of assuming a role, false self or persona. The word
'judicious' used above refers to the therapist's taking into account the specific strengths,
weaknesses and values. The only 'good' client is a 'live' client, so driving a client away by
injudicious exposure of intolerable (to this client) experience of the therapist is obviously
counter-productive. For example, for an atheistic therapist to tell a devout client that religion is
myth would not be useful, especially in the early stages of the relationship. To practice inclusion
is to accept however the client chooses to be present, whether in a defensive and obnoxious
stance or a superficially cooperative one. To practice inclusion is to support the presence of the
client, including his or her resistance, not as a gimmick but in full realization that this is how the
client is actually present and is the best this client can do at this time. Finally, the Gestalt
therapist is committed to the process, trusts in that process, and does not attempt to save him or
herself from it.

Field-theoretical Strategies

The field can be considered in two ways. There are ontological dimensions and there
are phenomenological dimensions to one’s field. The phenomenological dimensions are all those
physical and environmental contexts in which we live and move. They might be the office in
which one works, the house in which one lives, the city and country of which one is a citizen,
and so forth. The phenomenological field is the objective reality that supports our physical
existence. The ontological dimensions are all mental and physical dynamics that contribute to a
person’s sense of self, one’s subjective experience not merely elements of the environmental
context. These might be the memory of an uncle’s inappropriate affection, one’s color blindness,
one’s sense of the social matrix in operation at the office in which one works, and so forth. The
way that Gestalt therapists choose to work with field dynamics makes what they do
strategic.[18] Gestalt therapy focuses upon character structure; according to Gestalt theory, the
character structure is dynamic rather than fixed in nature. To become aware of one's character
structure, the focus is upon the phenomenological dimensions in the context of the ontological
dimensions.

Experimental freedom
Gestalt therapy is distinct because it moves toward action, away from mere talk therapy, and for
this reason is considered an experiential approach.[19] Through experiments, the therapist

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supports the client’s direct experience of something new, instead of merely talking about the
possibility of something new. Indeed, the entire therapeutic relationship may be considered
experimental, because at one level it is a corrective, relational experience for many clients, and it
is a "safe emergency" that is free to turn out however it will. An experiment can also be
conceived as a teaching method that creates an experience in which a client might learn
something as part of their growth. Examples might include:
(1) Rather than talking about the client's critical parent, a Gestalt therapist might ask the client to
imagine the parent is present, or that the therapist is the parent, and talk to that parent directly;
(2) If a client is struggling with how to be assertive, a Gestalt therapist could either (a) have the
client say some assertive things to the therapist or members of a therapy group, or (b) give a talk
about how one should never be assertive;
(3) A Gestalt therapist might notice something about the non-verbal behaviour or tone of voice
of the client; then the therapist might have the client exaggerate the non-verbal behavior and pay
attention to that experience;
(4) A Gestalt therapist might work with the breathing or posture of the client, and direct
awareness to changes that might happen when the client talks about different content. With all
these experiments the Gestalt therapist is working with process rather than content,
the How rather than the What.

HUMANISTICS PSYCHOLOGY

Carl Ransom Rogers (January 8, 1902 – February 4, 1987) was an American psychologist and
among the founders of the humanistic approach (or client-centered approach) to psychology.
Rogers is widely considered to be one of the founding fathers of psychotherapy research and was
honored for his pioneering research with the Award for Distinguished Scientific Contributions by
the American Psychological Association (APA) in 1956. The person-centered approach, his own
unique approach to understanding personality and human relationships, found wide application
in various domains such as psychotherapy and counseling (client-centered
therapy), education(student-centered learning), organizations, and other group settings. For his
professional work he was bestowed the Award for Distinguished Professional Contributions to
Psychology by the APA in 1972. In a study using six criteria such as citations and recognition,
Rogers was found to be the sixth most eminent psychologist of the 20th century and second,
among clinicians, only to Sigmund Freud.

With the rise of each school of thought mentioned previously, the face of psychology was
gradually taking shape. Yet, not all were satisfied with the way things were progressing.
Foremost among these were the humanistic psychologists, such as Carl Rogers, who were
uncomfortable with the highly deterministic view of two of the major forces in psychology –
psychoanalysis and behaviourism. Determinism is the idea that our actions are controlled by
forces beyond our control. For the psychoanalysts, these forces are unconscious; for the
behaviourists, they exist in our environment. Humanistic psychologists, however, viewed
humans as free agents capable of controlling their own lives (as opposed to being controlled),
making their own choices, setting goals and working to achieve them. Humanism asserted a
positive view of human nature, stressing that humans are inherently good. A unique form of

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therapy also emerged out of this school of thought, with emphasis on helping people to achieve
their full potential. This differed greatly from psychoanalysis which only focused on reducing
maladaptive behavior.

Carl Rogers propositions

His theory (as of 1951) was based on 19 propositions:

1. All individuals (organisms) exist in a continually changing world of experience

(phenomenal field) of which they are the center.
2. The organism reacts to the field as it is experienced and perceived. This perceptual field
is "reality" for the individual.
3. The organism reacts as an organized whole to this phenomenal field.
4. A portion of the total perceptual field gradually becomes differentiated as the self.
5. As a result of interaction with the environment, and particularly as a result of evaluational
interaction with others, the structure of the self is formed - an organized, fluid but
consistent conceptual pattern of perceptions of characteristics and relationships of the "I"
or the "me", together with values attached to these concepts.
6. The organism has one basic tendency and striving - to actualize, maintain and enhance
the experiencing organism.
7. The best vantage point for understanding behavior is from the internal frame of reference
of the individual.
8. Behavior is basically the goal-directed attempt of the organism to satisfy its needs as
experienced, in the field as perceived.
9. Emotion accompanies, and in general facilitates, such goal directed behavior, the kind of
emotion being related to the perceived significance of the behavior for the maintenance
and enhancement of the organism.
10. The values attached to experiences, and the values that are a part of the self-structure, in
some instances, are values experienced directly by the organism, and in some instances
are values introjected or taken over from others, but perceived in distorted fashion, as if
they had been experienced directly.
11. As experiences occur in the life of the individual, they are either, a) symbolized,
perceived and organized into some relation to the self, b) ignored because there is no
perceived relationship to the self-structure, c) denied symbolization or given distorted
symbolization because the experience is inconsistent with the structure of the self.
12. Most of the ways of behaving that are adopted by the organism are those that are
consistent with the concept of self.
13. In some instances, behavior may be brought about by organic experiences and needs
which have not been symbolized. Such behavior may be inconsistent with the structure
of the self but in such instances the behavior is not "owned" by the individual.
14. Psychological adjustment exists when the concept of the self is such that all the sensory
and visceral experiences of the organism are, or may be, assimilated on a symbolic level
into a consistent relationship with the concept of self.
15. Psychological maladjustment exists when the organism denies awareness of significant
sensory and visceral experiences, which consequently are not symbolized and organized

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 into the gestalt of the self-structure. When this situation exists, there is a basic or
potential psychological tension.
16. Any experience which is inconsistent with the organization of the structure of the self
may be perceived as a threat, and the more of these perceptions there are, the more
rigidly the self-structure is organized to maintain itself.
17. Under certain conditions, involving primarily complete absence of threat to the self-
structure, experiences which are inconsistent with it may be perceived and examined,
and the structure of self-revised to assimilate and include such experiences.
18. When the individual perceives and accepts into one consistent and integrated system all
her sensory and visceral experiences, then she is necessarily more understanding of
others and is more accepting of others as separate individuals.
19. As the individual perceives and accepts into his self-structure more of his organic
experiences, he finds that he is replacing his present value system - based extensively on
introjections which have been distortedly symbolized - with a continuing organismic
valuing process.

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LCETURE TWO:
WHAT PSYCHOLOGY IS AND its SCIENCE
Objectives:
At the end of this lecture, learner should be able to:
1. Explain why using our intuition about everyday behaviour is insufficient for a complete
understanding of the causes of behaviour.
2. Describe the difference between values and facts and explain how the scientific method is used
to differentiate between the two.

CONCEPT OF PSYCHOLOGY AND ITS SCIENCE

In the few years since psychology emerged as a distinct science, it has grown and changed in
innumerable ways. Each major school of thought fought for dominance but in the end, none
emerged as clear winners. At the same time, none were losers. How so? Well, each school of
thought left an indelible mark on psychology, helping to mold it into the respected discipline that
it now is. In addition, many psychologists today adopt an eclectic approach instead of clinging to
one particular perspective, they carefully choose from each school of thought those ideas and
methods they believe are most appropriate for achieving their objectives. Psychology has never
been nor will it ever be a static field of study. Even now, there are new theories being written,
new topics being studied and new ideas yet to be explored.

Today academic psychology is focused on understanding the individual's feelings, motives,

thoughts, and actions. This understanding incorporates findings from studies of human and
animal development, the neurosciences and etiology, and the study of abnormal behaviour in
social settings. Psychology's focus on the single individual is enlarged and enriched by also
studying individuals in groups, an important area in social psychology.

What is Psychology? Psychology is the scientific study of human mind and behaviour. The word
“psychology comes from the Greek words “psyche, meaning life and “logos, meaning
explanation. Psychology is the study of mind, brain, and human behaviour. Psychologists study
the behaviour of both humans and animals, and the main purpose of this research is to help us
understand people and to improve the quality of human lives.

Despite the differences in their interests, areas of study, and approaches, all psychologists have
one thing in common: They rely on scientific methods. Research psychologists use scientific
methods to create new knowledge about the causes of behaviour, whereas psychologist-
practitioners, such as forensic psychologists, clinical, counseling, industrial-organizational, and
school psychologists, use existing research to enhance the everyday life of others. The science of
psychology is important for both researchers and practitioners.

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In a sense all humans are scientists. We all have an interest in asking and answering questions
about our world. We want to know why things happen, when and if they are likely to happen
again, and how to reproduce or change them. Such knowledge enables us to predict our own
behaviour and that of others. We may even collect data (i.e., any information collected through
formal observation or measurement) to aid us in this undertaking. It has been argued that people
are “everyday scientists who conduct research to answer questions about behaviour (Nisbett &
Ross, 1980). When we perform poorly on an important test, we try to understand what caused
our failure to remember or understand the material and what might help us do better the next
time. When our good friends Monisha and Charlie break up, despite the fact that they appeared
to have a relationship made in heaven, we try to determine what happened. When we
contemplate the rise of terrorist acts around the world, we try to investigate the causes of this
problem by looking at the terrorists themselves, the situation around them, and others’ responses
to them.

The Problem of Intuition

The results of these “everyday research projects can teach us many principles of human
behaviour. We learn through experience that if we give someone bad news, he or she may blame
us even though the news was not our fault. We learn that people may become depressed after
they fail at an important task. We see that aggressive behaviour occurs frequently in our society,
and we develop theories to explain why this is so. These insights are part of everyday social life.
In fact, much research in psychology involves the scientific study of everyday behaviour
(Heider, 1958; Kelley, 1967).

The problem, however, with the way people collect and interpret data in their everyday lives is
that they are not always particularly thorough. Often, when one explanation for an event seems
right, we adopt that explanation as the truth even when other explanations are possible and
potentially more accurate. For example, eyewitnesses to violent crimes are often extremely
confident in their identifications of the perpetrators of these crimes. But research finds that
eyewitnesses are no less confident in their identifications when they are incorrect than when they
are correct (Cutler & Wells, 2009; Wells & Hasel, 2008). People may also become convinced of
the existence of extrasensory perception (ESP), or the predictive value of astrology, when there
is no evidence for either (Gilovich, 1993). Furthermore, psychologists have also found that there
are a variety of cognitive and motivational biases that frequently influence our perceptions and
lead us to draw erroneous conclusions (Fiske & Taylor, 2007; Hsee & Hastie, 2006).

Once we learn about the outcome of a given event (e.g., when we read about the results of a
research project), we frequently believe that we would have been able to predict the outcome
ahead of time. For instance, if half of a class of students is told that research concerning
attraction between people has demonstrated that “opposites attract and the other half is told that
research has demonstrated that “birds of the same feather flock together, most of the students
will report believing that the outcome that they just read about is true, and that they would have
predicted the outcome before they had read about it. Of course, both of these contradictory
outcomes cannot be true. (In fact, psychological research finds that “birds of the same feather
flock together are generally the case.) The problem is that just reading a description of research
findings leads us to think of the many cases we know that support the findings, and thus makes

16
them seem believable. The tendency to think that we could have predicted something that has
already occurred that we probably would not have been able to predict is called the hindsight
bias. In summary, accepting explanations for events without testing them thoroughly may lead us
to think that we know the causes of things when we really do not.

Why Psychologists Rely on Empirical Methods

All scientists, whether they are physicists, chemists, biologists, sociologists, or psychologists,
use empirical methods to study the topics that interest them. Empirical methods include the
processes of collecting and organizing data and drawing conclusions about those data. The
empirical methods used by scientists have developed over many years and provide a basis for
collecting, analyzing, and interpreting data within a common framework in which information
can be shared. We can label the scientific method as the set of assumptions, rules, and
procedures that scientists use to conduct empirical research.
Although scientific research is an important method of studying human behaviour, not all
questions can be answered using scientific approaches. Statements that cannot be objectively
measured or objectively determined to be true or false are not within the domain of scientific
inquiry. Scientists therefore draw a distinction between values and facts. Values are personal
statements such as “Abortion should not be permitted in this country, “I will go to heaven when I
die, or “It is important to study psychology. Facts are objective statements determined to be
accurate through empirical study. Examples are “there were more than 21,000 homicides in the
United States in 2009, or “research demonstrates that individuals who are exposed to highly
stressful situations over long periods of time develop more health problems than those who are
not.

Because values cannot be considered to be either true or false, science cannot prove or disprove
them. Nevertheless, examples of Values and Facts in Scientific Research", research can
sometimes provide facts that can help people develop their values. For instance, science may be
able to objectively measure the impact of unwanted children on a society or the psychological
trauma suffered by women who have abortions. The effect of capital punishment on the crime
rate in country or society may also be determinable. This factual information can and should be
made available to help people formulate their values about crimes and capital punishment, as
well as to enable governments to articulate appropriate policies.

Levels of Explanation in Psychology

The study of psychology spans many different topics at many different levels of explanation,
which are the perspectives that are used to understand behaviour. Lower levels of explanation
are more closely tied to biological influences, such as genes, neurons, neurotransmitters, and
hormones, whereas the middle levels of explanation refer to the abilities and characteristics of
individual people, and the highest levels of explanation relate to social groups, organizations, and
cultures (Cacioppo, Berntson, Sheridan & McClintock, 2000). For instance, the psychological
disorder known as depression affects millions of people worldwide and is known to be caused by
biological, social, and cultural factors. Studying and helping alleviate depression can be
accomplished at low levels of explanation by investigating how chemicals in the brain influence

17
the experience of depression. This approach has allowed psychologists to develop and prescribe
drugs, such as Prozac, which may decrease depression in many individuals (Williams, Simpson,
Simpson & Nahas, 2009).

At the middle levels of explanation, psychological therapy is directed at helping individuals cope
with negative life experiences that may cause depression. And at the highest level, psychologists
study differences and causes of problems associated with both men and women and across
cultures (Chen, Wang, Poland & Lin, 2009; Seedat et al., 2009). All levels of explanation, from
biological to personal to cultural, are essential for a better understanding of human behaviour.

A major goal of psychology is to predict behaviour by understanding its causes. Making

predictions is difficult in part because people vary and respond differently in different situations.
Individual differences are the variations among people on physical or psychological dimensions.
For instance, although many people experience at least some symptoms of depression at some
times in their lives, the experience varies dramatically among people. Some people experience
major negative events, such as severe physical injuries or the loss of significant others, without
experiencing much depression, whereas other people experience severe depression for no
apparent reason. Other important individual differences that we will discuss in the chapters to
come include differences in extraversion, intelligence, self-esteem, anxiety, aggression, and
conformity.

Because of the many individual difference variables that influence behaviour, we cannot always
predict who will become aggressive or who will perform best in graduate school or on the job.
The predictions made by psychologists (and most other scientists) are only probabilistic. We can
say, for instance, that people who score higher on an intelligence test will, on average, do better
than people who score lower on the same test, but we cannot make very accurate predictions
about exactly how any one person will perform.

Another reason that it is difficult to predict behaviour is that almost all behaviour is multiply
determined, or produced by many factors. And these factors occur at different levels of
explanation. We have seen, for instance, that depression is caused by lower-level genetic factors,
by medium-level personal factors, and by higher-level social and cultural factors. You should
always be skeptical about people who attempt to explain important human behaviors, such as
violence, child abuse, poverty, anxiety, or depression, in terms of a single cause.

Furthermore, these multiple causes are not independent of one another; they are associated such
that when one cause is present other causes tend to be present as well. This overlap makes it
difficult to pinpoint which cause or causes are operating. For instance, some people may be
depressed because of biological imbalances in neurotransmitters in their brain. The resulting
depression may lead them to act more negatively toward other people around them, which then
leads those other people to respond more negatively to them, which then increases their
depression. As a result, the biological determinants of depression become intertwined with the
social responses of other people, making it difficult to disentangle the effects of each cause.

Another difficulty in studying psychology is that much human behaviour is caused by factors
that are outside our conscious awareness, making it impossible for us, as individuals, to really

18
 understand them. The role of unconscious processes was emphasized in the theorizing of the
Austrian neurologist Sigmund Freud (1856–1939), who argued that many psychological
disorders were caused by memories that we have repressed and thus remain outside our
consciousness. Unconscious processes will be an important part of our study of psychology, and
we will see that current research has supported many of Freud ‘s ideas about the importance of
the unconscious in guiding behaviour. Though, psychological phenomena are complex, and
making predictions about them is difficult because of individual differences and because they are
multiply determined at different levels of explanation. These are:

 Though it is easy to think that everyday situations have commonsense answers, scientific
studies have found that people are not always as good at predicting outcomes as they
think they are.
 The hindsight bias leads us to think that we could have predicted events that we actually
could not have predicted.
 People are frequently unaware of the causes of their own behaviours.
 Psychologists use the scientific method to collect, analyze, and interpret evidence.
 Employing the scientific method allows the scientist to collect empirical data objectively,
which adds to the accumulation of scientific knowledge.

PSYCHOLOGICAL AND STATISTICAL SCIENCE

Is Psychology a true science?

 For the most part, science is defined by its empirical approach
 Must be able to observe events in some way to talk about psychological theories in a meaningful
fashion
 Variables are manipulated and measured
 Is psychology scientific?
 Yes, though some endeavors that fall under the heading of psychology are not
 The scientific approach to studying psychological phenomenon began in the 19th century, and
has expanded since
 Although often difficult to come to hard conclusions, the methods utilized are scientific in nature
Where does statistical analysis come in?
 Means to an end
 If we want to speak intelligently regarding the various realms of psychological investigation
(perception, attention, memory, causes of specific behaviors and disorders, social interaction
etc.), we must have a means to investigate the things that matter to us
 Science provides the approach- statistics is thus a tool to reach greater understanding

Reasoning in Research
1. Deduction
 If premises are true, conclusion has to be true
 Universal laws
2. Induction
 Involves probabilistic reasoning from sample data to population
 Statistical inference
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3. Abduction
 Hypothesis generation based on available evidence

Good psychological Research Practices

1. Enthusiasm
 Enjoy what you’re doing and find research questions that interest you
2. Open-Mindedness
 To other’s ideas, new techniques etc.
3. Common sense
 Don’t leave home without it
4. Role-taking ability
 How are others going to use and interpret your research?
5. Inventiveness
 New ideas, efficient problem solving
6. Confidence in one’s own judgment
 Be bold when appropriate, but also be aware that in areas you are not familiar, you won’t know
what you don’t know
7. Consistency and care about details
 Don’t half-ass your work or you waste every bit of time you spend on it
8. Ability to communicate
 Knowledge is minimally valuable if you can’t sufficiently explain to allow for further research
and thinking by others
9. Honesty
 Goes without saying

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LECTURE THREE:
PRINCIPLES AND METHODS OF PSYCHOLOGY
A psychologist follows a systematic scientific procedure which has sound theoretical base in
order to explain and interpret the phenomenon. Psychology has various methodological ways or
approaches to understand and explain psychological phenomena. We will be studying about
some of these approaches. In order to obtain responses from individuals a number of
psychological tools or instruments are used. The responses taken on those tools constitute the
basic data which are analyzed to study human experiences, mental processes and behaviours. In
this lecture we will discuss these aspects in detail.

Objectives:
After studying this lesson, you will be able to:
 explain the different approaches to the study of psychological processes;
 describe some important methods used in understanding human behaviour; and
 describe various instruments used in understanding behaviour and psychological
processes.

PRINCIPLES OF PSYCHOLOGY

The Principles of Psychology by James, (1890) covered a large number of topics, but some
topics stand out as being more useful and applicable than others, particularly the sections on the
principle of Self, Stream of consciousness, Emotion, Habit, and Will etc.

Principle of the Self

Part of our conscious experience reflects our strongest personal involvements and is endowed
with special meaning and value. This part James calls the self. The self includes all that a person
can call “my.” It includes one’s family, friends, cherished possessions, and the “material self.” It
includes one’s significant interactions with others and the roles played in such interactions, the
“social self.” It includes one’s central and most valued characteristics, sensibilities, and values,
the “spiritual self.” It includes the feeling of identity that gives unity to our experience, the “pure
ego.” Aside from our actual self, each of us carries around a picture of ourselves as we would
like to be, the “ideal self.” How close each person is to his or her ideal self-influences self-
esteem or, in the famous equation of James, esteem reflects one’s success divided by one’s
pretensions. James notes that competition between the various social selves may force us to pick
and choose. Each person’s self is unique. This uniqueness has sometimes been given
transcendent importance by the older religious term, the “soul.”

Stream of Consciousness

Stream of consciousness is arguably James' most famous psychological metaphor. He argued that
human thought can be characterized as a flowing stream, which was an innovative concept at the
time due to the prior argument being that human thought was more so like a distinct chain. He

21
also believed that humans can never experience exactly the same thought or idea more than once.
In addition to this, he viewed consciousness as completely continuous. Consciousness operates
upon the environment by the processes of selective attention, perception, concept formation, and
reasoning. In each of these operations, the individual is viewed as actively responding to the
environment rather than passively receiving messages from it. By attention is meant the selective
focusing of consciousness to become alerted to only part of thousands of bombarding stimuli.
Intense, exciting, and vivid stimuli are likely to be noticed. Stimulus objects in line with the
individual’s expectations and interests are also more likely to compel attention.

Perception

The sensory information once awarded attention must then be perceived. Although every
experience is essentially new, we deal with each new experience by identifying it with memory
images of similar objects and events in the past. Objects seen only partially or dimly, once
identified, are endowed with solidity and wholeness. The object must also be placed into a
context of space and time. We automatically see objects at a distance from us, assigning those
places in space. Spatial concepts are developed in each of us by first localizing sensations felt by
the body, learning something about the “real” sizes of objects, and thereafter seeing such familiar
objects at given distances and directions from us. Events must also be placed in time or else each
episode would become like “the light of the glow worm and quickly fade away.” Our orientation
to periods of time such as months and years is dependent upon our placing in symbolic memory
a sequence of key episodes as markers. Into this sequence we place individual events.

A final perceptual task is separating the real from illusion and fantasy. James suggests that we
accept as real all that is not contradicted by an overwhelming preponderance of information. We
accept as real the physical reality of our senses; certain shared abstract truths, the beliefs of our
culture, beliefs about the supernatural world, and certain convictions that relate to one’s
particular self. Perceived images then enter the stream of consciousness. Many of the loose
associations of reverie are based upon simple contiguity and repetition. An ordered conceptual
system results from comparing objects and combining them within systems of useful similarities.
Domesticated animals that bark we may denote as dogs. The essence of the similar property can
be understood only by differentiating the concept from similar objects that are just enough
different no longer to be included. That animal makes doglike sounds but is not domesticated; it
is a jackal.

Reasoning:
Reasoning involves the further requirement that we come up with precisely the association that
solves a particular problem. Of all the associations we can dredge up, we must locate the one that
fits. Abstract thinking involves the use of labels that fit a large number of individual objects that
are particularly useful in reasoning because they make available to the reasoner more possible
solutions. James notes how often the more creative levels of reasoning seem to involve an
intuitive process.

Memory
James’s assumptions about the broad nature of psychological science, more than those expressed
in any other work of the time, fit contemporary views. James assumed that developmental

22
processes involve an interaction of nature and nurture. Almost all contemporary developmental
psychologists hold this view, with little support for the alternative empirical view that the
environment molds all. James maintained that brain processes reflect psychological experience at
many levels, with abstract thought reflecting diffuse excitement of the higher brain centers.
Memory is also dependent upon these associative links. We remember material best when many
such links have been formed, when our interest in the material is high, and when we can direct
our attention in a systematic search for associations. Strong links are sometimes formed with the
conditions under which the material was originally stored. Material learned under hypnosis, for
example, can sometimes be retrieved only when the subject is in a hypnotized state

Emotion
James introduced a new theory of emotion (later known as the James–Lange theory), which
argued that an emotion is instead the consequence rather than the cause of the bodily experiences
associated with its expression. In other words, a stimulus causes a physical response and an
emotion follows the response. This theory has received criticism throughout the years since its
introduction, but regardless, it still has its merits.

Habit
Habits are established by the refinement of sensory-motor arcs in the nervous system and
become more precise and refined with practice. For example, habits are automatic, learned
reactions made to frequently recurring situations. Habits become more firmly established with
age. They serve as a powerful conservative force that keeps society operating in its accustomed
way, the “great fly wheel of society.” They allow a quick, adaptive response to recurring
situations, making it. Human habits are constantly formed to achieve certain results because of
one’s strong feelings of wanting or wishing for something. James emphasized the importance
and power of human habit and proceeded to draw a conclusion. James noted that the laws of
habit formation are unbiased; habits are capable of causing either good or bad actions. And once
either a good or bad habit has begun to be established, it is very difficult to change.

Principle of Will
James uses the term “will” to suggest the sustaining of attention on a single idea, one reflecting
the self perhaps, suppressing conflicting instinctual pressures in order to complete a sequence of
activity. The most essential achievement of the will... when it is most 'voluntary', is to attend to a
difficult object and hold it fast before the mind..." Effort of attention is thus the
essential phenomenon of will. The Will is the final chapter of The Principles of Psychology,
which was through James' own personal experiences in life. There was one question that troubled
James during his crisis, which was whether or not free will existed.

METHODS OF UNDERSTANDING PSYCHOLOGICAL PROCESSES

In order to understand human behaviour various scientific methods are used. The purpose of
study or research is to develop principles and theories, test them and apply for solving different
human problems. In this way we develop dependable understanding that helps us in guiding
behaviour in various situations. Since human beings are complex living organisms their
behaviours are shaped by many factors both intrinsic and extrinsic to him or her. A psychological

23
research carried out scientifically has the characteristics of objectivity which means that such
researches are free from any kind of biases. It is testable time and again and can be open to all.
One can verify its authenticity by following the same method in terms of getting the same result.
It has scope for self-correction. In other words, the researcher corrects his or her understanding
if there is some error and goes for revision. The scientific studies have also the characteristic of
replication which means that the results of the study are consistently verified by similar other
studies across different settings. Thus in psychology a number of methods are used to carry out
scientific studies. These methods are discussed below.

Observation: Observation as a method of enquiry is often understood as a systematic

registering of events without any deliberate attempt to interfere with variables operating in the
event which is being studied. This method is used in natural as well as laboratory settings.
Observation is also divided into participant and non-participant types depending on the role of
observer. In the case of participant observation, the researcher mixes up with the event under
study and conducts the study. Where as in the case of nonparticipant observation the researcher
maintains an optimum distance and has little impact on the events under study. One of the most
important advantages of observation is that it studies the range of behaviours in the form in
which they are happening. However, this method requires more time and effort. It often becomes
victim of the biases of researcher.

When it is used to study the events happening in natural environment it is called naturalistic
observation such as observing the behaviour of children on playground. In this case the observer
(psychologist) has no control on the extraneous variables. He or she simply records the entire
activities and then analyze them. On the contrary in the case of laboratory observation the event
under study is controlled by the observer.

Experimentation: In the case of experiment the experimenter studies the effect of one variable
on the other by deliberately manipulating and controlling one variable. The variable which is
controlled and manipulated by the experimenter is called independent variable (IV) and the
variable on which the impact of independent variable is studied is known as dependent variable
(DV). In experimental studies three kinds of relevant variables are taken into account. These are
organismic variables, situational variables and sequential variables. Organismic variables are
related to personal characteristics of the participants such as age, sex, and personality features.
Situational variables are concerned with the quality of physical environment during the conduct
of experiment such as temperature, humidity and noise. Sequential variables are related to the
very procedure of conducting the experiment when the participant is required to be tested across
several conditions. Hence exposure of the participant to varied conditions may result either in
attaining proficiency due to practice effects or in developing fatigue and monotony towards
experiment. Experimenters use following techniques to control the unwanted effect of relevant
variables.
(i) Elimination: In this technique extraneous variables are eliminated from the experimental
setting.
(ii) Making Conditions Constant: In this technique the extraneous variables which cannot be
eliminated are kept constant in order to make their effect same during the entire experiment.

24
(iii) Matching: Through this technique the relevant variables are equated or held constant
across all the conditions of experiment.
(iv) Counter Balancing: This technique is used to minimize the effect of order or sequence.
This is usually done by dividing the participants in two groups. On first occasion half of the
group (Group A) is given task 1 and the other half (Group B) is given task 2. On the second
occasion Group A is given task 2 and Group B is given task 1.
(v) (v) Random assignment: In the case of random assignment all the participants have equal
chance to be exposed to experimental and control conditions. It removes the systematic
differences between groups

Case Study: You must have seen a doctor asking personal details in addition to the information
about the medical problem of the patient or a media person asking so many questions about
various aspects of life while taking interview of a popular person. The purpose behind asking
these questions is to know more about the person in terms of his experiences, relationships and
interaction with others so as to prepare profile of the person. In psychology this method is called
case study. In the field of psychological enquiry case study method has its own importance and
relevance. In this method the main unit of analysis is the individual and his experiences across
different contexts in life. It focuses on the individual’s interactional patterns with significant
others as well as his personal experiences across different real life situations.

Survey: A survey research is one of the popular research methods not only in psychology but
also in other disciplines such as sociology, political science, economics and management. The
survey is a descriptive research method in which researchers uses interviews and/or
questionnaires to gather information about the patterns of opinion, attitudes, beliefs, experiences,
value of the people or behaviours of a group of people. This method is also used to test the
hypothesis about the relationship of variables especially when some incident takes place. For
example, media tried to analyze the responses of the people across the country after the attack by
terrorists on Maiduguri, Borno State. In order to collect the data from people a variety of sources
are used such as directly contacting the participants with a set of questions and taking their
interview, sending the questionnaire through email or through post and asking them to send SMS
by their mobile phones. Thus in survey, research is generally conducted through questionnaire or
interview. It can be conducted on a single individual as well as on a group.

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LECTURE FOUR
GOALS OF PSYCHOLOGY AND SUB-SPECIALTIES:

 Legal and Forensic Psychology

 Developmental Psychology
 Social Psychology
 Cognitive Psychology
 Community Psychology
 Criminologists

Goals of Psychology

i. Describe

Psychology is a science. It aims to understand the behaviour of others and gather information
about the way the brain works in order to better serve humanity. By observing different
human behaviours, psychologists determine what is normal and healthy and what is
unhealthy. Psychology analyzes the thoughts, feelings, actions and goals of people through
the help of various case studies, observations and surveys.

Have you ever heard of Pavlov’s dogs? Pavlov noticed that his dogs were salivating as the
result of stimuli – the lab assistant approaching – before food was even presented to them.
This observation acted as a description of what was happening. Once psychologists can
describe a behaviour or phenomenon, they can use that as a basis for learning more about that
behaviour. Many psychologists have studied animals in order to learn more about human
behaviour.

• Description – What is happening? – Student whose grades are slipping

ii. Explain

Why does this behaviour occur? Under what circumstances will it occur again? In order to
explain a behavior, psychologists must conduct experiments to ensure that the b ehavior is not
an anomaly. If there’s only one person (or animal) exhibiting this behaviour, it certainly not
the cultural norms. In the case of Pavlov, he was able to conduct an experiment using multiple
dogs that all seemed to behave in the same way. Through this experiment he was able to
notice a handful of important things about the behaviour of others. And thus, classical
conditioning came to be.

When presented with an unconditioned stimulus (the food), the dogs began to salivate which
is the unconditioned response. When presented with delicious food, humans tend to salivate.
After the dogs were fed for a period of time, Pavlov began to notice that even the presence of
his lab assistant, who fed the dogs, caused them to salivate. Once he noticed this was

26
happening, he realized that he had come across a wonderful psychological discovery. The lab
assistant, which was once a neutral stimulus, had become a conditioned stimulus. To further
his experiment, Pavlov introduced a bell as a neutral stimulus.

Explanation – Why is it happening? – Theory – Testing – dyslexia

iii. Predict

Based on past observed behaviour, a psychologist aims to predict how that behaviour will
appear again in the future and if other people will exhibit the same behavio ur. Pavlov
predicted that the new neutral stimulus – the bell – would become a conditioned stimulus if he
presented it with food enough times. Sure enough, after presenting the dogs with food at the
same time the bell was sounded, he was able to condition the dogs to salivate when the bell
rang even when they weren’t presented with food. This discovery held a lot of importance in
the world of psychology and allowed many people to influence the behavior of others.

Prediction – When will it happen again? – Probably throughout life experience

iv. Control or Change

What did Pavlov’s discovery mean for the future of psychology? It meant that teachers could
take control of their classroom easier, parents could teach their children to exhibit good
behaviour, and manipulative older siblings could control the behaviours of their younger
siblings. In other areas of psychology, experiments are used to train new employees faster,
increase the success of students and reduce drug addiction.

Change/Control: The question is; How can a behaviour be changed? – Intervene – Learning
strategies

In summary, imagine for a minute that you are about to walk out onto the Third Maryland
Bridge. Try to describe your feelings and your actions. Would your heart start pounding? Would
you try to hold on to someone? Would you start thinking of all the ways the bridge could fail and
you could f all to your death? Would you walk slowly and carefully, or would you run? Actually,
would you even walk out onto the bridge in the first place? These are descriptions of overt and
covert behaviors that can be compiled into an overall description of your state of arousal on the
bridge. If we were to observe and describe behaviours of scores of people, most likely we could
state definitively that walking out onto the Capilano Canyon Suspension Bridge results in
emotional arousal for most people. But could we explain the actual causes of this arousal from
mere observations? No. In order to explain what causes the arousal and to determine if that
arousal can lead to romantic attraction, we would have to conduct scientific research in the form
of experiments. In addition to describing and explaining behavior, psychologists also strive to
predict and change behavior. For example, research on illusions such as the MüllerLyer allows
us to predict that someone who comes from a rural culture will see less of an illusion than

27
someone from an urban society. It might even be possible to change a person’s perception of the
length of lines in a geometrical illusion by moving him from a rural society to an urban society.

PSYCHOLOGY AND SUB-SPECIALTIES

Legal and Forensic psychology

It is a field of psychology that deals with all aspects of human behaviour as it relates to the law
or legal system. Otto and Heilbrun (2002) defined forensic psychology narrowly to include the
primarily clinical aspects of forensic assessment, treatment, and consultation (p. 8). According to
this definition, the only individuals who should call themselves forensic psychologists are those
individuals engaged in clinical practice (i.e., assessing, treating, or consulting) within the legal
system. Any psychologist who spends all of his or her time conducting forensic-related research
for example, studying the memory of eyewitnesses, examining the decision-making processes of
jurors, or evaluating the effectiveness of offender treatment programs would not technically be
considered a forensic psychologist using the narrow definition of forensic psychology just
presented.

One of the most commonly cited examples of a broad definition of forensic psychology is the
one proposed by Curt Bartol, and his wife, Anne, define the discipline as “(a) the research
endeavour that examines aspects of human behaviour directly related to the legal process and (b)
the professional practice of psychology within, or in consultation with, a legal system that
embraces both civil and criminal law” (Bartol & Bartol, 2006, p. 3). Thus, unlike the narrow
definition of forensic psychology provided above, which focuses solely on the application of
psychology, this definition does not restrict forensic psychology to applied issues. It also focuses
on the research that is required to inform applied practice in the field of forensic psychology.

On the practical side, a frequent task forensic psychologist might involve the assessment of an
offender to assist in making an accurate determination of whether that offender is likely to pose a
risk to the community if released. Other issues that forensic psychologists are interested in may
include, but are certainly not limited to, the following:

• Divorce and child custody mediation

• Determinations of insanity and fitness to stand trial/plead guilty
• Providing expert testimony in court on questions of a psychological nature
• Personnel selection (e.g., for law enforcement agencies)
• Conducting critical incident stress debriefings with police officers
• Designing and conducting treatment programs for offenders
The Forensic Psychologist as Researcher
As mentioned above, although this role does not necessarily have to be separate from the clinical
role, it often is. As with clinical forensic psychologists, experimental forensic psychologists are
concerned with mental health issues as they pertain to the legal system, and they can be found in
a variety of criminal justice settings. However, researchers in the forensic area are usually
concerned with much more than just mental health issues.

28
Indeed, they can be interested in any research issue that relates to the law or legal system.
The list of research issues that are of interest to this type of forensic psychologist is far too long
to present here, but they include the following:
• Examining the effectiveness of risk assessment strategies
• Determining what factors influence jury decision making
• Developing and testing better ways to conduct eyewitness line-ups
• Evaluating offender and victim treatment programs
• Studying the impact of questioning style on eyewitness memory recall
• Examining the effect of stress management interventions on police officers.
Haward (1981) identified four roles for forensic psychologists (using the term ‘forensic’ in a
broad sense) appearing as expert witnesses:

i. Experimental: this could involve a psychologist informing the court (a) about the state
of knowledge relevant to some cognitive process and/or (b) carrying out an experiment
(for example, involving eyewitness testimony, or a defendant’s claim to be suffering from
a phobia) directly relevant to the individual’s case before the court.

ii. Clinical: as already mentioned, this is the more common role for psychologists appearing
in western English-speaking common law countries and involves testifying, for example,
on their assessment of a client’s personality, IQ, neuropsychological functioning, mental
state or behaviour.

iii. Actuarial: in a civil case involving, for example, a plaintiff claiming for damages for a
psychological deficit caused by someone’s negligence, a psychologist may be asked to
estimate the probability that such an individual could live on their own and/or be
gainfully employed (Haward, 1981).

iv. Advisory: in this role, a psychologist could be advising counsel before and/or during a
trial about what questions to ask the other side’s witnesses, including their expert
witnesses. Knowing that there is another psychologist in court evaluating one’s testimony
has been reported to increase an expert’s level of stress when testifying in court.

Legal Psychology Approaches

The legal psychology can look forward to the discipline’s increasing growth in terms of both the
quantity and quality of the research conducted and courses taught to improve legal matters.

• Utilising a range of research methods (including follow-up studies of real crime

victims/witnesses as they are processed through the criminal justice process system) to determine
the interaction effects of key factors known to impact adversely on the accuracy of adult and
child witnesses.

• To identify the merits and defects, as far as jury decision-making is concerned of different
alternatives in the jury reform debate such as laypersons vs professional judges alone or
laypersons vs a combination of lay persons and professional judges.

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• To identify good predictors of successful legal advocacy in a variety of contexts and how to
teach the skills involved efficiently and effectively to law students and legal practitioners.

• To ascertain the comparative effectiveness of different methods of detecting deception and to

provide a theory that accounts for success at both deceiving others and at detecting deception.

• To contribute more to law enforcement by improving the predictive utility of different methods
of selecting police personnel, both generally as well as for specialist roles in operational policing.

• Finally, historical and sociological research into the development of legal psychology as a
discipline and how and why some of its ‘successes’ and ‘failures’ have come about will be of
great interest and practical use to all those legal psychologists who like to reflect on their
discipline and to ‘take stock’.

Developmental Psychology

Developmental psychology is the scientific study of progressive psychological changes that

occur in human beings as they age. Originally concerned with infants and children, it is called
development or child psychology. As the study of other period of great change such as
adolescence and aging were added, it now encompasses the entire life span, and is also referred
to as Life Span Psychology. Developmental psychology takes into consideration scientific data,
postulations and observations regarding the physical, cognitive, social and emotional behaviour
of human organisms at various stages of development.

Also, developmental psychology, as a component of psychology is concerned with changes in

human behaviours throughout their life span (from conception to death). This component is
closely linked historically to evolution theory, as it concerns issues related to ontology
(development of the individual) and ontogeny (development of the species). Indeed, while
ontogeny is an individual’s species changes, phylogeny is concerned with changes observed in
the species of human.

Therefore, the concept of development refers to the systematic and sequential continuities and
changes that occur in an individual throughout life. These changes are often orderly, relatively
enduring and patterned. Development psychology, as a science of development, studies the
phenomena of these changes and continuities within a life span.

Developmental psychology seeks understanding and controls the basic processes and dynamics
underlying human behaviour at the various stages of life. Its investigations encompass the
growth and maturation of the individual organism, it cognitive and emotional powers, as well as
it personality structure. In general, developmental psychology is a scientific discipline that
attempts to:
 Devise methods for studying organisms as they evolve over time;
 Collect fact about individuals at different ages (stages of development), backgrounds and
personalities, and

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  Construct a theoretical framework that can account for the observed behaviours as well
as for the changes occurring throughout the life cycle.

Social Psychology

In answering these and other questions about LaPiere’s experience, you are doing something that
you do each and every day: You are thinking about people and speculating about the reasons for
their behavior. Like most people, you probably spend much of your waking hours trying to
explain why the people you encounter your family, your friends, even the strangers you pass on
the street do what they do. You also think about people you do not actually encounter, people
you read or hear about, like LaPiere, his traveling companions, and the individuals they
encountered so long ago. Of course, you don’t just think about other people; you also wonder
about yourself and what motivates your own social behavior. By thinking about yourself in
relation to other people, you are doing social psychology. Indeed, you have always been one sort
of social psychologist a curious observer.

What exactly is social psychology? Various definitions for social psychology exist; however,
they all tend to identify a similar set of concerns. Social psychology is the scientific study of
everyday social behaviour how the thoughts, feelings, the way individual behave in a social
context, and actions of individuals are influenced by situations, the individuals themselves, and
other people, whether real or imagined (Allport, 1985).

Cognitive Psychology

Cognitive psychology is the school of psychology that studies mental processes including how
people think, perceive, remember and learn. As part of the larger field of cognitive science, this
branch of psychology is related to other disciplines including neuroscience, philosophy, and
linguistics. Cognitive psychology began to emerge during the 1950s, partly as a response to
behaviorism. Critics of behaviourism noted that it failed to account for how internal processes
impacted behaviour. This period is sometimes referred to as the "cognitive revolution" as a
wealth of research on topics such as information processing, language, memory, and perception
began to emerge. One of the most influential theories of this school of thought was the stages of
cognitive development theory proposed by Jean Piaget. The cognitive psychologist rejects
psychoanalysis, as it regards psychoanalytic theories about the subconscious mind as subjective
and not open to scientific analysis.

Facts about Cognitive Psychology

The cognitive psychology focuses on the mental processing of information. It is concerned with
the acquisition, storage, retrieval and use of knowledge, whether that knowledge is how to split
an atom or how to change a flat tire.

Cognitive psychologists study how we gather, encode, and store information from our
environment using such mental processes as perception, memory, imagery, concept formation,
problem solving, reasoning, decision making, and language. If you were listening to a friend

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describe his or her white water rafting trip, a cognitive psychologist would be interested in how
you decipher the meaning of her words, how you form mental images f the turbulent water, how
you incorporate your impressions of her experience into your previous concept s of rafting, and
so on.
Cognitive psychologists take what is called information processing approach in their studies. It is
derived from the computer sciences. According to this approach, we gather information from the
environment, and then process it in a series of stages.
A certain type of processing is performed at one level before the information is passed on to
another level for a different kind of processing.
The information processing approach is based on the idea that humans are like computers in
that, both take in information, process it, and produce a response.
In fact, cognitive psychologists often express models of human thought processes with
techniques used in the computer science, such as flowcharts (diagrams with arrows leading from
one box to successive others), and mathematical formulas.
For example, cognitive psychologists studying memory have devised a model that illustrates the
sequence of stages in the acquisition of memory.

Community Psychology
Community psychology represents a new way of thinking about people’s behaviour and well-
being in the context of all the community environments and social systems in which they live
their lives (Bateman, 2002). One of the most exciting aspects of community psychology is that
the field is still developing and defining itself. It is not easily reduced to the traditional sub-
disciplines in psychology for several reasons.

First, community psychologists simultaneously emphasize both applied service delivery to the
community and theory-based research.

Second, they focus, not just on individual psychological makeup, but on multiple levels of
analysis, from individuals and groups to specific programs to organizations and, finally, to whole
communities.

Third, community psychology covers a broad range of settings and substantive areas; conducting
research in a mental health, appearing as an expert witness in a courtroom, evaluating
programmes, implementing programs and organizing neighbourhood association meetings. For
all the above reasons, there is a sense of vibrant urgency and uniqueness among community
psychologists as if they are as much a part of a social movement as of a professional or scientific
discipline.

The new and disparate areas of community psychology are thus bound together by a singular
vision: that of helping the relatively powerless, in and out of institutions, take control over their

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environment and their lives. Community psychologists must, however, “wear many hats” in
working toward the creation of social systems which: (1) promote individual growth and prevent
social and mental health problems before they start; (2) provide immediate and appropriate forms
of intervention when and where they are most needed; and (3) enable those who have been
labeled as “deviant” to live as dignified, supported, and empowered lives as possible, preferably
as contributing members of the community.

For example, a community psychologist might (1) create and evaluate an array of programs and
policies which help people control the stressful aspects of community and organizational
environments; (2) assess the needs of a community and teach its members how to recognize an
incipient problem and deal with it before it becomes intractable; or (3) study and implement
more humane and effective ways for formerly institutionalized populations to live productively
in society’s mainstream.

Criminologist

Criminologist is an individual trained in the field of criminology who studies crime, criminals,
and criminal behaviour. As the word implies, criminology is clearly concerned with crime. As
we begin our discussion of criminology, let’s consider just what the term crime means. Like
anything else, crime can be defined several ways. For our purposes, crime is human conduct that
violates the criminal laws of a state, the federal government, or a local jurisdiction that has the
power to make and enforce the laws. This definition is preferred because without a law defining
a particular form of behaviour, there is no crime, no matter how deviant or socially repugnant the
behaviour in question may be.

A typical definition of a criminologist is “one who studies crime, criminals, and criminal
behavior.” Occasionally, the term criminologist describes almost anyone working in the criminal
justice field, regardless of formal training. Also, criminologist refers to credentialed individuals
holding advanced degrees in the field and studying crime, criminal behaviour, and crime trends.
This definition shows that it is more than a field of study or a collection of theories; it is also a
profession. Today, the growing tendency is to reserve applying the term criminologist to
academics, researchers, and policy analysts with advanced degrees who study crime, study
trends, and analyze societal reactions to crime. In respect to this designation, we describe highly
skilled investigators, crime laboratory technicians, fingerprint experts, crime-scene
photographers, ballistics experts, and others who work to solve particular crimes as criminalists.

 Criminologists often find easy entrance into police investigative or support work,
probation and parole agencies, court support activities, and correctional (prison) venues.
 Criminologists also work for government agencies developing effective social policies
intended to deter or combat crime.

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LECTURE FIVE

CONTEMPORARY PERSPECTIVES IN PSYCHOLOGY

The views of modern psychologists are frequently difficult to categorize into traditional schools
of thought. Thus, rather than discussing schools of thought, it is often more useful to refer to
psychological perspectives—general points of view used for explaining people’s behavior and
thinking, whether normal or abnormal. For example, a psychologist may adopt a behavioral
perspective without necessarily agreeing with all of Watson’s or Skinner’s ideas. What is
important is that the psychologist taking such a view will explain behavior in terms of
environmental forces. The major perspectives in psychology today and the kinds of variables
each emphasizes in explaining behaviour are as follows:

Humanistic Perspective
The humanistic perspective is currently an important force in psychology. It proponents claimed
that the uniqueness and value of human experience are overlooked in the behaviourist approach.
This criticism has been summarized by one of the best – known humanists, Carl Rogers (1964).
For Rogers, in this world of inner meanings, humanistic psychology can investigate all the issues
which are meaningless for the behaviousits - purpose, goals, values, choice, perceptions of self,
perceptions of others, the personal constructs with which we build our world, the responsibilities
we accept or reject , the whole phenomenal world of the individual with its connective issues to
meaning. Not one aspect of this world is open to the strict behaviourist. Yet that these elements
have significance for man’s behaviour seems certainly true.
From Rogers’s statement, it is evident that humanistic psychology emphasizes that importance of
the inner mind, subjective self, of consciousness and feelings. The humanists stress that human
nature is naturally positive, creative, and growth-seeking unless thwarted by experience. In
humanistic therapy, people are viewed in a positive light, as “clients” rather than “patients”, and
are encouraged to express their feelings and find their own solutions to problems while engaged
in a supportive relationship with their therapist. In contrast to the behaviousits view of behaviour
as responsive to stimuli, humanists emphasize the capacity of people to exercise free will in
making their own choices and deciding how to behave. As a result, each person is seen as a
unique individual. All people, according to humanist Abraham Maslow, have both the need and
the ability to fulfill their unique and optimum potential.
Humanistic psychology developed as a response to psychoanalysis and behaviorism. Humanistic
psychology instead focused on individual free will, personal growth and the concept of self-
actualization. While early schools of thought were primarily centered on abnormal human
behaviour, humanistic psychology differed considerably in its emphasis on helping people
achieve and fulfill their potential. Abraham Maslow's "hierarchy of needs" exemplifies this
approach: a system of needs, such as food, love and self-esteem, determines a person's behaviour
to various extents. Meeting these needs leads to a sense of self-satisfaction and solves
psychological problems.

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Major humanist thinkers include:

 Abraham Maslow
 Carl Rogers

Humanistic psychology remains quite popular today and has had a significant influence on other
areas of psychology including positive psychology. This particular branch of psychology is
centered on helping people living happier, more fulfilling lives.

Behaviorist Perspective:

The behaviourists feel that a truly scientific method must be limited to the study of objective,
observable behaviours. In fact, they believe that all behaviours can be viewed as a response to a
stimulus (an object or event, either internal or external that stimulates or causes an organism to
respond). For example, a dog salivation to a bell is demonstrating a stimulus-response behaviour.
The bell is a stimulus and salivation is the response. Of course, behaviourist are interested in
human as well. One of the most well-known behaviourist is B. F Skinner, who after series of
research was convinced that we could use behaviourists approaches to actually, shape human
behaviours and thereby change the present negative behaviour course (as perceived it) of
humankind (Skinnner, 1971, 1985). Other behaviousists have been successful in treating people
with behaviour problems. For example, to treat people with phobias (irrational fears) and
alcoholism, they have developed a therapy technique known as behaviour modification.

Socio-cultural Perspective
This emphasizes the society, values, and beliefs. Socio-cultural Perspective focuses on the
relationship between social behavior and culture (Social and Cultural Psychology). The socio-
cultural perspective attempts to elucidate the ways in which external forces, in this case, the
environment and the family, shape individuals’ learning in achievement contexts, as well as
pertaining to the positioning of individuals in their societies, and how sociocultural attributes
such as epistemological beliefs and cultural values contribute to their way of life. Individuals’
cognition and motivation originate in contexts and, consequently, relate closely to the external
world. This theoretical postulation reflects existing tenets, notably Bandura’s (1986, 1997) social
cognitive theory, Bronfenbrenner’s (1979, 1989) ecological systems theory, and Vygotsky’s
(1978, 1981) sociocultural theory of development.
Despite their distinctive characteristics, the mentioned orientations concur a commonality,
suggesting that individuals’ development per se is not an isolated entity, but rather confined to an
overarching sociocultural system. The extraneous social factors (e.g., cultural values) combine
with internal cognitive-motivational processes to account and explain individuals’ behavioural
outcomes and way of live. Considering this theorization, the premise of the concept contemplates
three interactive processes that may take precedence to influence individuals’ development and
learning: (i) the community and its social influence; (ii) the immediate family and its
expectations; and (iii) the individual and his/her cultural beliefs and values. Similarly, those
individuals continuously interact with their social milieus to master and acquire new skills. The

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aforementioned theories’ (e.g., Bioecological theory: Bronfenbrenner, 1979, 1989)
rationalization interprets knowledge acquired by individuals as a derivative of their
environments. In details, central to Bandura’s (1986, 1997) social cognitive theory is the
emphasis on a bidirectional framework, known as reciprocal determinism that describes the
interrelations between the environment, and individuals’ behaviour and his/her cognition.
Bronfenbrenner’s (1979, 1989) bioecological systems theory differs relatively, and emphasizes
individuals’ situational placement within four distinct sociocultural layers. Individuals in this
case develop within a complex system of relationships and contexts between the microsystem
(i.e., person-others interaction), mesosystem (i.e., connections between situations), exosystem
(i.e., indirect influence on a person from others’ relations), and macrosystem (i.e., relation with
society at large and one’s own cultural identity) layers. In this analysis, the bioecological systems
framework suggests that individuals, in part, learn and acquire knowledge from their social
surroundings. Individuals do not exist in isolation vacuum, but rather interact and transgress
between contexts, events, and situations.
Central to Vygotsky’s (1978) theorization, knowledge that is constructed socially is internalized
or “appropriated” on an individual level. Instructional dialogue arising from social interaction
with more competent peers, for example, leads to cognitive development. In a similar vein, social
reliance on cultural tools (e.g., culturally accepted behavioural patterns, such as how to eat
certain food) and/or semiotic signs (e.g., gestures, symbols, and facial expressions) may also
serve to mediate cognitive development. Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory of development
suggests psychological tools and semiotic signs that individuals use to mediate development
reflect their social origins and cultural identities.

Modern Psychological Perspectives

• Bio-psychological Perspective
This emphasizes the attributes human and animal behaviour to biological events occurring in the
body such as; genetic influences, hormones and the activity of the nervous system. The Bio-
psychologists look for links between specific behaviours and particular biological factors that
often help explain individual differences. They study the structures of the brain and central
nervous system, the functioning of neurons, the delicate balance of neurotransmitters and
hormones, and the effects of heredity to look for links between these biological factors and
behavior. For example, the number of ear infections children have in the first year of life (a
biological individual difference) is correlated with learning disabilities in the elementary school
years (a behavioral individual difference) (Golz et al., 2005). Many biological psychologists
work under the umbrella of an interdisciplinary field known as neuroscience. Neuroscience
combines the work of psychologists, biologists, biochemists, medical researchers, and others in
the study of the structure and function of the nervous system. Important findings in psychology
have resulted from this work. For example, researchers have learned that defects in nerve cell
membranes interfere with the cells’ ability to make use of brain chemicals that help us control
body movement (Kurup & Kurup, 2002). These findings shed light on the physiological
processes underlying serious neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s disease and help

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pharmacological researchers in their efforts to create more effective medications for these
disorders.

Evolutionary Perspective
The Evolutionary perspective focuses on the biological bases of universal mental characteristics
that all humans share. Evolutionary psychology focuses on how the human behaviours required
for survival have adapted in the face of environmental pressures over the long course of
evolution (Archer, 1996). As such, evolutionary psychology draws heavily on Charles Darwin’s
theory of natural selection. Darwin’s theory asserts that individual members of a given species
who possess characteristics that help them survive are the most likely to pass on the genes
underlying those characteristics to subsequent generations. As a result, traits that support
individual survival become universal in the species; that is, every individual member of the
species has them.
For example, every human being possesses the capacity to acquire language. Natural selection
would explain this universality as the result of the survival advantage conferred on humans by
having an efficient means of communicating information from one person to another.
Evolutionary psychology has been called, simply, a combination of evolutionary biology and
cognitive psychology. Two widely recognized proponents of evolutionary psychology, Leda
Cosmides and John Tooby, hold that this perspective combines the forces of evolutionary
biology, anthropology, cognitive psychology, and neuroscience. They explain that an
evolutionary perspective can be applied to any topic within the field of psychology (Tooby &
Cosmides, 2005). For example, one of the most influential evolutionary psychologists, David
Buss, and his colleagues have conducted a number of fascinating studies examining men’s and
women’s patterns of behaviour in romantic relationships (Buss, 1999, 2000a, 2000b, 2001,
2008).

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LECTURE SIX

LAW IN CONTEXT

Interdisciplinary Understanding

Law is neither practiced nor taught in a vacuum. It is, instead, a profession that exists to avoid
and resolve disputes and problems in many different ways, between and among individuals,
governments, or organizations, or any combination of parties. Practitioners work with this in
mind, and law is taught with this in mind. Both law teaching and practice are people-centered
professions. Black’s Law Dictionary defines context in terms of “setting or environment.” As
law becomes more interdisciplinary, as it depends on non-legal information outside the strictly
defined field of law, and as more information in all areas becomes available, research is
conducted routinely in non-law areas, ranging from engineering to economics to ethnic studies.
Information from these non-law areas impacts and is incorporated into the development and
application of accepted legal principles, the paradigms, of many areas of the law.

As law becomes more interdisciplinary, as it depends on non-legal information outside the

strictly defined field of law, and as more information in all areas becomes available, research is
conducted routinely in non-law areas, ranging from engineering to economics to ethnic studies.
Information from these non-law areas impacts and is incorporated into the development and
application of accepted legal principles, the paradigms, of many areas of the law. Also, the
broader contexts of law include; political, social, historical, philosophical, and economic context
as examples of the broader, pluralist context within which legal issues arise. This list can easily
be extended to encompass contexts that reflect, for example: social justice; gender-related issues;
Indigenous perspectives; cultural and linguistic diversity; the commercial or business
environment; globalisation; public policy; moral contexts; criminal justice and issues of
sustainability.

In many ways theoretical frameworks, such as those outlined below, inform the way in which the
relationship between the context and the legal issue is constructed. For example, the implications
of social impact caused by a regulatory scheme could be viewed very differently using the lenses
of law and economics, feminist, critical race or environmental sustainability theories. Whether or
not those underlying theories are made clear to students, they will inform the approach taken by
teachers (an example of an extended explanation of this is contained in Brown et al: 2011).

The phrase ‘law in context’ points to the many ways legal norms and institutions are conditioned
by culture and social organization. We see how legal rules and concepts, such as those affecting
property, contract, and conceptions of justice, are animated and transformed by intellectual
history; how much the authority and self-confidence of legal institutions depend on underlying
realities of class and power; how legal rules fit into broader contexts of custom and morality. In
short, we see law as in and of society, adapting to its contours, giving direction to change. We
learn that the legal order is far less autonomous, far less self-regulating and self-sufficient, than

38
often portrayed by its leaders and apologists. This perspective encourages us to accept blurred
boundaries between law and morality, law and tradition, law and economics, law and politics,
law and culture.

Accepting the reality of blurred boundaries leads to much puzzlement and controversy. Law
loses some of its special dignity, and some jurisprudential questions cannot be avoided. Blurring
boundaries is healthy when legal institutions gain relevance, competence, and vitality from other
spheres of social life, including education, work, religion, and public opinion, especially attitudes
of trust, criticism, and self-restraint. The continuities of law and society do not require us to
abandon the distinction between positive law – the product of explicit authority and the social
contexts of that law; but the continuities are not thereby erased or ignored. From these
continuities or discontinuities, we learn what makes for legal stability, autonomy, and
responsiveness. ‘Positive’ law is an often intricate tapestry whose main strands are legislation,
judicial decisions, and administrative regulations. It is the law that lawyers are trained to
recognize and use. But positive law is only part of a larger, more inchoate unity, which we call
the ‘legal order’ or, more awkwardly, the ‘socio-legal order’ (Selznick: 2003).

Placing legal content into broader contexts allows individuals to see the impact of law on various
sections of society, and this can enhance their growth as professionals and their sense of justice.
It can overcome the narrowing effects of training to think like a lawyer (Sullivan et al: 2007),
and remind lawyers that application of legal rules has broader effects and reflect the operation of
certain values (Burridge and Webb: 2008). Seeing law in broader contexts both aids the
development of critical thinking skills of professional development.

Historical Overview

It is a truism that all law is contextual in that it describes and regulates relationships. However,
which contexts are relevant to the study of law has been a topic much debated. What is currently
accepted as relevant may not have been in the past. It is therefore important to understand this
history (in itself a context), because it emphasizes that the appropriate context of law is one that
is contentious and evolving.

The legal realists successfully changed the nature of persuasive argument. Most current legal
scholars accept the realist message that it is wrong to attempt to answer legal questions by
appealing to the inherent nature of the abstract concepts of property, contract, and liberty. They
distinguish between concepts like freedom and duress by line-drawing rather than by definitional
assertion (Singer: 1988).

More recently, some areas of the physical and biological sciences have seemed of greater
relevance, in part because of the issues of ethics and regulation which their discoveries raise.
Many fields which overlap with law vocationally or which open up a range of occupations have
also come to be combined with law quite commonly (e. g accounting) but some do not provide
the same intellectual perspectives as the studies in the social sciences and humanities listed.
Today, significant re-conceptualisations of law are also being developed by critical race
theorists, feminists, law and economics, law and literature scholars and others. Six of these
perspectives are outlined below (Selznick: 2003).

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Law and Economics

Company law is not simply a set of rules regulating a company mainly as to its internal
workings. A true appreciation of company law demands a knowledge of matters like finance (the
role of the stock market, the internal generation of funds, the taxation system), extra-legal
concepts like social responsibility, market phenomena such as mergers and monopoly power, and
government policy such as that relating to foreign takeovers and industrial democratization.
Trusts law can never be fully comprehended unless emphasis is given to how trusts have been
utilized for intergenerational capital preservation, and more recently for tax avoidance. Industrial
law must be viewed against background factors such as history (the employer-worker conflict),
the economy (as it affects capital substitution, job security etc.), and the mechanics of dispute
resolution.

Rather than seeing law as an autonomous system in itself law and economics scholars argue that
law has validity to the extent that it conforms to broader economic principles. As such the
organising principles lie outside, rather than inside law. The most well known form of this
movement is the neo-classical approach seeks to make laws more efficient by the use of
microeconomic principles to evaluate the appropriateness of laws. But the movement is broader
than this and applies different economic models in different ways. Factors such as rational
choice, individual maximization models, social norms, and other ‘regulators’ of behaviour are all
part of the economic analysis of law. In its broader sense it has become an influential
jurisprudential model in developed nations (Mercuro: 2009). While some teach a straightforward
economic efficiency analysis of law others emphasise: not only an understanding of
microeconomic techniques and their application to legal questions, but also a critical perspective
that is sensitive to the problems of normative bias and subjectivity inherent in the use of those
techniques.

Law and Feminist

Feminist scholars argue that law has been overwhelmingly developed from a male perspective
and abstracted in such a way that much necessary context has been removed. As Naffine
explains; often missing from the legal understanding of life, they maintain, are significant
aspects of experience. Law in this context look at issues such as sexual harassment, rape,
battered women, and self-defense were discussed for the first time in these fora by lawyers who
were working on these issues worldwide. The litigation efforts that followed, which posed issues
of equal protection in a host of areas such as Social Security, pregnancy discrimination, and
parental leave, as well as activist efforts around the Equal Rights Amendment,'" raised important
arguments about the nature of gender which laid the foundation for feminist legal theory. By
insisting that law is a social life form, with a particular set of governing conventions, it has been
possible to drag everything out into the open. Feminists have therefore refused to accept the
orthodox liberal argument that some parts of life with which law deals - the supposedly private,
the natural, the sexual, and the biological are simply not the responsibility of law (Naffine,
2002).

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An important aspect of feminists is Sexual harassment doctrine: The doctrine furnishes women
with a novel legal category sexual harassment for conceptualizing social situations in which they
may find themselves and thus reconstitutes the social relations between women and men. It is
easy to see that in countries where this doctrine is a part of the law, women now function in
workplaces and universities shielded by a protective wall provided by the rights that the doctrine
provides. Further, men deal with women knowing that certain acts of theirs, which formerly
lacked legal significance, have acquired legal meaning. Consequently, the relations of women
and men substantially differ in these countries from countries that do not recognize the sexual
harassment doctrine. Moreover, if the doctrine succeeds in constituting the interactions between
women and men over time (i.e., if the doctrine manages to overcome the gap problem, a new
generation of women and men will interact in line with the imperatives of the doctrine not
because of any particular awareness of it but simply and mainly because they will have been
born into a culture that complies with the doctrine’s imperatives and internalized the contents
and practices of that culture.

Within the law curriculum feminist scholars argue not only for the examination of areas where
women are directly discriminated against such as domestic violence and the workplace. They
have also questioned the indirect discrimination inherent in the supposed neutrality of abstracted
doctrines of property, contract and tort law etc (Lacey, 2004). Feminist legal theories also
provide a unique approach to contextualizing law: Feminist legal theories do not merely seek to
rationalise legal practices; nor, conversely, do they typically engage in entirely external critique
and prescription. Rather, they aspire to produce a critical interpretation of legal practices: an
account which at once takes seriously the legal point of view yet which subjects that point of
view to critical scrutiny on the basis of both its own professed values and a range of other ethical
and political commitments (Lacey: 2004). Feminist perspectives are strongly interdisciplinary,
and seek to question all assumptions underlying legal doctrine and practice.

Feminist Legal Theories

Today, feminist legal theory has evolved into four major schools: formal equality theory,
"cultural feminism," dominance theory, and post-modem or anti-essentialist theory.
Formal equality theory: this theory grounded in liberal democratic thought, argues that women
should be treated the same as men, while cultural feminists emphasize the need to take account
of "differences" between men and women.
Dominance theory: sidesteps both of these approaches, focusing instead upon the embedded
structures of power that make men's characteristics the norm from which "difference" is
constructed.
Anti-essentialism: by contrast, contends that there is no single category "female," pointing
instead to the varying perspectives resulting, for example, from the intersection of gender, race
and class.

41
Cultural feminism: The emergence of or "difference" perspectives in the law were largely shaped
by efforts to understand the uniquely female experiences of pregnancy and motherhood. For
example, the historical failure of the Court's equality jurisprudence to address issues of
pregnancy as implicating issues of gender equality had an enormous impact on women's lives
and the law.
The last three approaches are all "theoretical" critiques of formal equality which emerged from
the contradictions and political struggles that developed in the course of efforts to implement
formal equality in practice and addressed the limits of formal equality in redressing sex
discrimination.
In short, feminist legal theory has highlighted the issue of gender in law, and the range of
feminist legal theories that have developed continue to deepen our understanding of the complex
interrelationship between gender and law. But it is important to appreciate the critical way in
which feminist legal theory emerged from practice, and the way in which new theoretical
insights formulated by litigators and academics continue to reshape practice. Indeed, feminist
legal theory, understood generically, has been the intellectual means for argument and debate
about issues of equality that first emerged in law reform practice and continues to resonate both
in practice and in the world at large (Patricia, 1997).

Law in Political Context

Law and politics as social phenomena are two emanations of the same entity. In this context,
politics in its broadest meaning, primarily encompassing the process-related sense, which also
includes various policies and polities, while law is define as the binding value-normative system
established and carried out by, the state in national law and carried out by international
organizations and institutions in international law, which are intended for the establishment and
maintenance of a balance between justice and order and solving and preventing pressing societal
and international conflicts.

Relationship between Law and Politics

According to Hart, Law is the creature of political order, and law structures politics. Politics so
circumscribed can occur at two levels which it is important to keep distinct. One level is that of
the constitution in establishing the fundamental structure of the state. The second level is that of
ordinary law and decision making, particularly the making of statutes and regulations and their
application to particular cases. At either level, the relationship between law and politics may be
of three types and in either of two directions. The relationships can go from politics to law, from
law to politics. Thus in Hart’s View, the existence of a legal system causally depends upon
political acceptance of the rules.

42
The relation between politics and law has both a progressive function and a safeguarding
function. Law and politics, separately or together, both encourage and suppress the development
of societal relations, while they both also function to bring about justice and order. The essence
of their "separate and connected" but not integral existence is to help set each other's borders.
These borders prevent excessive one-sidedness in politics or the law, similar to a "checks and
balances" mechanism.

In actuality, all legal institutes are a partial reflection of individual or collective political
decisions at a certain time and in a certain environment, which have assumed a legal form and
nature. This is true in systems where the main rule-framer is an extremely politically legitimized
body (e.g. the parliament as legislature) and also in systems where judicial-precedent law has a
strong influence because even the most autonomous judiciary is always determined by some sort
of political influence. Legal institutes, however, have a reverse influence on politics in that they
limit and direct politics as part of a wider legal awareness, or specific legal ideology.

In a mutual relationship, politics and law do not have constantly determined roles, since in
different periods they can be, either in agreement or in opposition, socially progressive or
conservative, or even reactionary. But, it must be stressed that for law an especially emphasized
conservative function is characteristic and important, despite the fact that it can sometimes
function in a developmentally progressive or creative manner. This doesn't suggest that law
cannot be successful in promoting new societal relations but it does suggest that only from the
aspect of legal policy, this should not be exaggerated

Dimensions of Law in Political Context

With politics, it is necessary to distinguish three fundamental dimensions: the institutional

dimension, the normative dimension, and the process-related dimension.

 The institutional dimension is expressed by the term polity and entails the operation of
various regulated state and non-state institutions like political parties, social movements,
public media, the legislature, and the government.
 The normative dimension is expressed by the term policy and entails the creation of
normative ideas or ideals that define basic societal values and objectives geared towards a
practical realization of such.
 Lastly, the process-related dimension is expressed by the term politics, which is
expressed in the formation of the political will through the implementation of the social
power and authority and built up through conflict and consensus.

If we attempt to concisely analyze the law through the above mentioned three dimensions, we
can see that from an institutional perspective, the law is expressed primarily through two factors:
the establishment of specific state bodies legitimized by means of their specific professional
legal structure and functioning (e.g., the courts and the state prosecutor's office), and non-state
institutions where the attorneyship belongs. From the normative perspective, the law is the

43
creation of general and individual legal norms. From the process-related perspective, the law
appears by means of various procedures like the legislative or criminal procedures where legal
solutions are formed through the functioning of state bodies and individuals. …. ( Jacob, 1996).

Law in the Context of Family

Law in this context allocates to husbands and wives’ powers and rights in the course of their
marriages and, if their marriages should end, custody rights, rights concerning the distribution of
family property, and so forth. Through such allocations, family law participates in constituting
the relations between husbands and wives in the course of their marriages. Imagine the daily life
of a husband and wife in the context of a law that allows the husband to unilaterally terminate the
marriage and retain exclusive custody of the couple’s children and possessions, leaving the wife
without any property whatsoever. Now imagine the daily life of a husband and wife in the
context of a legal regime premised on equality. Obviously, the nature of the daily interactions
between married people substantially varies for those living under the sway of these two very
different legal systems. Furthermore, in countries that recognize same-sex marriage, this
recognition directly affects partnerships of people of the same sex and the status of homosexual
persons in society in general.

Law in the Cultural Context

The legal field has not ignored this appropriation. Legal scholarship contains at least twelve
approaches that connect the concepts of law and culture. According to the historical school,
statutes are not meant to create law; rather, their function is to reflect existing social practices.
And just as each group of nationals has its own language, expressing a unique national spirit, it
also has its own distinctive law. The second approach, the constitutive approach, developed in
American jurisprudence in the 1980s. This approach views law as participating in the
constitution of culture and thereby in the constitution of people’s minds, practices, and social
relations. It thus views the relationship between law and culture as working in an opposite
direction from what the historical approach assumes; in both, however, law is an inseparable
dimension of social relations. The third approach, found in twentieth-century Anglo-American
jurisprudence, views the law that the courts create and apply as a distinct cultural system. Law
practitioners internalize this culture in the course of their studies and professional activity, and
this internalization comes to constitute, direct, and delimit the way these practitioners think,
argue, resolve cases, and provide justifications. In many cases, however, the legal culture allows
for more than one possible solution (Sebastian, 1998). Therefore, while there may be objectivity
in the law, there is also a degree of inconsistency in its application.

44
Approaches to Understanding Law in the Cultural context

Beyond these three approaches concerning the relationship between law and culture, one can
identify at least nine additional approaches in legal scholarship. However, first approach to
understanding the relation between law and culture is that law begins as culture, eventually
becoming the law of the nation. This approach is identified with the German historical-school of
law (Sally, 1994).

 The first, “law and anthropology,” applies anthropological research methods to the study
of law.
 The second, the “legal culture” approach, deals with people’s views on the legal system
and beliefs about the feasibility of taking legal action to promote their interests.
 The third, the “legal consciousness” approach, deals with the legal knowledge that
people invoke in the course of their daily social interactions.
 The fourth, the “law and popular culture” approach, deals with law’s representations in
popular culture, its influence over popular culture, and the influence of popular culture on
law.
 The fifth approach deals with the connection between law and the production of cultural
artifacts, such as books and music, and naturally focuses on intellectual property law.
 The sixth approach, “law and multiculturalism,” is a part of the voluminous literature
published in the last four decades on multiculturalism and discusses the functions that
law plays, and the normative solutions it should adopt, in culturally diversified countries.
 The seventh approach looks at the connection between law and culture from the
perspective of particular legal branches or doctrines.
 The eighth approach, “law and culture in law and development,” discusses the role of
cultural change in legal and economic development processes that are taking place in
developing countries.
 The ninth approach, “law as an autopoietic system,” views law as an autonomous system
whose contents and communications affect social reality in a unique manner, mutually
influencing each other and creating law’s

Constitutive Approach to Law and Culture

Law is perceived as constitutive of culture and consequently as also constitutive of the mind
categories of individuals and of the social relations in which they are involved. Indeed, according
to the constitutive approach, in line with the insights of the cultural studies movement, once the
law has succeeded in establishing social relations, for those who participate in these social
relations, it turns them into something natural and self-evident to which no alternatives can
possibly be suggested. As Robert Gordon writes,

45
 “the power exerted by a legal regime consists less in the force that it can bring to bear against
violators of its rules than in its capacity to persuade people that the world described in its
images and categories is the only attainable world in which a sane person would want to live”.

It is a tenet of the constitutive approach that law arises under conditions of inequality between
social groups. Therefore, the social relations that law constitutes are unequal. Law allocates to
various groups of individuals different kinds and different quantities of powers that they are to
employ in their social relations, and law fixates in their minds hierarchies of class, gender, race,
and ethnicity. As a result, law functions as an important instrument of social control: it serves to
create and preserve inequality between individuals and between social groups. However, in spite
of the clearly critical tendencies accompanying the birth of the constitutive approach, one may
generalize its insight to the effect that law can be viewed as social life in general, not necessarily
in connection to the interests of any particular group.

Law in the Context of Criminal Justice

The Criminal Justice System commences with the commission of a crime and continues with
subsequent interventions by the law enforcement agencies of the system that has the power to
arrest, arraignment, trial, sentencing and punishment of the offender. A criminal trial involves
the state, the society and the offender who commits the act. The process of determining whether
the accused or defendant did the act or committed the omission alleged against him or her, if he
or she did, depends on sentencing him/her for his/her wrongdoing or did. In some legislation, the
word sentence and judgement are used interchangeable.

Criminal justice system as a method of crime control which represents the entire army of
government institutions that function as the instrument of a society to enforce its standards of
conduct necessary for the protection of the safety and freedom of individual citizens and for the
maintenance of order. However, the task of the criminal justice system is performed through the
means of detecting, apprehending, prosecuting, adjudicating and sanctioning those members of
the society who violate its established rules and laws.

In Nigeria, the criminal justice system is predicated on the notions that the suspect’s or
defendants (accused) dignity must be recognised and that generally the suspect or
defendant/accused is considered innocent until proven guilty by a court of competent
jurisdiction. Unfortunately, violations of these fundamental procedural rules have become
rampant in our society. Such violations obviously obstruct defendant’s human rights and most
essentially threaten the very foundation of criminal justice system.

The Components of Criminal Justice System in Nigeria namely:

a. The Police.
b. The Prosecution.
c. The trial Court (criminal court divisions)
d. The correctional institutions which include the prisons, borstal homes, remand homes etc.

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LECTURE SEVEN

LAW AND PSYCHOLOGY: THE NEXUS

A Brief History of Law and Psychology

A number of well-known psychologists expressed their interest in applying psychology’s

findings to law as early as the 1890s. More specifically, Ogloff mentions Cattell’s (1895) article
in Science which was concerned with how accurately one could recall information; In 1906,
Sigmund Freud gave a speech in which he cautioned Austrian judges that their decisions were
influenced by unconscious processes (Freud, 1906). He also noted that insights from his theory
could be used to understand criminal behaviour and to improve the legal system. However, it
was two events in 1908 that triggered a broad recognition among psychologists that their ideas
might be used to transform the legal system. The first event was the publication of a book
entitled On the Witness Stand. The author was an experimental psychologist named Hugo
Munsterberg. He had been a student of Wilhelm Wundt (the person generally regarded as the
founder of modern psychology) and he left Germany to direct the Psychological Laboratory at
Harvard. Watson’s (1913) view that judges could utilise psychological findings and Paynter’s
(1920) and Burt’s (1925) research into trademark and trade name infringements which was
presented in court; Hutchins and Slesinger’s (1928, 1929b) published work on psychology and
evidence law and, finally, the Russian psychologist Luria’s (1932) work on the effect in newly
arrested criminals, before being interrogated by police, in order to differentiate the guilty from
the innocent.

Munsterberg wrote On the Witness Stand with the purpose of “turning the attention of serious
men to an absurdly neglected field which demands the full attention of the social community”
(Munsterberg, 1908, p. 12). His book succeeded in getting the attention of the legal community,
although it was not the kind of attention he had hoped for. In 1909, a leading legal scholar
published a savagely satirical critique of what he considered to be Munsterberg’s exaggerated
claims for psychology. In the article, Munsterberg was put on trial for libel, cross-examined, and
found guilty (Wigmore, 1909). Not only did On the Witness Stand receive an icy reception from
legal scholars, it failed to mobilize research psychologists. Despite his achievements,
Munsterberg is only begrudgingly acknowledged as the founding father of psychology and law.

The social and intellectual climate of the late 1960s nurtured the fledgling field of psychology
and law. In 1966, Harry Kalven (a lawyer) and Hans Zeisel (a sociologist) published an
influential book entitled The American Jury. This seminal work (discussed more fully in Chapter
13) summarized a multiyear study of how juries and judges reach their decisions. Karl
Menninger’s book, The Crime of Punishment, also published in 1966, advocated much greater
use of therapeutic methods to rehabilitate criminals. These books gave psychology and law a

47
much needed boost. There was great enthusiasm about psychology’s potential for improving the
legal system (Hall, Cook & Berman, 2010).

Within the broader psychological community, there was a growing eagerness to find ways of
applying theory and research to areas such as law. In his 1969 presidential address to the
American Psychological Association (APA), George Miller (a distinguished cognitive
psychologist who had spent virtually all of his career conducting basic research in the laboratory)
called for “giving psychology away” that is, for using psychological knowledge to solve pressing
social problems (Miller, 1969). In the same year, Donald Campbell called for much more
extensive use of the research methods he and other scientists had pioneered. The opening
sentence of his 1969 article neatly sums up his approach and conveys the optimism of the time:

The United States and other modern nations should be ready for an experimental approach to
social reform, an approach in which we try out new programs designed to cure specific social
problems, in which we learn whether or not these programs are effective, and in which we
retain, imitate, modify, or discard them on the basis of apparent effectiveness on the multiple
imperfect criteria available. (Campbell, 1969 p. 409)

Psychologists interested in the legal system were also feeling optimistic about psychology’s
possibilities. In 1969, they established the American Psychology-Law Society (APLS)
proclaiming that, “. . . there are few interdisciplinary areas with so much potential for improving
the human condition” (Grisso, 1991). The intermittent flirtations between psychology and law
did not mature into a steady relationship until the late 1970s. The first issue of the APLS’s major
journal Law and Human Behaviour appeared in 1977. Since then, several other journals that
feature psycholegal research and theory have appeared (e.g., Behavioural Sciences and the Law;
Criminal Justice and Behaviour; Law and Society Review; and Psychology, Public Policy, and
Law).

In the recent past psychologists’ claims the knowledge and fact finding ability were altogether
too forceful, and lawyers’ reluctance to use psychological evidence, insights and sophisticated
techniques altogether too irrational’ (Clifford and Bull, 1978:19) ‘However relevant they may be
to each other, the offspring of the relationship between psychology and law is still an infant and
doubts are still cast upon its legitimacy.’ (Carson and Bull, 1995a:3). The issues are not the
relevance of psychology and law to each other but the extent to which the law and legal system
should and are prepared, to embrace psychology and the extent to which psychologists should,
and are prepared, to adapt their work to the needs and requirements of the legal system.’ (Carson
and Bull, 1995a:4).

OVERVIEW OF LAW AND PSYCHOLOGY

The field of psychology and law involves the application of scientific and professional aspects of
psychology to questions and issues relating to law and the legal system as well as individuals
involved in the legal process. Psychologists trained in psychology and law provide psycho-legal
research in a variety of areas, develop mental health legal and public policies, and work as both
lawyers and psychologists within legal and clinical arenas. There are a number of specialties that
psychologists may pursue within the larger area of psychology and law. This field encompasses

48
contributions made in a number of different areas--research, clinical practice, public policy, and
teaching/training among them from a variety of orientations within the field of psychology, such
as developmental, social, cognitive, and clinical. While mental health professionals and
behavioural scientists have been involved with the legal system in a variety of ways for many
years, the decade of the 1970s witnessed the beginning of more formalized interactions.

Law and Psychology provides a comprehensive, up-to-date discussion of contemporary debates

at the interface between psychology and criminal law. Although the roots of law and psychology
were planted at the turn of the century, the “tree” has been slow to grow and only has begun to
bear fruit recently. However, psychology continues to play a valuable role in the criminal
process, even if it must end at the door of the court.’ Greater numbers of expert witnesses are
being permitted to testify on a broader base of subject matter than has hitherto been permitted.
The forensic and legal psychologists; have become accepted as experts on both inside and
outside the courtroom, however, forensic psychologists, of course, are called as expert witnesses
in both civil and criminal cases.

The Nexus

The nexus of law and psychology is, however, quite vast. Psychology functions to benefit the
discipline of law by helping to bring comprehension to some aspects of the law, by helping to
evaluate the law and its processes, or by helping to improve upon the administration of justice.
The law, along with professional regulatory boards, also serves to regulate the practice of
psychology both inside and outside the courts of law. In the aforementioned capacities, law and
psychology are melded on topics such as, but not limited to, child maltreatment, child custody,
competence, insanity, policing, jury selection and decision making, rights of the mentally ill,
evidence admissibility, gay and lesbian adoption, zoning, taxation, negligence, obscenity,
legislative and judicial motivation and decision-making, and operationalizing constitutionality.
Although there is immense interest in the field, there is a dearth of integrated resources. Teachers
on all levels greatly benefit from information regarding content-related research and theory,
field-related practice, applicable texts, technological resources, possible courses, sample syllabi,
classroom suggestions, and existing integrated academic programs.

Psychologists and lawyers however, have a lot of common ground, both disciplines focus on the
individual. Yarmey wrote that ‘both psychology and the courts are concerned with predicting,
explaining and controlling behaviour. According Yarmey (1979:7) every law and every
institution is based on assumptions about human nature and the manner in which human
behaviour is determined’. Achieving ‘justice’ is the concern of law and lawyers, while the search
for scientific truth is the concern of psychologists. Yarmey (1979:7) went as far as to state that
‘on grandiose days, I think that law should be characterised as a component of psychology, for if
psychology is the study of human behaviour, it necessarily includes law as a primary instrument
used by society to control human behaviour. Perhaps this explains why laws are such a fertile
source of research ideas for psychologists’, as law may be considered a branch of applied
psychology because the law mainly comprises a system of rules for the control of human social
behaviour.

49
One way of thinking about these various angles, although not the only way, has been proposed
by Craig Haney, who suggests there are three primary ways in which psychology and the law can
relate to each other. He calls these relationships psychology and the law, psychology in the law,
and psychology of the law.

Psychology and the Law

This is used by to denote, for example, psycho-legal research into offenders, lawyers,
magistrates, judges and jurors. In this relationship, “psychology is viewed as a separate discipline
to the law, examining and analyzing various components of the law and the legal system from a
psychological perspective” (Bartol & Bartol, 1994, p. 2). Frequently, questions that fall under the
category of psychology and the law focuses assumptions made by the law or the legal system,
asking questions such as these: Are eyewitnesses accurate? Do certain interrogation techniques
cause people to make false confessions? Are judges fair in the way they hand down sentences? Is
it possible to accurately predict whether an offender will be violent when released from prison?
When working within the area of psychology and the law, forensic psychologists attempt to
answer these sorts of questions so that the answers can be communicated to the legal community.

Psychology in the Law

As the label indicates, psychology in the law involves the use of psychological knowledge in the
legal system (Haney, 1980). According to Blackburn, psychology in law refers to specific
applications of psychology within law: such as the reliability of eyewitness testimony, mental
state of the defendant, and a parent’s suitability for child custody in a divorce case. “(Blackburn,
1996:6)

As with psychology and the law, psychology in the law can take many different forms. It might
consist of a psychologist in court providing expert testimony concerning some issue of relevance
to a particular case. For example, the psychologist might testify that, based on his or her
understanding of the psychological research, the eyewitness on the stand may have incorrectly
identified the defendant from a police line-up. Alternatively, psychology in the law might consist
of a police officer using his or her knowledge of psychology in an investigation. For example,
the officer may base his questioning strategy during an interrogation on his knowledge of various
psychological principles that are known to be useful for extracting confessions.

Psychology of the Law

Is used to refer to psychological research into such issues as to why people obey/disobey certain
laws, moral development, and public perceptions and attitudes towards various penal sanctions.
Psychology of the law involves the use of psychology to study the law itself (Haney, 1980), and
it addresses questions such as these: What role should the police play in domestic disputes? Does
the law reduce the amount of crime in our society? Why is it important to allow for discretionary
decision making in the criminal justice system? Although often not considered a core topic in
forensic psychology, there does appear to be a growing interest in the area of psychology of the
law. The challenge in this case is that to address the sorts of questions posed above; a set of skills

50
from multiple disciplines (e.g., criminology, sociology, law) is often important and sometimes
crucial.

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LECTURE EIGHT

BEHAVIOURAL PERSPECTIVE AND LAW

 Intelligence and Emotional Intelligence

 Criminological Theories and Dimension of Law

Intelligence and Emotional Intelligence

1. Intelligence

Intelligence (in all cultures) is the ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and use our
knowledge to adapt to new situations. In research studies, intelligence is whatever the
intelligence test measures. This tends to be “school smarts” and it tends to be culture-specific.

Intelligence can also be said to include:

The ability to solve problems and to adapt to and learn from life’s everyday experiences
The ability to solve problems
The capacity to adapt and learn from experiences; includes characteristics such as creativity and
interpersonal skills
The mental abilities that enable one to adapt to, shape, or select one’s environment
The ability to judge, comprehends, and reason
The ability to understand and deal with people, objects, and symbols
The ability to act purposefully, thinks rationally, and deals effectively with the environment

General Intelligence

The idea that general intelligence (g) exists comes from the work of Charles Spearman (1863-
1945) who helped develop the factor analysis approach in statistics. Spearman proposed that
general intelligence (g) is linked to many clusters that can be analyzed by factor analysis.
Spearman, using an earlier approach to factor analysis, found that scores on all mental tests
(regardless of the domain or how it was tested) tend to load on one major factor. Spearman
suggested that these disparate scores are fueled by a common metaphorical “pool” of mental
energy. He named this pool the general factor, or g (Spearman, 1904).

L. L. Thurstone, a critic of Spearman, analyzed his subjects NOT on a single scale of general
intelligence, but on seven clusters of primary mental abilities, including:
 Word Fluency
 Verbal Comprehension
 Spatial Ability
 Perceptual Speed

52
  Numerical Ability
 Inductive Reasoning
 Memory

Multiple Intelligences (Howard Gardner)

Gardner thinks there are eight types of intelligence. He believes each of us have all of the eight
types of intelligence to varying degrees. These multiple intelligences are related to how an
individual prefers to learn and process information.

Verbal skills: The ability to think in words and use language to express meaning
 Sensitivity to the meanings and sounds of words, mastery of syntax, appreciation of the
ways language can be used (authors, journalists, speakers, poets, teachers)
Mathematical skills: The ability to carry out mathematical operations
 Understanding of objects and symbols and of actions that be performed on them and of
the relations between these actions, ability for abstraction, ability to identify problems
and seek explanations (scientists, engineers, accountants)
Spatial skills: The ability to think three-dimensionally
 Capacity to perceive the visual world accurately, to perform transformations upon
perceptions and to re-create aspects of visual experience in the absence of physical
stimuli, sensitivity to tension, balance, and composition, ability to detect similar patterns
(architects, artists, sailors, chess masters)
Bodily-kinesthetic skills: The ability to manipulate objects and be physically adept
 Use of one’s body in highly skilled ways for expressive or goal-directed purposes,
capacity to handle objects skillfully (surgeons, craftspeople, dancers, athletes, actors)
Musical skills: sensitivity to pitch, melody, rhythm, and tone
 Sensitivity to individual tones and phrases of music, an understanding of ways to
combine tones and phrases into larger musical rhythms and structures, awareness of
emotional aspects of music (musicians, composers, sensitive listeners)
Interpersonal skills: The ability to understand and effectively interact with others
 Ability to notice and make distinctions among the moods, temperaments, motivations,
and intentions of other people and potentially to act on this knowledge (teachers, mental
health professionals, parents, religious and political leaders)
Intrapersonal skills: The ability to understand oneself
 Access to one’s own feelings, ability to draw on one’s emotions to guide and understand
one’s behaviour, recognition of personal strengths and weaknesses (theologians,
novelists, psychologists, therapists)
Naturalistic skills: The ability to observe patterns in nature and understand natural and human-
made systems
 Sensitivity and understanding of plants, animals, and other aspects of nature (farmers,
botanists, ecologists, landscapers, environmentalists) .

Measuring intelligence

Intelligence Quotient (IQ): Measure of intelligence that takes into account a child’s mental and
chronological age

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IQ Score = MA / CA x 100
Mental age (MA): the typical intelligence level found for people at a given chronological age
Chronological age (CA): the actual age of the child taking the intelligence test. People whose
mental age is equal to their chronological age will always have an IQ of 100, and if the
chronological age exceeds mental age – below-average intelligence (below 100). Also, if the
mental age exceed the chronological age - above-average intelligence (above 100).

The normal distribution: most of the population falls in the middle range of scores between 84
and 116 are intelligent.

 Very Superior Intelligence (gifted) - Above 130

 Superior Intelligence - 120 to 129
 High Average Intelligence - 110 to 119
 Average Intelligence - 90 to 109
 Low Average Intelligence - 80 to 89
 Borderline Intellectual Functioning - 71 to 79
 Mild Mental Retardation - 55 to 70
 Moderate Retardation - 40 to 54
 Severe Mental Retardation - 25 to 39
 Profound Mental Retardation - Below 25

2. Emotional Intelligence

Psychologist Salovey and Mayer originally coined the term emotional intelligence in 1990.
However, Daniel Goleman popularized it in 1995 in the title of his bestselling book, Emotional
Intelligence: Why it can Matter More than IQ. Goleman defined emotional intelligence as:

Understanding one’s own feeling, empathy for the feeling of others’ and the regulation of
emotion in a way that enhances living.

First: Emotional intelligence may be more important for personal success than IQ

Secondly: Unlike IQ, emotional intelligence can be improved.

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These two claims resonated with people and made the idea of emotional intelligence a hot topic
for everyone involved with personal development.

Know Your Emotions

Motivate Yourself Manage Your

Emotions

Emotional Intelligence

Domains:

Manage the
Recognize and
Emotions of
Know Others’
Others
Emotions

Whilst Goleman’s first book made a compelling case for the importance of emotional
intelligence theory (IQ-Emotional Quotient), there was no practical means of applying it to
management situations. In this book he identified five domains of IQ:
 Knowing your emotions
 Managing your own emotions
 Motivating yourself
 Recognizing and understanding others peoples’ emotions
 Managing relationship (i.e managing the emotions of others)

The five domains of Goleman’s EQ model have become the de facto standard as far as applying
emotional intelligence in the workplace is concermed. Many business-oriented models represent
these five domains in four quadrants: two represent personal competence and two represent
social competence.

55
Personal competence:

The area of competence is concerned with three of five domains’ Goleman referred to and is split
into two quadrants: self-awareness ad self-management

i. Self-awareness: This means that you understand how you feel and can accurately
assess your own emotional state.
There are three components to this quadrant: self-awareness, accurate self-
assessment, and self-confidence. Self-assessment includes understanding your own
strengths and weaknesses. It is also about being willing to explore them both, either
by thinking about them yourself or by discussing them with others. Self-confidence is
the ability to ground oneself so that you are secured and self-assured in whatever
situation you may find yourself.
ii. Self-management: this builds on the understanding that you gained with self-
awareness d involves controlling your emotions so that they don’t control you. This
could be equally be called self-control- in other words how you regulate to maintain
your equilibrium in the face of any problem or provocation you may face. It looks
into how trustworthy and conscientious you are, as well as how you motivate yourself
to achieve, taking into account your level of commitment and optimism.

Social Competence
This area of competence is concerned with Goleman’s remaining two domains: social
–awareness and social skills. These skills look at how well you manage your
relationship with others, including their emotions.

i. Social – awareness: this involves expanding your awareness to include the emotions
of those and being aware of how the organization that your are working in affect
them. Thus covers your ability to read the emotional environment and power
relationships you encounter in your role. The key aspect of this skills are; empathy,
organizational awareness and service orientation
ii. Relationship management – This means using an awareness of your own emotions
and those of other to build strong relationships. It includes the identification, analysis,
and management of relationships with people inside and outside of your team as well
as their development through feedback and coaching. It also incorporates your ability
to communicate, persuade, and lead others. whilst being direct and honest without
alienating people.

The Goleman’s definition of emotional intelligence proposes four domains of IQ. These consist
of 19 competencies:

Self – Awareness:
1. Emotional Self-awareness: Reading one’s own emotions and recognizing their impact
2. Accurate self-assessment: Knowing one’s strengths and limits
3. Self-confidence: a sound sense of one’s self-worth and capabilities
Self – management:

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 4. Emotional self-control: Keeping disruptive emotions and impulses under control
5. Transparency: Displaying honesty and integrity; trustworthiness
6. Adaptability: Flexibility in adapting to changing situations or overcoming obstacles
7. Achievement: The drive to improve performance to meet inner standards of excellence
8. Initiative: Readiness to act and seize opportunities
9. Optimism: Seeing the upside in events
Social – Awareness
10. Empathy: seeing other’s emotions’, understanding their perspective, and thinking active
interest in their concerns
11. Organizational awareness: Reading the currents, decision networks, and politics at the
organizational level
12. Service: Recognizing and meeting followers, clients, or customers needs
Relationship Management:
13. Inspirational leadership: Guiding and motivating with a compelling vision
14. Influence: Wielding a range of tactics for persuasion
15. Developing others: Bolstering others’ abilities through feedback and guidance
16. Change catalyst: Initiating, managing, and leading in a new direction
17. Conflict management: Resolving disagreements
18. Building bonds: Cultivating and maintaining a web of relationships
19. Team network and collaboration: cooperation and team building.

CRIMINOLOGICAL THEORIES AND DIMENSION OF LAW

1. Criminological Theories

Criminological theories are aimed at trying to explain the structure of criminal behaviour and the
forces that change or alter its content and direction. Ideally, criminological theories are based on
social facts readily observed phenomenon that can be consistently quantified and measured.
Once constructed, theories are tested by constructing hypotheses expectations of behaviour that
can be derived from the theory and then assessing them using valid empirical research. If, for
example, a theory states that the greater the number of police on the street the lower the crime

Criminological Perspectives
The major perspectives of criminology focus on individual (biological, psychological, and choice
theories); social (structural and process theories); political and economic (conflict theory); and
multiple (developmental theory) factors:

Classical /Choice Perspective

• Situational forces: Crime is a function of free will and personal choice. Punishment is a
deterrent to crime.
Biological /Psychological Perspective
• Internal forces: Crime is a function of chemical, neurological, genetic, personality, intelligence,
or mental traits.

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Structural Perspective
• Ecological forces: Crime rates are a function of neighborhood conditions, cultural forces, and
norm conflict.
Process Perspective
• Socialization forces: Crime is a function of upbringing, learning, and control. Peers, parents,
and teachers influence behavior.
Conflict Perspective
• Economic and political forces: Crime is a function of competition for limited resources and
power. Class conflict produces crime.
Developmental Perspective
• Multiple forces: Biological, social-psychological, economic, and political forces may combine
to produce crime.

By mid-century, most criminologists had embraced either the ecological view or the socialization
view of crime. However, these were not the only views of how social institutions influence
human behaviour. A social thinker, Karl Marx (1818–1883), had pushed the understanding of
social interaction in another direction and sowed the seeds for a new approach in criminology.
The writings of Marx and his followers continue to be influential. Many criminologists view
social and political conflict as the root cause of crime. The inherently unfair economic structure
of the developing nations and other advanced capitalist countries is the engine that drives the
high crime rate. Some criminologists are now integrating each of these concepts into more
complex theories that link personal, situational, and social factors (Karl & Friedrich, 1906).

Criminologists seized upon this concept of control and suggested that it is a key element in a
criminal career: People become crime prone when social forces prove inadequate to control their
behavior. Both of these views learning and control link criminality to the failure of socialization,
the interactions people have with the various individuals, organizations, institutions, and
processes of society that help them mature and develop.

The various schools of criminology developed throughout the past two centuries. Though they
have evolved, each continues to have an impact on the field. For example, classical theory has
evolved into rational choice and deterrence theories. Choice theorists today argue that criminals
or offenders are rational and use available information to decide if crime is a worthwhile
undertaking; an offshoot of choice theory, deterrence theory holds that this choice is structured
by the fear of punishment. Biological positivism has undergone a similar transformation.

Although criminologists no longer believe that a single trait or inherited characteristic can
explain crime, some are convinced that biological and psychological traits interact with
environmental factors to influence all human behavior, including criminality. Biological and
psychological theorists study the association between criminal behaviour and such traits as diet,
hormonal makeup, personality, and intelligence.

Sociological theories, tracing back to Quetelet (1969), he maintained that individuals’ lifestyles
and living conditions directly control their criminal behaviour.

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Contemporary social ecological theory holds that those at the bottom of the social structure
cannot achieve success and thus experience anomie, strain, failure, and frustration. However, the
social theory is typically viewed as a systematic set of interrelated statements or principles that
explain some aspect of social life; it serves as a model or framework for understanding human
behaviour.

Learning and control theories are still popular with contemporary criminologists. In their
modern incarnation, they suggest that individuals’ learning experiences and socialization directly
control their behaviour. In some cases, children learn to commit crime by interacting with and
modeling their behavior on those they admire, whereas other criminal offenders are people
whose life experiences have shattered their social bonds to society.

CRIMINOLOGY: Dimensions of Law

Criminologists are devoted to the design and collection of valid and reliable data that address the
causes of crime as well as crime patterns and trends. Unlike media commentators, whose
opinions about crime may be colored by personal experiences, biases, and values, criminologists
remain objective as they study crime and its consequences.

Regardless of their theoretical orientation, criminologists are devoted to the study of crime and
criminal behaviour. As two noted criminologists, Marvin Wolfgang and Franco Ferracuti, put it:
“A criminologist is one whose professional training, occupational role, and pecuniary reward are
primarily concentrated on a scientific approach to, and study and analysis of, the phenomenon of
crime and criminal behaviour (Marvin & Franco, 1967). Several subareas of criminology exist
within the broader arena of criminology. Taken together, these subareas make up the
criminological enterprise. Criminologists may specialize in a subarea in the same way that
psychologists might specialize in a subfield of psychology, such as child development,
perception, personality, psychopathology, or sexuality. Some of the more important
criminological specialties are described below:

Criminal Statistics
The subarea of criminal statistics involves measuring the amount and trends of criminal activity.
How much crime occurs annually? Who commits it? When and where does it occur? Which
crimes are the most serious? Criminologists interested in criminal statistics try to create valid and
reliable measurements of criminal behaviour. They create techniques to access the records of
police and court agencies and use sophisticated statistical methods to understand underlying
patterns and trends. They develop survey instruments and then use them with large samples to
determine the actual number of crimes being committed and the number of victims who suffer
criminal violations: How many people are victims of crime, and what percentage reports crime to
police?

The development of valid methods to measure crime is a crucial aspect of the criminological
enterprise, because without valid and reliable data sources, efforts to conduct research on crime
and create criminological theories would be futile. It is also important to determine why crime
rates vary across and within regions in order to gauge the association between social and

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economic forces and criminal activity. Criminal statistics can also be used to make international
comparisons to understand why some countries are crime free while others are beset by
antisocial activities.

The Sociology of Law

The sociology of law is a sub-area of criminology concerned with the role social forces play in
shaping criminal law and, concomitantly, the role of criminal law in shaping society. These
criminologists study the history of legal thought, how social forces shape the law, and the
effectiveness of legal change. As noted by Rosemary Erickson and Rita Simon, the law is
constantly evolving. Computer fraud, airplane hijacking, ATM theft, and cyber stalking did not
exist when nations were founded. Consequently, the law must be revised to reflect cultural,
societal, and technological changes. Criminologists are often asked to determine whether legal
change is required and, if so, what shape it should take. In fact, the Supreme Court often
considers empirical research supplied by criminologists on such topics as racial discrimination in
death penalty cases before it renders an opinion. The research conducted by criminologists then
helps form the direction of their legal decision making.

Criminal Behaviour Systems

The criminal behavioor systems subarea of criminology involves research on specific criminal
types and patterns: violent crime, theft crime, public order crime, and organized crime.
Numerous attempts have been made to describe and understand particular crime types. For
example, Marvin Wolfgang’s famous 1958 study, Patterns in Criminal Homicide, is considered
a landmark analysis of the nature of homicide and the relationship between victim and offender.
Edwin Sutherland’s analysis of business-related offenses helped coin a new phrase white-collar
crime to describe economic crime activities. The study of criminal behaviour also involves
research on the links between different types of crime and criminals. This is known as crime
typology. Some typologies focus on the criminal, suggesting the existence of offender groups
such as professional criminals, psychotic criminals, occasional criminals, and so on. Others focus
on the crimes, clustering them into categories such as property crimes, sex crimes, and so on.

Penology
The study of penology involves the correction and control of known criminal offenders; it is the
segment of criminology that most resembles criminal justice using scientific methods to assess
the effectiveness of crime control and offender treatment programs. Criminologists conduct
research designed to evaluate justice initiatives in order to determine their efficiency,
effectiveness, and impact. For example, should capital punishment continue to be employed or is
its use simply too risky? Recent research by Samuel Gross and his colleagues helps answer this
critical question. Gross looked at the number of death row inmates who were later found to be
innocent, during the period he studied, 1989–2003, 340 people (327 men and 13 women) were
exonerated after having served years in prison. Almost half (144 people) were cleared by DNA
evidence. Collectively, they had spent more than 3,400 years in prison for crimes they did not
commit—an average of more than 10 years each. Gross and his colleagues found that
exonerations for death row prisoners are more than times more frequent than exonerations for
other prisoners convicted of murder and more than 100 times more frequent than for all
imprisoned felons. The Gross research illustrates how important it is to evaluate penal measures

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in order to determine their effectiveness and reliability (Gross, Kristen, Daniel, Nicholas &
Sujata, 1989).

Victimology
Criminals have been found to be at greater risk for victimization than non-criminals. Rather than
being the passive targets of criminal acts and simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time,
victims may engage in high-risk lifestyles that increase their chances of victimization and make
them vulnerable to crime. In classic criminological study by Hans von Hentig, the critical role of
the victim in the criminal processes was identified. However, the victim behaviour is often a key
determinant of crime and that victim’ actions may actually precipitate crime. Hans-von Hentig
believe that the study of crime is not complete unless the victim’s role is considered (Hans von
Hentig, 1968).
For those studying the role of the victim in crime, these areas are of particular interest:
■ Using victim surveys to measure the nature and extent of criminal behaviour not reported to
the police
■ Calculating the actual costs of crime to victims
■ Measuring the factors that increase the likelihood of becoming a victim of crime
■ Studying the role of the victim in causing or precipitating crime
■ Designing services for the victims of crime, such as counseling and compensation programs

THE CRIMINOLOGICAL DIMENSIONS

These subareas constitute the discipline of criminology.

Criminal Statistics
• Gathering valid crime data: Devising new research methods; measuring crime patterns and
trends.
The Sociology of Law
• Determining the origin of law: Measuring the forces that can change laws and society.
Theory Construction
• Predicting individual behaviour: Understanding the cause of crime rates and trends.
Criminal Behaviour Systems
• Determining the nature and cause of specific crime patterns: Studying violence, theft,
organized, white-collar, and public order crimes.
Penology
• Studying the correction and control of criminal behaviour: Using scientific methods to assess
the effectiveness of crime control and offender treatment programs.
Victimology
• Studying the nature and cause of victimization: Aiding crime victims; understanding the nature
and extent of victimization; developing theories of victimization risk.

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LECRURE NINE

PSYCHOLOGY AND LAW OF FACT FINDING

The days of animosity between law enforcement and psychologists are not history, but
fortunately contemporary attitudes have embraced the benefits of psychological services and the
need for a forensic psychologist is on the rise and the role within a law enforcement department
is expanding. Bartol and Bartol (2012) have noted the relationship between psychology and law
enforcement has improved dramatically, in fact, the field of forensic psychology has exploded
over the past three decades and psychological ‘services’ have permeated many aspects of the
criminal justice system. “More recently, as law enforcement departments have become more
professional and the public has demanded more accountability, the role of psychological services
in law enforcement has become more critical and prevalent” (Bartol & Bartol, 2012).

Afflicting people from all walks of life, mental disorder can preclude some individuals from
meeting the ordinarily demands imposed by society (American Psychiatric Association, 2013).
When this occurs, Courts may request the assistance of mental health professionals to inform
legal decisions that often balance individual liberty interests against public safety concerns.
Expertise in forensic assessment likely possesses sufficient knowledge and skills to assess and
diagnose people facing civil commitment proceedings. They also likely possess sufficient
knowledge and skills for offering prognoses in these kinds of cases (Ægisdotter, White,
Spengler, Maugherman, Anderson & Cook, 2006).

Psychologists specifically trained in legal issues, as well as those with no formal training, are
often called by legal parties to testify as expert witnesses. In criminal trials, an expert witness
may be called to testify about eyewitness memory, mistaken identity, competence to stand trial,
the propensity of a death-qualified jury to also be pro-guilt, etc. Psychologists who focus on
clinical issues often testify specifically about a defendant's competence, intelligence, etc. More
general testimony about perceptual issues (e.g., adequacy of police sirens) may also come up in
trial.

Experts, particularly psychology experts, are often accused of being "hired guns" or "stating the
obvious. Eyewitness memory experts, such as Elizabeth Loftus, are often discounted by judges
and lawyers with no empirical training because their research utilizes undergraduate students and
"unrealistic" scenarios. If both sides have psychological witnesses, jurors may have the daunting
task of assessing difficult scientific information “(Loftus, 2003).

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Psychology and the Amicus brief

Psychologists can provide an amicus brief to the court. The American Psychological
Association has provided briefs concerning mental illness, retardation and other factors. The
amicus brief usually contains an opinion backed by scientific citations and statistics. The impact
of an amicus brief by a psychological association is questionable. For instance, Justice Dennis
once called a reliance on statistics "numerology" and discounted results of several empirical
studies. Judges who have no formal scientific training also may critique experimental methods,
and some feel that judges only cite an amicus brief when the brief supports the judge's personal
beliefs (Dennis, 1999).

Psychologists as Consultants
Some legal psychologists work in trial consulting. Neither special training nor certification is
needed to be a trial consultant, though an advanced degree is generally welcomed by those who
would hire the trial consultant. The American Society of Trial Consultants does have a code of
ethics for members, but there are no legally binding ethical rules for consultants (American
Psychology and the Law Society, 2007). Some psychologists who work in academics are hired
as trial consultants when their expertise can be useful to a particular case. Other
psychologists/consultants work for or with established trial consultant firms. The practice of law
firms hiring "in-house" trial consultants is becoming more popular, but these consultants usually
can also be used by the firms as practicing attorneys.

Trial consultants perform a variety of services for lawyers, such as picking jurors (usually
relying on in-house or published statistical studies) or performing "mock trials" with focus
groups. Trial consultants work on all stages of a case from helping to organize testimony,
preparing witnesses to testify, picking juries, and even arranging "shadow jurors" to watch the
trial unfold and provide input on the trial. There is some debate on whether the work of a trial
consultant is protected under attorney-client privilege, especially when the consultant is hired by
a party in the case and not by an attorney. This expertise of forensic psychologists extends into
criminal matters as well; these includes:

PSYCHOLOGY AND LAW: A CLOSER LOOK

Forensic Psychology

Broadly conceived, Forensic psychologists commonly use specialized instruments when

assessing dangerousness. Compared to general practitioners, forensic psychologists also
demonstrate greater awareness of the relevant scientific literature and provide courts with more
information pertaining to the scientific basis of their testimony, providing evidence that their
assessments for the courts are of higher quality than assessments prepared by general
practitioners. Finally, forensic psychologists can also work independently in private practice,
although it is rare that a psychologist in private practice solely does forensic work.

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Activities

Forensic psychologists are perhaps best known for their assessment of persons involved with the
legal system. Because of their knowledge of human behaviour, abnormal psychology, and
psychological assessment, psychologists are sometimes asked by the courts to evaluate a person
and provide the court with an "expert opinion," either in the form of a report or testimony. For
example, forensic psychologists frequently evaluate adult criminal defendants or children
involved in the juvenile justice system, offering the court information that might be relevant to
determining: (1) Whether the defendant has a mental disorder that prevents him or her from
going to trial,(2) What the defendant's mental state may have been like at the time of the criminal
offense, or (3) What treatment might be indicated for a particular defendant who has been
convicted of a crime or juvenile offense.

Increasingly, forensic psychologists are being called upon to evaluate defendants who have gone
to trial and who have been found guilty and for whom one of the sentencing options is the death
penalty. In this case, psychologists are asked to evaluate the mitigating circumstances of the case
and to testify about these as they relate to the particular defendant.

Forensic psychologists also evaluate persons in civil (i.e., non-criminal) cases. These
psychologists may evaluate persons who are undergoing guardianship proceedings, to assist the
court in determining whether the person has a mental disorder that affects his or her ability to
make important life decisions (e.g., managing money, making health care decisions, making
legal decisions).

Forensic psychologists also evaluate persons who are plaintiffs in lawsuits, who allege that they
were emotionally harmed as a result of someone's wrongdoing or negligence.

Forensic psychologists may evaluate children and their parents in cases of divorce, when parents
cannot agree about the custody of their children and what is best for them.

Forensic psychologists are sometimes called on to evaluate children to determine whether they
have been abused or neglected and the effects of such abuse or neglect, and offer the court
recommendations regarding the placement of such children.

Researchers in this area are involved in a variety of activities. Some devote their energy to
developing and examining the utility of specialized tests that are designed to assist in assessment
of persons in legal settings (e.g., instruments designed to assess criminal defendants' capacity to
participate in the criminal justice process). Others examine the effectiveness of various
treatments with different kinds of populations (e.g., efficacy of specialized treatment for sex
offenders or batterers). Still others study the impact of abuse or victimization, or the factors
which put people at risk for violent behaviour, criminal behavior, or victimization.

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Clinical Psychology

Clinical psychology is concerned with the assessment and treatment of persons with mental
disorders. Clinical psychologists assess and treat persons with a variety of mental disorders,
ranging from less severe problems (e.g., marital difficulties, adjustment problems) to more
severe disorders (e.g., psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia or mood disorders such as major
depression or bipolar disorder). Clinical psychologists are clinical psychologists who specialize
in the assessment and/or treatment of persons who, in some way, are involved in the legal
process or legal system. Clinical psychologists are employed in a variety of settings including
state forensic hospitals, court clinics, mental health centers, jails, prisons, and juvenile treatment
centers.

Activities

In addition to clinical assessment, clinical psychologists are also involved in treating persons
who are involved with the legal system in some capacity. Jails, prisons, and juvenile facilities
employ clinical psychologists to assess and treat adults and juveniles who are either awaiting
trial, or who have been adjudicated and are serving a sentence of some type.

Treatment in these settings is focused both on mental disorders and providing these persons with
skills and behaviors that will decrease the likelihood that they will re-offend in the future.
Clinical psychologists employed in mental health centers or in private practice may also treat
persons involved in the legal system, providing either general or specialized treatment (e.g.,
treatment of sex offenders, treatment of violent or abusive persons, and treatment of abuse
victims).

Developmental Psychology
Developmental psychology focuses on the psychological issues involved in human development
across the lifespan. Some developmental psychologists are interested in understanding
developmental processes in young children whereas others work in the area of adolescent or
adult development.

Many developmental psychologists are interested in the law and the legal process and a
significant body of psychological knowledge with direct relevance to juvenile, family, and elder
law issues now exists. Most developmental psychologists interested in the law are employed in
colleges and universities where they teach and conduct research. On occasion, developmental
psychologists may be asked to offer expert opinions in court but typically this testimony will
concern general issues related to development and will not focus on assessment of a given
individual. Developmental psychologists in the law differ from clinical or forensic psychologists
in that the former are more likely to conduct research and formulate and evaluate policy, whereas
the latter are more likely to assess and treat people who are involved in the legal system.

Activities
The range of activities in developmental psychology and law is broad. Traditional areas of
inquiry have involved the welfare of children in a variety of legally relevant situations involving

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child maltreatment, divorce and custody, medical and mental health treatment, child welfare,
juvenile delinquency, and education, among others.

Rather than assess and treat individual children, however, developmental psychologists may
formulate and test theories about the effects of divorce and joint custody on children, the effects
of restrictive environments on adolescent development, or long-term effects of physical, sexual,
or emotional child abuse on adult functioning.

An important issue in both children's law and elder law is competence. Trial judges, appellate
courts, legislators and policy writers make assumptions about the competence of children,
adolescents and older individuals that are amenable to scrutiny by scientific research. For
example, a thorny question in many cases involving children and adolescents is the degree to
which they should be permitted to make binding decisions on matters involving their own
welfare (e.g., to seek guidance counseling, to seek an abortion, to refuse or accept medical
treatment, to state which parent they prefer for custody, to choose not to attend school) and the
psychological capacities required for these decisions.

The notions of consent and related capacities the issues at the heart of all of these examples--
have long been of interest to developmental psychologists and a great deal of research now exists
on these topics.

Another area of intense interest to developmental psychologists involves children in court--either

as witnesses or victims of crime. Here, two concerns typically surface. The first is the child's
right not to be traumatized or abused by the legal system. A significant barrier to prosecuting
defendants in child sexual abuse cases is posed by the concern about causing the child further
distress. Some states now allow a child's testimony to be videotaped for later display in the
courtroom.

Recent research has been undertaken to understand the effects on children of testifying. A second
concern focuses on the accuracy of children as witnesses in court. Can children distinguish fact
from fantasy? At what age do children understand what it means to tell the truth? Do children
make things up?. Many developmental psychologists are interested in studying the juvenile
justice system and, in particular, some of the non-traditional methods for dealing with delinquent
adolescents known as diversion programs. Developmental psychologists have also developed,
implemented, and evaluated interventions designed to prevent or treat delinquent behaviour.

Social and Cognitive Psychology

Social psychology concerns the impact of social influences on human behaviour. Social
psychologists typically explain behaviour in terms of situational factors, rather than dispositional
factors. Cognitive psychologies focus on how humans think, reason, and remember. Cognitive
psychologists are interested in understanding the influences on thoughts and thought processes.
Although these fields are distinct sub-disciplines of psychology, and students are traditionally
trained in one or another, we combine them in this description because there is considerable
overlap in their application to the law. For example, one legal topic that has interested both social

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and cognitive psychologists is the psychology of the jury. This institution can be analyzed by a
social psychologist as a collection of individuals who must listen to, persuade, discuss, and
perhaps compromise with each other. That same institution can be examined by a cognitive
psychologist as a medium for understanding individual and group memory processes, decision
making abilities, and problem solving skills.

Like developmental psychologists, most social and cognitive psychologists with legal interests
are employed by colleges and universities where they teach and conduct research. Less
frequently, they are employed by governmental agencies, private foundations, or non-profit
organizations doing some combination of advocacy and policy formulation and analysis. Still
other social and cognitive psychologists may be involved with the law as independent
consultants. Some individuals who offer trial consulting services have been trained in traditional
programs in social or cognitive psychology, for example. Any of these psychologists may be
asked on occasion to offer expert opinions in court on issues related to social behaviours or
thought processes.

Activities:
Many social and cognitive psychologists have become increasingly interested in conducting
scientific research. One setting the courtroom has captured the attention of both social and
cognitive psychologists because it provides a rich laboratory for psychological inquiry. In
addition to questions related to jury decision making, a myriad of other issues related to the
adversary system can be addressed by careful psychological research: judges' decision making
capacities and the determinants of their sentences; criminal defendants' willingness to accept plea
bargains, civil litigants' attempts at negotiation and settlement; the effectiveness of alternatives to
trial (e.g., mediation, arbitration); litigants' beliefs about the justness and correctness of the legal
proceedings; individuals' propensity to sue; and the specter of litigation affecting professional
and personal relationships. Psychologists who work on these topics apply social and/or cognitive
psychological theorizing to these complex legal questions. Not only has this work helped to
refine psychological theory, it has also opened (if only a little) the historically closed doors of the
courthouse and the state house to scientific scrutiny.

Although psychologists' interest in the veracity of testimony can be traced back to early in the
20th century, much recent work has concerned the memory capabilities of victims and witnesses
to crimes and accidents. Research on these questions has its foundation in basic theorizing about
human perception and memory, and psychologists who work on these issues typically have a
firm grounding in those theoretical realms. Recent studies have focused on factors that influence
the reliability of human memories for complex, fast-moving, and fear-arousing incidents.
Cognitive psychologists occasionally testify about the results of these studies as expert witnesses
in trials that involve eyewitness testimony or repressed memories. The contentiousness often
concerns the extent to which research findings can be applied to real-world situations.

A number of other issues have captured the attention of social psychologists who apply their
knowledge of psychology to the law. Among these topics are regulatory compliance,
discrimination, race and ethnicity, and sexual harassment and sexual assault. Other topics of
interest to cognitive psychologists include investigative interviewing, psycholinguistic analysis
of judicial language, and probabilistic reasoning and decision making about complex scientific

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and statistical information. Data on these topics and similar others are generated by scientific
methodologies and are then disseminated to the legal community by way of advocacy, expert
testimony, description in appellate briefs, or via publication or presentation to legal audiences.

Community Psychology

Community psychology focuses on the processes that link social systems and contexts with
individual behaviour with explicit attention to promoting health and empowerment and
preventing problems in communities, groups, and individuals. Although community and social
psychology share interest in the person and environment, community psychology orients more
toward the social forces in the outside world and how they affect individuals, families, and
communities. For some community psychologists interested in social change, the law represents
the social institution that reflects and promotes the values and norms of a community, serving as
both facilitator and barrier to social change efforts. Like other psychologists, many community
psychologists interested in psychology and law teaches and conducts research in higher
education settings. Unlike other areas of psychology, however, a number of community
psychologists work outside academia in governmental agencies (e.g health and human services
agencies), non-profit organizations (e.g., domestic violence shelter, child advocacy group),
foundations, or other community-based advocacy and service settings.

Activities
The community psychology approach uses an ecological perspective to examine issues at the
individual, social system, societal and global levels. For example, a psychologist interested in
juvenile delinquency prevention could investigate individual characteristics and circumstances
(e.g., mental health problems), family dynamics (e.g., conflict and parenting skills),
neighborhood parameters (e.g., social support systems), economic influences (e.g., stresses of
poverty) and larger societal norms (e.g., emphasis on materialism).

For community psychologists in applied settings, activities span the range of policy and law
formulation, implementation, evaluation, and change. For example, they might design and
evaluate juvenile delinquency prevention and treatment programs, research adolescents’
competence to participate in legal proceedings, investigate the impact of court involvement on
the functioning of crime victims, or evaluate the effects of health care and welfare reform.

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LECTURE TEN

PSYCHOLOGY AND CRIMINAL THINKING

An understanding of the relationship between criminal thinking and psychological factors has
been helpful to criminal justice agencies in a number of ways. Investigators also match
psychological profiles with modus operandi, the means and method by which a crime is
committed. In other words, psychological explanations seek to identify the “kind of person” who
becomes a criminal and to uncover the factors that caused the person to engage in criminal such
a criminal thought. However, understanding criminal behaviour requires an insight into how
criminals think about themselves, about other people, and about their position within the world.
Without such knowledge, any theory of criminal behaviour is inevitably incomplete. And with
such knowledge, it may be possible to predict who is likely to commit a first criminal offense or
likely to re-offend. For example, television shows such as Dr. Phil feature psychologists who
provide personal advice to those with personal or family difficulties. Crime dramas such as CSI,
Lie to Me, and others feature the work of forensic psychologists who use psychological
principles to help solve crimes.

CRIMINAL THINKING

Criminal thinking posits that those who are involved in a criminal lifestyle engage in certain
modes of thought that support their antisocial behaviour. This idea of the “criminal personality”
focuses on a range of behaviours that are generally typical, such as justification and
rationalization, but proposes that they are distorted or concentrated in those who become
offenders (Walters, 2003b).

As discussed by Andrews and Bonta (2006), criminogenic needs define the attitudes, values,
and/or behaviours of offenders that influence their involvement in criminal behaviour. Criminal
thinking has been conceptualized as distorted thought patterns that support offending behaviour
by rationalizing and justifying how an individual acts. The idea is that criminal thinking is
separate from the person’s actuarial risk score because it defines attitudes and values that support
criminal behaviour, and therefore, cognitive interventions can be applied to bring the offender’s
thought patterns in alignment with those of non-criminal society (Walters, 2006). Questions have
arisen regarding the concepts of criminal thinking, particularly as they relate to a subset of
antisocial behaviours that may or may not encompass typical self-interested defense mechanisms
or behaviours. The major issue confronting the field is how to define the concept of criminal
thinking, particularly when the goal is to find those characteristics that can be altered or treated
as part of an overall scheme to reduce recidivism.

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Criminal Thinking Patterns

Petersilia, (2003) demonstrates patterns of criminal thinking, the patterns are those that are
considered wrong by society’s standards of responsibility and included the ideas of:

1. Victim stance: This criminal thinking pattern allows you to blame others for situations
you usually created for yourself. Criminals make excuses and point their finger at others,
claiming they were the one who are really wronged. They try to justify their behaviour. This
addictive thinking pattern makes criminals think the world is just out to get them. They claim
that their lives are so miserable and screwed up, why shouldn’t they drink or use drugs?

 Views self as victim (the criminal will even blame social conditions “I live in the ghetto,
what do you expect”)
 Blames others (“the cops just keep messing with me”)
2. Good person” stance: When criminals adopt this criminal thinking pattern, they
consider themselves to be a good person, no matter what. They work hard to present that image
to others. In fact, they may not only consider themselves a good person, but may think they are
better than others! As a “good person” stance addictive thinker, you focus on the good things
you’ve done and ignore the harm.

 Focuses only on his/her positive attributes

 Fails to acknowledge his/her destructive behaviour
 Builds self-up at others expense
3. Unique person” stance: This criminal thinking pattern allows criminals to think no one
in the whole world is like them or has experienced what they have experienced. Rules don’t
apply to them. They commit crimes because they never think they will get caught. They often
believe that if they think it, then it must be that way. They also use “unique person” stance to
feed their addiction which includes;
 Different and better than others
 Expects of others that which he/she fails to meet
 Super-Optimisim - cuts fear of failure
 Quits at the first sign of failure
4. Fear of exposure: Criminals act like they are fearless, yet are full of fear. They fear that
they are nobody and that they will be found out; they are afraid been exposed as being full of
fear. One of the biggest fears is the fear of fear. Fear of exposure addictive thinking is fear of
self-knowledge, excessive or inappropriate trust, addict pride, and zero state. Zero state is a fear
that criminals cannot change. The fear of exposure includes;
 Irrational fears (many) but refuses to admit them
 Fundamental fear of injury or death
 Profound fear of put down
 When held accountable experiences "zero state “feels worthless

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5. Lack-of-time perspective: When criminals use this criminal thinking pattern, they do
not learn from past experiences or plan for the future. They see behaviours as isolated events.
Their philosophy is “I want it, and I want it now.” They expect to be a big success with little or
no effort. Criminals make choices based on what they want to be true, rather than what is true.
When they adopt this addictive thinking pattern, getting high is the most important thing in their
lives; they live only in the present when they are high and only in the near future (“How can I get
more soon?”) when they are not high. Lack-of-time perspective addictive thinking helps them do
that.
 Does not use past as a learning tool
 Expects others to act immediately on his/her/demands
 Decisions on assumptions, not facts

6. Lack of Effort / Selective Effort

 Unwilling to do anything he/she finds boring or disagreeable

 I can't" meaning "I won't“
 Doing only the minimum to get by

7. Closed Channel Thinking

 Not Receptive
 Not Self Critical,
 No Disclosure,
 Good at pointing out, giving feedback on faults of others
 Lies by omission

8. Lack of Interest in Responsible Performance

 Responsible living viewed as unexciting and unsatisfying
 No sense of obligation
 Will respond only if he/she nets an immediate payoff

9. Power Thrust
 Compelling need to be in control of every situation
 Uses manipulation and deceit
 Refuses to be dependant unless he/she can take advantage of the situation

10. Ownership Attitudes:

This includes;
 Perceives all things, people, objects to possess
 No concept of ownership, rights of others
 Sex for power and control - not intimacy
 Use drugs/money as a means of controlling people

The eight thinking patterns include

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  Mollification- justification and rationalization of offending by focusing on social
injustice
 Cutoff - Rapid elimination of fear and other unwanted emotions),
 Entitlement - Attitude of privilege and misidentification of wants as needs),
 Power Orientation - Displays of aggression to control or manipulate),
 Sentimentality - Doing good deeds to make up for bad acts),
 Superoptimism - Overestimation of one’s chances of not being caught),
 Cognitive Indolence - Shortcut problem solving, uncritical acceptance of one’s plans),
 Discontinuity – Little follow-through because of low self-discipline).

Terminology pertaining to criminal Thinking

There is, however, no consensus on the terminology pertaining to criminal attitudes. The
terminology used in this area includes labels like “antisocial Self-Serving Cognitive attitudes,
“criminal thinking style”, “social cognition, and self-serving cognitive distortions.

Cognitive distortions are defined as “inaccurate or biased ways of attending to or conferring

meaning upon experiences. Self-serving cognitive distortions was introduced in order to define
cognitive distortions that are specifically associated with externalizing behaviours such as
aggression and delinquency. The theoretical background to cognitive distortions associated with
antisocial behaviour stems from social information processing theory, where cognitive
distortions are characterized as biases in the processing that mediates between incoming stimuli
and behavioural responses (Crick & Dodge, 1994)

Model of self-serving Cognitive Distortions

Gibbs, Potter and Goldstein (1995) introduced a four-category typological model of self-serving
cognitive distortions: Self-Centered, Blaming Others, Minimizing/Mislabeling, and Assuming the
Worst.

 Self-Centered cognitive distortions are defined as attitudes where the individual focuses
on his/her own opinions, expectations, needs, and rights to such an extent that the
opinions or needs of others hardly ever or never are considered or respected.
 Blaming Others involves cognitive schemas of misattributing the blame for one's own
behavior to sources outside the individual (i.e. external locus of control).
 Minimizing is defined as distortions where the antisocial behavior is seen as an
acceptable, perhaps necessary, way to achieve certain goals. Mislabeling is defined as a
belittling and dehumanizing way of referring to others.
 Assuming the Worst represents cognitive distortions where the individual attributes
hostile intentions to others, considers the worst-case scenario as inevitable or sees his/her
own behavior as beyond improvement.

In 1996, Barriga and Gibbs divided self-serving cognitive distortions into two types: primary
cognitive distortions that are represented by self-centered attitudes (the category Self-Centered)
and secondary cognitive distortions (the categories Blaming Others, Minimizing/Mislabeling, and
Assuming the Worst). According to Barriga, the primary cognitive distortions stem from the

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egocentric bias most prominently found among young children and reflecting less mature moral
judgment stages. An example of a primary cognitive distortion could be the following quote
from a male burglar: “... My idea in life is to satisfy myself to the extreme. I don’t need to defend
my behaviour. My thing is my thing. I don’t feel I am obligated to the world or to nobody” . Such
cognitive distortions and the associated behaviours are related to a belief that the individual can
do whatever he/she wants – a sense of being above the law.

The secondary cognitive distortions is to reduce the emotional stress that the primary cognitive
distortions cause, i.e. to protect the individual’s self-image by neutralizing feelings of guilt and
self-blame, described as techniques of neutralization by Sykes and Matza (1957). Secondary
cognitive distortions can be illustrated by the words of another individual described by Samenov
(2004, p. 172): “Just because I shot a couple of state troopers don’t mean I’m a bad guy”.
Several measures of criminal attitudes, thinking styles, and self-serving cognitive distortions
have been developed within the forensic field. Some researchers have focused on the cognitive
content (what the offender actually thinks or imagines prior to, during, and following an
antisocial act) and some on the cognitive processing (the processes that produce criminal
thoughts and may result in criminal actions).

PSYCHOLOGICAL APPROACH TO UNDERSTANDING CRIME

The psychological approach to understanding crime, like the biological, focuses on the
differences between criminals and non-criminals. Psychological explanations all assume that
criminal thinking results from underlying psychological problems. When psychologists attempt
to explain criminality, they consider four general approaches.
 First, they focus on failures in psychological development a weak conscience, inner
conflict, improper moral development, or perhaps a poor attachment of infant to mother.
 Second, they look at ways in which people learn to be aggressive. For example, what part
do movies and TV play? The TV and movie industries provide a steady stream of violent
films such as American History X, CSI, Irreversible, Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer,
Hannibal, Seven, The Silence of the Lambs, Reservoir Dogs and Saw etc. Research in
this area remains inconclusive.
 The third way that psychologists attempt to explain criminal behaviour is by studying
personality characteristics. Some have found that criminals tend to be more impulsive,
intolerant, and irresponsible than non-criminals.
 Fourth, psychologists have related a particular form of mental disorder, psychopathy to
crime. Psychopathy or antisocial personality is characterized by an inability to learn
from experience, a lack of warmth, and no sense of guilt. Psychopaths lie and cheat
without hesitation and engage in verbal as well as physical abuse without provocation.
Theodore “Ted” Bundy is a classic example. Bundy, a former law student and former
crime commission staff member, killed between nineteen and thirty-six young women in
the northwestern states of Florida. The handsome physical fitness enthusiast often
brutally sexually attacked his victims before murdering them. In prison interviews Bundy

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 speculated on what he believed had motivated the murderer in the crime in which he was
the suspect:

“What really fascinated him was the hunt, the adventure of searching out his victim,” Bundy
said. “And to a degree, possessing them physically as one would possess a potted plant, a
painting or a Porsche, Owning, as it were, this individual. “No matter how hard he tried, this
hypothetical killer could never fully extinguish his desires to rape and murder. Instead he
rationalized. “He would cling to the belief that there would be virtually no furor over it...,”
Bundy said. “I mean, there are so many people. “It shouldn’t be a problem. What’s one less
person on the face of the earth, anyway?”

The case of Charles Cullen is a good example. Former nurse Cullen, forty-four, is one of the
worst mass murderers in New Jersey’s history. Cullen pled guilty on April 29, 2004, to
intentionally killing at least thirteen patients by administering lethal injections. When the
prosecutor asked what his intentions were he said: “To cause death.” In a recent interview, Mr.
Cullen said that he had killed as many as forty patients. A better background check would have
revealed that the ex-nurse had a history of attempted suicides and hospitalizations for mental
illness (Ortiz, 2006).

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