Description
This engrossing text examines the legal system through the use of psychological concepts, methods, and research results. It seeks to clarify the basic dilemmas that persist in the legal system and looks at the ethical, moral, legal, and psychological "gray areas" of the law, including coverage of such topics as: competence to stand trial, pretrial publicity and resulting changes in venue, criminal profiling, civil case law and civil procedures, the rights of children, capital punishment, the psychology of criminal trials, the insanity defense, expert forensic testimony, and analysis of eyewitness identification and line-up procedures. This thoroughly updated edition balances discussion of the legal system with psychological theory, concepts, and research.
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This text examines the legal system through the lens of psychological concepts, methods, and research, discussing the ethical, moral, legal, and psychological "gray areas" of the law, and addressing topics such as criminal profiling, police stress, and women and minorities in law school. Material is organized around four key dilemmas: rights of individuals versus the common good, equality versus discretion, discovering the truth versus resolving conflicts, and science versus the law. In this fifth edition, there is added emphasis on cognitive psychology and eyewitness memory. Also new are boxes on experimental methodology and on specific cases. Wrightsman teaches psychology at the University of Kansas-Lawrence. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
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