Law and Psychology

3 credits · Undergraduate

This course will invite students to explore the various ways in which law as a system reflects theories of human behavior, is driven by human behavior, and shapes human behavior. This underlying human element in how law is made, enforced, and experienced is often implicit, resting on folk theories that may be out of sync with the psychological sciences. Students will examine important concepts in criminal and civil law in light of scientific studies that bear on the behaviors at issue—such as what conditions actually cause a person to confess to a crime they didn’t commit. We will also explore the way that ordinary humans decide legal issues—for example, how judges’ emotions may affect their work. Students will gain valuable insight into law as a human enterprise. Prerequisite/Corequisite: ULAW 1000. [3]