PSYCHOLOGY, LAW, AND SOCIAL POLICY
Focuses on the role that psychological principles, research evidence and social science play in the laws of U.S. society, especially in the policies and mechanisms of social control of human behavior. Topics include: the ways society defines membership; the role of psychology determining who should be excluded or restricted from open society; how selected processes work in the legal and social context; students' own roles as citizens in supporting or changing these social processes; clinical-legal processes used to determine the disposition of individuals considered marginal in society; mechanisms used to exclude individuals from open society through criminal and civil court processes; the role of psychology as a science; and the role of psychologists as behavioral experts in criminal and civil courts, and in shaping social policies.
Topics
- the ways society defines membership
- the role of psychology determining who should be excluded or restricted from open society
- how selected processes work in the legal and social context
- students' own roles as citizens in supporting or changing these social processes
- clinical-legal processes used to determine the disposition of individuals considered marginal in society
- mechanisms used to exclude individuals from open society through criminal and civil court processes
- the role of psychology as a science
- and the role of psychologists as behavioral experts in criminal and civil courts
- and in shaping social policies
Topics explicitly listed in official catalogue description
Prerequisites & course information
Requisites: PSYCH 202 Course Designation: Core GenEd - Social & Behavioral Science Breadth - Social Science Level - Intermediate L&S Credit - L&S Liberal Arts and Science Repeatable for Credit: No Last Taught: Fall 2026 Learning Outcomes: 1. Identify the ways that psychological science interfaces with social policy and the criminal justice system. Audience: Undergraduate 2. Explain how psychological science can inform police and prosecution procedures. Audience: Undergraduate 3. Summarize the ways that mechanisms of social control are applied to mentally ill individuals. Audience: Undergraduate 4. Describe psychosocial factors that distort or interfere with the goals of the criminal justice system. Audience: Undergraduate Learning Outcomes: 1. Identify the ways that psychological science interfaces with social policy and the criminal justice system. Audience: Undergraduate 2. Explain how psychological science can inform police and prosecution procedures. Audience: Undergraduate 3. Summarize the ways that mechanisms of social control are applied to mentally ill individuals. Audience: Undergraduate 4. Describe psychosocial factors that distort or interfere with the goals of the criminal justice system. Audience: Undergraduate
Sources
- Course catalogue ↗2026-2027