III. Legal and penitentiary psychology

What is Psychology and the Law?

Psychology is the study of behavior, thought, feelings, and emotions. Therefore, psychology principles can apply to all aspects of life, including the legal system. The study of psychological issues in the legal system is known as forensic psychology, legal psychology, or psychology and the law.

There is currently debate within the field over the best way to designate those people working with psycho-legal issues. Some argue that any psychologist who works on issues related to the legal system should have the designation of forensic psychologist. This means that someone testifying in court regarding eyewitness memory can be considered a forensic psychologist. Others argue that the designation of forensic psychologist should be reserved for those psychologists who perform assessments and evaluations of individuals in the legal system - that is a forensic psychologist is first and foremost a clinical psychologist who has received additional training on dealing with forensic populations. These people argue that those aspects of social, cognitive, or industrial-organizational psychology that influence the legal system (like studies of eyewitness memory) may be better termed legal psychology. They often point to the fact that only those psychologists who are eligible for licensure after obtaining a degree in clinical or counseling psychology are able to conduct court-ordered assessments and evaluations as a reason to differentiate between clinically and experimentally trained psychologists within the legal system.

To make it clear, the term Forensic Psychology is used to discuss clinical applications of psychology to the law, the term Legal Psychology - experimental (non-clinical) applications of psychology to the law and psychology and the law – to the field as a whole.

Many people working in psychology and the law are not officially trained in psychology and law programs. They are trained in traditional clinical, social, or cognitive programs under the advisement of someone conducting psycho-legal research. There is no limit to the types of research that can be conducted by psycho-legal researchers. Some focus on psychology and employment law, such as research dealing with the Americans with Disabilities Act or sexual harassment laws. Some focus on cognitive psychology and the law, such as eyewitness testimony/memory. Others focus on social psychology and the law, such as group dynamics and jury decision-making. Finally, there is a wide variety of research on clinical psychology and the law, such as competency to stand trial, risk assessment, and custody evaluations.

Notes:

to apply - применять Advisement – кураторство

legal – юридический To conduct research – проводить

forensic – судебный Disability - нетрудоспособность

Todesignate– определятьSexualharassment– сексуальное домогательство

Totestifyincourt– давать показания в судеEyewitness– свидетель

Regarding– относительноTestimony– свидетельское показание

Assessment– оценкаJury– присяжные

Eligible– иметь правоCustody– лишение свободы

Liсensure– выдавать разрешенияObtainadegree– получать степень

Сompetencytostandtrial– способность выдержать судебное заседание

Answer the questions:

1. What does psychology study?

2. Can psychology principles be applied to legal psychology?

3. What is the difference between a legal and a forensic psychology?

4. What types of research are conducted by psycho-legal researchers?

There are nearly as many intersections between law and psychology as there are areas of policy regulation. Conflict resolution and negotiation; judgment and decision-making capacity; prejudice and stereotyping; criminal responsibility; competency; assessment of evidence, including the reliability of eyewitnesses, and lie detection; developmental psychology and educational policy; addiction and drug policy – these are just a few of the frontiers open to scholars and practitioners educated in both law and psychology.

Read and translate the text using the dictionary:

Legal psychology

Legal psychology can be defined as the part which “involves pragmatic, psychological research of the law, legal institutions, and people who come into contact with the law.” The psychologists involved in this legal psychology in general acquire the necessary societal and cognitive values and apply them to the issues in the legal system like:

• Eyewitness memory,

• Jury decision-making,

• Investigations, and

• Interviewing

The combination of the psychological values with legal applications or contexts may perhaps be well thought-out as a legal psychology in general (even if research relating to clinical psychology, e.g., insanity defense (невменяемость), mental illness, offender profiling, competency, etc., is normally categorized as forensic psychology, and not legal psychology).

The legal psychology researchers were mainly paying attention on issues correlated to eyewitness demonstration and the decision-making by the jury.

Numerous legal psychologists have their profession as professors in the university psychology departments, criminal justice departments or the law schools. Similar to the other professors, the legal psychologists in general accomplish and publish empirical research, educate in various classes, and guide the graduate and undergraduate students. The legal parties in order to testify the expert witnesses call the psychologists who are explicitly trained in legal issues, as well as persons with no official training.

Notes:

Intersection – точка пересечения

Resolution – решение

Negotiation – переговоры, обсуждение условий

Judgment – судебное разбирательство

Prejudice – вред, ущерб

Stereotyping – порождение стереотипов

Frontier – рубеж, граница, предел

Addiction – физическая зависимость, наркомания