Readings for the course consist of empirical, theoretical, and review articles from a variety of journals and books. Three to four common readings per class are supplemented by readings presented as special reports by seminar participants. Emphasis is placed on seminar members' active participation in discussions of the implications of readings for understanding the field. Psychology and Law are closely related. Psychology is the study of human behavior.
Law is a primary instrument used by society to control and evaluate human behavior.
Psychology an law often appear to be in conflict, however, because of differences in methods and goals. In this course, we examine the convergences and conflicts between psychology and law as we look at psychological research in and on law, and at the responses of law to psychological research. The purpose of this course is to introduce students to contemporary theory and research in attitudes and social cognition. The social cognition approach involves directly examining the cognitive processes underlying social-psychological phenomena. In this course, we learn about and critically analyze what is unique about this approach to social psychology.