The relationship between psychology, policy and law has assumed substantial importance in our society. Psychological knowledge is considered in developing and evaluating numerous laws and policies dealing with topics ranging from child maltreatment to the use of science in the courtroom. The need for this information is not surprising when we consider that federal and state legislatures, courts, and administrative agencies create laws that are based upon psychological assumptions about how people act, how their actions can be controlled, whether state intervention is desirable, and how laws should be structured to achieve its goals. These issues are not bounded by our national borders. The concerns we express in the United States are equally prevalent in other countries and require the same level of scrutiny. Conversely, psychology, policy and law scholarship increasingly seeks to understand the roles of law in society, and the importance of law to individuals and to society. Although lawyers and policymakers are well equipped to draft the legal language, they typically are ill prepared to address these issues (e.g., setting behavioral goals that comport with scientific knowledge about human behavior; identifying and assessing the validity of the psychological assumptions underlying law).

The Psychology, Policy and Law Program trains scholars interested in academic, research, or policy careers who will produce conceptually, theoretically, and methodologically sophisticated scholarship in the psychology, policy and law interface. The Department of Psychology in cooperation with the College of Law offers graduate training in this area leading to the Ph.D. degree or the J.D. - Ph.D. as concurrent degrees. Whether pursuing the Ph.D. or the combined J.D.-Ph.D. degrees, students may solely major in Psychology, Policy and Law within the Psychology Department. Students may also apply to jointly major in Psychology, Policy and Law and any other program within the Department (e.g., Clinical Psychology; Cognition and Neural Systems; Social Psychology; Ethology and Evolutionary Psychology).

Once admitted, students have the opportunity for intensive study in many of the subareas that comprise psychology, policy and law scholarship:

• Forensic Science and Practice

The law and legal policy assign to mental health professionals a prominent role in aiding in the administration of criminal and civil law. These individuals are regularly asked to provide forensic assessments and testimony, and to treat, and intervene with, persons involved in legal systems. Yet, what does psychological science, and 'best' professional practices, have to say about what services these mental health professionals ought to be offering? For example, what is the adequacy of the various forensic assessment techniques? What treatments and interventions should legal systems provide to offenders with special needs (e.g., violent sexual offenders)? How should laws be modified to minimize their adverse effects on persons who become involved in legal processes? Students interested in these issues are encouraged to apply for joint admission to The Clinical Psychology Program.

• Violent and Criminal Behavior

Psychology has an important role in studying the causes and consequences of juvenile and adult violence and crime in familial and other settings. Examples of this focus include the description, explanation and prediction of such behaviors; the development of treatments and interventions to modify these behaviors; the consequences for victims of violent and criminal encounters; and the effectiveness of legal policies for responding to offenders and victims. Students interested in these issues are encouraged to apply for joint admission to The Clinical Psychology Program.

• Effects of Law and Legal Processes

Psychological research and scholarship can be used to study the effects of law on legal actors, litigants, and society. For example, under what conditions will the legal system create or exacerbate psychological distress, and how should legal systems and legal processes be modified to minimize that distress? What effects do the legal processing and forced treatment of juveniles have on their future behavior?

• Improving the Law, Legal Systems and Legal Processes

We know that in some cases, there are schisms between goals for particular legal policies and their manifestation in written law, and between the 'law on the books' (written law) and 'law in action' (implementation of the law). Research in this area covers a broad array of topics that focus on understanding and improving all aspects of the law, legal systems and legal processes. For example, what is the quality of the psychological information that is offered as expert evidence in litigation, and how should the courts modify their rules to account for differing levels of rigor in scientific and clinical information? Under what conditions should mediation and other alternative dispute resolution (ADR) processes be used as alternatives to litigation?

These areas of research directly apply to and transcend many of the traditional legal and policy areas of scholarship (e.g., Alternative Dispute Resolution Law and Policy, Civil Rights Law and Policy, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law and Policy, Disability Law and Policy, Evidence Law, Family Law and Policy, Juvenile Law and Policy, Litigation and Trial Advocacy, and Mental Health Law and Policy), and provide a rich opportunity for student study and growth as a scholar. Students are not limited to focusing on one area or topic. Rather, we encourage students to identify their own career interests and goals, and we as a faculty strive to help them achieve these goals.

Core Faculty: Please see the Program Faculty page.