Overview

This volume takes as its point of departure that those who work in the area of law and psychology currently possess a great deal of knowledge about the psychology of the legal system, including the way in which the behavior of legislators, judges, jurors, attorneys, litigants, and defendants shapes the outcome of justice. It has also become very clear that the main obstacles to beneficial modifications to the legal system stem from the lack of motivation to seek justice, motivation to change legal process, and motivation to make use of evidence-based decision making. The purpose of this volume is to examine the antecedents of the motivation for justice, describe how that motivation activates and manifests in various legal institutions (i.e., elections, legislatures, courts, and executive offices), and trace the failure of that motivation to influence legal decision making. This will include research and commentary about a) where the motivation for justice comes from when people make legal judgments and decisions, b) how the motivation for justice influences legal judgments and decisions, and c) how legal judgments and decisions influence the motivation for justice in positive and negative ways. This topic is paramount at the current time in our history in view of the apparent breakdown of society’s beliefs in our institutions and trust in the democratic process, which has contributed to a system that has increasingly operated from tribalistic impulse rather than from a richer motivation for authentic justice.

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9783031988110

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Richard L. Wiener received his Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Houston and studied law at the University of Nebraska/Lincoln (UNL) College of Law where he earned a Master’s Degree in Legal Studies. He is currently the Charles Bessey Professor of Psychology and Law at UNL where he served as the director of the Law and Psychology Program from 2002 until 2015.  Dr. Wiener is the past editor of Law and Human Behavior, the official journal of the American Psychology/Law Society (Division 41 of the American Psychological Association). Professor Wiener studies the application of social and cognitive psychology to problems of legal decision-making with a focus in juvenile and criminal justice. He is the recipient of funding from the National Science Foundation, National Institute of Justice and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Dr. Wiener has published numerous research articles, edited volumes, book chapters and law review articles. Professor Wiener teaches courses at the graduate level and in the Law College at UNL. Dr. Wiener is best known and cited for his work in legal decision-making including judgments about sexual harassment, jury decision making in capital murder, and emotion in the law. He has published numerous articles in the Journal of Applied Psychology, Law and Human Behavior, Sex Roles, Psychology Public Policy and the Law and the Journal of Experimental Psychology - Applied. In addition, he was the editor, co-editor, and major contributor to several books in the University of Nebraska Law and Psychology book series, which include Problem Solving Courts (2012) and Justice, Conflict and Wellbeing (2014). David J. Hansen is a Professor of Psychology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL).  He received his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Mississippi in 1985.  Prior to coming to UNL in 1992, he was a faculty member in the Department of Psychology at West Virginia University.  Dr. Hansen has served as director of the interdisciplinary Law-Psychology Program since 2017, and has previously served as Department Chair, Director of the Clinical Psychology Training Program, and Director of the Center for Brain, Biology and Behavior.  His primary research area is child maltreatment (sexual abuse, physical abuse, and neglect), including development of assessments and interventions for victims and families, maltreatment prevention, and understanding the correlates and consequences of maltreatment.  Much of his research activity occurs in conjunction with clinical services and training provided in collaboration with community agencies.  Dr. Hansen has co-authored more than 130 publications, including peer review journal articles and book chapters, as well as one co-authored book and two co-edited volumes.  Dr. Hansen is a licensed psychologist in the state of Nebraska.  Within the UNL Psychological Consultation Center, Dr. Hansen is the Director of Project SAFE, a clinical treatment program for sexually abused children and their families.  Dr. Hansen serves on the Editorial Boards of Aggression and Violent Behavior, Clinical Case Studies, and Education and Treatment of Children.

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