Social consciousness in legal decision making : psychological perspectives / edited by Richard L. Wiener ... [and others].

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Wiener, Richard L.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Sociological jurisprudence.

Physical Description:

xiv, 281 pages ; 25 cm

Place of Publication:

New York : Springer, 2007.

Summary:

Our basic assumption about the law is that it is designed to operate fairly and openly. But with human beings as the ultimate decision makers, how do we prevent discrimination within the legal arena, and how does the law decide whether others have behaved in a discriminatory manner? Social Consciousness in Legal Decision Making examines four controversial areas involving people's perceptions of others-racial profiling, affirmative action, workplace harassment, and hate speech/hate crime-from the perspectives of psychology, decision theory, and the law.

This book's contributing experts raise these critical questions: How valid are legal assumptions about human behavior? What cognitive processes underlie biased behavior? What do personal experience and situational cues contribute to decision making? How do individuals' perceptions of the law influence their judgment? Can psychology help legislators write more effective laws?

In answering them, the book: Compares rational, descriptive, and normative decision-making models in legal contexts, Provides important insights into legal decision making by non-specialists (police, administrators, jurors), Clarifies and broadens the role of social science in the courts, Promotes improved dialogue between the field of psychology and law to create a more socially aware jurisprudence. Social Consciousness in Legal Decision Making invites the legal and psychology communities to work together in solving some of our most pressing social problems.

Contents:

Chapter 1 Law and Everyday Decision Making: Rational, Descriptive, and Normative Models / Richard L. Wiener 3

Unit I Investigative Profiling: Legal Developments and Empirical Research

Chapter 2 The Rhetoric of Racial Profiling / Samuel R. Gross 35

Chapter 3 Racial Profiling, Attributions of Motive, and the Acceptance of Social Authority / Tom R. Tyler 61

Chapter 4 Racial Profiling as a Minority Issue / Cynthia Willis-Esqueda 75

Unit II Affirmative Action: Legal Developments and Empirical Research

Chapter 5 Affirmative Action and the Courts: From Plessy to Brown to Grutter, and Back? / Mark R. Killenbeck 91

Chapter 6 The University of Michigan Cases: Social Scientific Studies of Diversity and Fairness / Faye J. Crosby, Amy E. Smith 121

Chapter 7 Social Science in the Courts: The View from Michigan / Steven L. Willborn 143

Unit III Workplace Discrimination: Legal Developments and Empirical Research in Sexual Harassment

Chapter 8 How Can We Make Our Research on Sexual Harassment More Useful in Legal Decision Making? / Barbara A. Gutek 153

Chapter 9 Totality of Circumstances in Sexual Harassment Decisions: A Decision-Making Model / Richard L. Wiener, Ryan J. Winter 171

Chapter 10 What Can Researchers Tell the Courts, and What Can the Courts Tell Researchers About Sexual Harassment? / Brian H. Bornstein, Meera Adya 197

Unit IV Hate Speech and Hate Crimes: Legal Developments and Empirical Research

Chapter 11 The Hate Crime Project and Its Limitations: Evaluating the Societal Gains and Risk in Bias Crime Law Enforcement / Frederick M. Lawrence 209

Chapter 12 Implications of Automatic and Controlled Processes in Stereotyping for Hate Crime Perpetration and Litigation / Margaret Bull Kovera 227

Chapter 13 Implicit Bias and Hate Crimes: A Psychological Framework and Critical Race Theory Analysis / Jennifer S. Hunt 247

Chapter 14 Psychology and Legal Decision Making: Where Should We Go From Here? / Erin M. Richter, Richard L. Wiener 267.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780387462172

0387462171

038746218X

9780387462189

OCLC:

86167052