SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY AND LAW
In order to understand how the law operates in courts, how people perceive the legal system, and how officials behave in a range of legal settings, including those involving legal decision-making, lawmaking, and law enforcement, it is vital to understand social psychology. Or, to put it another way, social psychology is necessary to comprehend how the law functions (or how the law is applied).
A basic understanding of social psychology can also help with thoughts about how the law should work (or how the law is written), partly because both social psychology and the law place an emphasis on behavioural control. It’s crucial to remember that knowledge of the social psychology of law extends beyond simple applications of social psychological theory to legal contexts. Instead, social psychology and legal research usually provide fresh viewpoints that could influence basic social psychological investigations. As a result, there is a mutually beneficial connection between social psychology and law.
There are numerous reasons to research how social psychology and law interact. The relationship between social psychology and law, which is clear upon reflection, may be a possible explanation. For instance, the law as a system can be characterised as a well-defined set of regulations designed to regulate social relationships and business. Social and governmental structures create and uphold a code of conduct known as the law in order to regulate behaviour. This behaviour control should ideally be implemented in a way that promotes respect among community members. Conflict resolution and punishment decisions are part of this management of behaviour.
Social psychology is the scientific study of how people act in social situations. The study of how people’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviours are influenced by the actual, imagined, or suggestive presence of others is referred to as social influence theory. While social psychology describes how human behaviour is governed, law as a discipline typically focuses on how behaviour should be regulated. However, one may argue that social psychology and law share an interest in how conduct is regulated.
Although the two fields cover a wide range of topics, this observation of normative versus descriptive accounts of behavioural regulation suggests that legal scholars and practitioners can gain knowledge from social psychological insights to better understand how people’s behaviours (and their associated thoughts and feelings) are actually controlled. This means that theories about how the law ought to work or the law that is written in the books could profit from a comprehension of basic social psychological ideas.
It is important to understand social psychology in the context of law because it highlights the significance of how societal institutions can influence people’s behaviour. It is surprising that little research has been done on this subject given social psychology’s core interest in the issue of how social contexts influence human reactions. The social psychological discipline has to incorporate important elements from the social psychology of law in order to become more reliable, accurate, and applicable.
It might be argued that concentrating on the social psychology of law is relevant and significant since social psychology can be seen as a hub science that connects behavioral, sociocultural, and other scientific fields with thorough conceptual theory and experimental examination.
THE CONCEPT OF LEGAL PSYCHOLOGY:
Legal psychology examines how social and cognitive theories are applied in the legal system. It is based on research into the law, psychology, and legal systems. Unlike forensic psychology, which is founded on a therapeutic orientation to experimentation, it is distinct from that field. Different ways in which legal psychology is relevant to court proceedings include:
· Academics and research: Legal psychologists mostly conduct empirical research on recently introduced legal matters that haven’t yet attracted much attention. They act as role models and teachers for upcoming lawyers.
· Advisory role- Legal psychologists are frequently found serving as advisors in court systems. They provide guidance to judges and other legal decision-makers on a few psychological matters related to the case in question.
· Trial consulting– Trial consulting is something which legal psychologists occasionally do. When a psychologist with academic experience is needed as a trial consultant for a specific case, they may be contacted. Trial consultants conduct a variety of tasks, including selecting jurors and running mock trials, among others.
· Policy making and legislative guidance- Empirical research serves as the basis for a legal psychologist’s work, and it is frequently necessary to establish policies relevant research. Because of this, they support local, state, and federal lawmakers during times of need.
· Expert witnesses- Despite having no official training, legal psychologists are skilled in handling legal matters. They are useful when the witnesses testify. They also examine the recall of eyewitnesses, but the forensic psychologist focuses on the defendant’s ability.
CONCLUSION:
No legal system is faultless, as has already been demonstrated through a number of incidents. But adding psychological considerations will help a judicial system become ideal. Almost every facet of legal laws and processes is predicated on presumptions about how people think, feel, and make decisions. The scientific study of social thought, social influence, and social interactions has made obvious the various ways that legal procedures and standards must function within the social environment. In the past, research on law and psychology only addressed a select few issues and only rarely the actual content of the law. However, considerable advancements have been achieved in the past few decades in the application of psychological science to a far larger spectrum of legal challenges.
(This article is written as part of an internship program with KRSH Welfare Foundation)