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The relationship between psychology and law is very old, the first book on judicial psychology is from the 18th century. In the 1920s, an interest among psychologists in the activity of lawyers began to emerge. From here two currents arise: Legal psychology, which seeks to understand the social roots of law. It is more related to philosophy and collective psychology (closer to social psychology). Forensic psychology, related to psychiatry and medicine (closer to clinical psychology). It is from then on when studies appear where the need for the psychologist is revealed, but it is not until the 80s when the discipline is consolidated.
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The judicial process begins when someone decides to commit the crime. Social psychologists say that there are many external stimuli that influence this. Environmental psychology focuses on the responsibility of the victim (fences and other security measures, avoiding dangerous situations, etc.). Architecture also influences robberies, for example by designing buildings so that there are rooms facing the street where there are always people. It is also object of study why there are ages more prone to commit crimes.
The next step is to report the crime, only 1/3 of the crimes are reported. 100% of car thefts are reported, while a much lower percentage of sexual abuse is reported. They are factors that are not relative to the person, such as thoughts like what is the use of reporting it? Are there witnesses? What are witnesses for? It is related to both positive and negative attitudes, which are what make the behavior occur.
Investigation of the crime. The police have a scale to try to make the resources profitable, based on which some crimes are investigated and others are not. Failure to prosecute and punish some crimes makes them seem normal, more like "hooligans."
Social organization of the evidence. There were cases in which false confessions were accepted, it is a question of seeing under what conditions the criminals confess. The low self-esteem of criminals in general, the perception of threat, the non-social support of their gang or colleagues,…
Procedural justice. It has been studied how the evidence is organized and presented in the trial. There is a defense attorney and a prosecutor, it is a confrontation. Psychology brings persuasion, empathy, this is very important for lawyers, especially in jury trials. The importance is clear not of what is said, but of the appearance of what is said (a false but coherent argument is more credible than a true but incoherent one).
Visual testimonial. There are many studies on its reliability, the person who witnesses a crime will not have the same memory capacity as the person who suffers it, even more so when he spends a long time until the trial and wonders about specific things.
Decision-making by judges and juries. Here many aspects influence, such as biases.
The sentence must serve a purpose. To what extent does it serve its purpose? It is effective? Why does society ask for people to stay in jail for a long time? Is the punishment severe to fulfill its purpose?
This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
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