Children, Psychology and Law

Catalog description

Special issues arise when children enter the legal system, issues that receive a considerable amount of attention from psychological researchers. In this course, you will learn about psychological research investigating a number of those issues, particularly the nature of and societal response to child maltreatment, the reliability of children's eyewitness testimony, juvenile justice, legal decision makers' perceptions of children, and unique concerns related to juvenile sex offenders and other special topics. We will focus on how psychological research and the use of psychological theories can contribute to a better understanding of the issues, how the legal system can be informed by the results of research, and how to design future research to address remaining questions. Prerequisite(s): declared criminal justice majors only; R CRJ 201, R CRJ/A SOC 203, and junior or senior standing.