Book Review: ‘Psychology and Law: A Critical Introduction’
| Author | Peter B. Ainsworth |
| Published date | 01 May 1998 |
| Date | 01 May 1998 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/146135579900100211 |
| Subject Matter | Book Review |
Book review
'Psychology and Law: A Critical
Introduction'
by Andreas Kapardis
(Cambridge University Press, Cambridge; 1997 ISBN 0 521 55738 0)
Page 206
This
is an
ambitious
book
which
attempts
to give acritical
overview
of
a
number
of
key
areas
in
the
field
of
psychology
and
law. In this reviewer's
opinion,
the
author
should
be
congratulated
on
producing
a
book
which
is readable
yet
authoritative
and
critical.
It
would
be a useful
source
book
for
both
students
and
practitioners
in
the
fields
of
law
and
psychology.
Al-
though
some
of
the
material
can
be
found
elsewhere
(eg
Wrightsman
(1991)),
the
Kapardis
volume
encompasses a
consider-
able
amount
of
additional material
and
brings
the
field
up
to date
by
reviewing
a
great
deal
of
research
from
the
1990s. It
also covers
many
topics in a critical
and
challenging
manner.
The
topics
covered
in
the
book
are
wide-ranging
and
divergent,
but
the
author
succeeds in
maintaining
an air
of
confidence
throughout.
The
volume
starts
with
an
interesting
and
thought-provok-
ing
introduction
examining
both
the
difficulties in,
and
the
benefits of,
interac-
tions
between
psychologists
and
those
in
the
legal profession.
Chapter
2
provides
a
good
overview
of
the
key
issues
involving
eyewitnesses
and
draws
on
a
great
deal
of
recent
research.
It
also offers a
well-
argued
critique
of
some
of
the
work,
raising
important
issues
such
as
that
of
ecological validity.
Chapter
3
continues
to
examine
eyewitnesses,
but
focusing
on
witness characteristics
and
interviewing.
Again, this is a
well-researched
and
well-written
chapter
covering
a
lot
of
material
but
also
providing
acritical
evaluation.
One
very
minor
criticism
is
that
the
title
of
Chapter
3, 'Eyewitnesses:
The
Perpetrator
and
Interviewing',
does
not
accurately describe
the
main
chapter
contents.
Chapter
4 deals
with
the
potentially
thorny
topic
of
child
witnesses
and
covers
both
legal
and
psychological
aspects
of
young
people
as witnesses.
This
area is
one
in
which
there
is a great deal
of
current
research activity,
and
the
author
succeeds
in
providing
a
comprehensive
yet
succinct
coverage
of
the
main
issues.
With
Chapter
5,
the
focus shifts slightly
with
a
consideration
of
the
jury.
The
author
here
demonstrates
a
good
under-
standing
of
the
jury
system,
and
its use
in
a
number
of
different countries.
There
is slightly less
psychology
here
than
in
the
previous
chapters,
but
enough
to
demonstrate
how
useful
the
subject
can
be
in
understanding
juries
and
their
work.
Chapter
6 is
entitled
'Sentencing
as a
Human
Process'
and
gives a
considered,
readable,
but
rather
brief
account
of
some
of
the
influences
on
sentencing
decisions.
Chapter
7 is
another
rather
short
chapter
examining
the
role
of
the
psychologist as
expert
witness.
Unlike
most
other
chap-
ters, this
one
is perhaps
overly
descriptive
and
could
have
included
alittle
more
in
the
way
of
critical evaluation.
Chapter
8
looks
at persuasion
in
the
courtroom,
and
has
some
interesting
points
to make.
However,
as
with
Chapter
6,
there
might
have
been
alittle
more
psychology
in-
cluded
here.
Chapter
9 deals
with
the
detection
of
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