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PSYCHOLOGY, LAW, AND SOCIAL POLICY

PSYCH 401
Course Description

Focuses on the role that psychological principles, research evidence and social science play in the laws of U.S. society, especially in the policies and mechanisms of social control of human behavior. Topics include: the ways society defines membership; the role of psychology determining who should be excluded or restricted from open society; how selected processes work in the legal and social context; students' own roles as citizens in supporting or changing these social processes; clinical-legal processes used to determine the disposition of individuals considered marginal in society; mechanisms used to exclude individuals from open society through criminal and civil court processes; the role of psychology as a science; and the role of psychologists as behavioral experts in criminal and civil courts, and in shaping social policies.

Prerequisties
Satisfies

This course does not satisfy any prerequisites.

Credits

3

Offered

Fall, Spring, Summer

Grade Point Average
3.35

-0.05% from Historical

Completion Rate
97.85%

-0.16% from Historical

A Rate
34.95%

-3.81% from Historical

Class Size
186

28.72% from Historical

Instructors (2025 Fall)

Sorted by ratings from Rate My Professors

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