UNIVERSITY OF BALTIMORE
Yale Gordon College of Liberal Arts
Division of Applied Psychology
Psychology and the Law
APPL 624.185
Summer 2004
Dr. Melvin A. Shandler
301-652-3610
drmelshan@yahoo.com
Office Hours: By Appointment
Required Books:
Costanzo, Mark. Psychology Applied To Law. Thomson Wadsworth, Belmont,CA 2004.
Recommended but not required:
Bartol, Curt R. & Bartol, Anne M. Psychology and Law. Thomson Wadsworth, Belmont, CA 2004.
Course Objectives:
1. To provide students with a understanding and application of fundamental principles of psychology and
psychiatry as they relate to the U.S. legal system. Discussion of timely relevant issues will be an integral part
of this course.
2. To facilitate the student’s understanding of how the professions of psychology and the law “arrive at
‘truth’ in decidedly different ways. Truth for psychology is gained through the scientific methods of
hypothesis testing, sound methodological construction, quantification, systematic observation, and an attempt
at objective interpretation of the data.....an ideal which is seldom reached.....Law, by contrast, relies on the
adversarial process to discover ‘truth.’ The ambiguity of the law encourages participants to present their
best case in a combative fashion....Lawyers selectively choose precedent...and science...to build their case...”
(Bartol & Bartol, p. 30)
3, To facilitate the student’s awareness of how psychology has become “...an increasingly valuable source of
knowledge for the law.” (Bartol & Bartol, p. 30)
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Dr. Shandler
Course Requirements:
1. Attendance is expected. This is an interactive class and input from all class members is encouraged. There
will be no extension for any deadlines or make-up work. Keep in mind that learning is a function of studying,
intellectual interaction with others, experiences, motivation and self discipline. THIS IS ESPECIALLY
RELEVANT IN THIS CLASS, SINCE YOU WILL BE STUDYING THE INTERACTION OF
PSYCHOLOGY AND THE LAW. AS SUCH, YOU WILL BE LEARNING A NEW LANGUAGE--THE
LANGUAGE OF THE LEGAL PROFESSION. In conclusion, your attendance and participation in class is
critical. Attendance and participation are not synonymous. Your failure to participate in class deprives
others of the benefit of your stimulation. It also deprives me as your instructor of the ability to assess your
academic growth throughout the semester. Thus, it is EXPECTED that you will come to class on time, that
you will have done all the assigned reading for that class, that you will take part in discussions, ask questions,
contribute your knowledge and insights, and that you will provide appropriate feedback to your classmates
and to myself. Finally, it is not the responsibility of the instructor to provide class materials and lecture notes
to students who miss class. Therefore, should you miss a class, it behooves you to obtain those materials from
a classmate.
2. Grading Will Be Based Upon 2 exams and One Oral Presentation: One exam will be the mid term
examination and the other will be the final examination. Each exam will be worth 30% of the student’s
grade. Each exam will be a take home exam and will be distributed at the class preceeding the class when it is
due. The due date for each exam is fixed. No exams will be accepted after the due date. The exams will be
discussed in class after having been submitted in order to facilitate the student’s learning experience. The
oral presentation will be worth 40% of the student’s grade. The maximum number of points to be earned for
each of these items is 100. Therefore, the maximum number of points to be earned for the entire semester is
300 points.
3. Readings: The instructor will conduct each class using two methods:
A. Lecture by the instructor.
B. Student’s oral presentation.
B. Calling upon students in a random manner to respond to questions, thoughts, ideas, etc. put forth by
the instructor and/or other students. In order for students to be able to participate in this classroom exercise,
it will be necessary for the student to have done the assigned reading for that day. There will be no excuse
for a student to not be able to participate in these dialogues.
pg. 3
Dr. Shandler
4. Exams and Oral Presentation
The mid term exam will cover only the material learned from in the book and in class presentations and
discussions up until the day of the mid term. The final exam will cover
only the material learned from the book and in class presentations and discussions after the mid term exam.
Both exams may include short answer and/or essay questions, so be prepared for either or both types.
Each student will be required to make one oral presentation. The instructor will assign each student
to cover one topic which will be extracted from one of the chapters to be read this semester. The student will
then be required to do some independent research from sources other than the Costanzo text and come to
class prepared to talk about the topic for a minimum of 60 minutes. Notes may be used but should not be
read word for word. In other words, the student should demonstrate a proficiency of the topic and not rely
on reading a verbatim report. The student should prepare an annotated bibliography to distribute to the
class members. No other prepared written paper is required.
CLASS SCHEDULE
All reading assignments refer to the Costanzo text. The reading assignments for each day refer to chapters
which must have been read BEFORE class meets on that day.
June 2---Introduction to the Course/Overview/Concepts/Language
June 7--Chapter 2/student assignment: psychological aspects of confessions, false confessions, interrogation
techniques
June 9---Chapter 3/ a. psychological aspects of profiling
June 14---Chapter 3, continued/ b. psychological aspects of serial killers
June 16 --Chapter 3, continued/c. battered woman syndrome
June 21--Chapter 3, continued/d. rape trauma syndrome & post traumatic stress disorder
June 23---Chapter 4/ a. psychological aspects of legal competence b. psychology and the
& implication of legal insanity
meaning
pg. 4
Dr. Shandler
June 28--Chapter 5/psychological aspects of the jurors as individuals /b. the jury as a
of group dynamics & social psychology (Twelve Angry Men)
study
June 30—Chapter 6/ a. psychology and the reliability/validity of human behavior& human
memory as evidence / b. hypnosis and the memory process
July 5--No class/Holiday
July 7-Mid-Term Exam Due
Review of Exam
Chapter 6, continued/children and memories
July 9-Chapter 7/Duty to protect/civil commitment procedures
July 12—Chapter 7, continued/child custody and parental competence
July 14--Chapter 8/a. psychology of sexual harassment/b. psychology of perceived fairness
July 19--Chapter 9/psychology of sentencing; treating juveniles as adults
July 21--Chapter 9, continued/psychology, culture and the prison system
July 26--Chapter 9, continued/the death penalty and psychology
July 28--Final Exam Due
Review of Exam
UB GRADING SCALE (Based on %)
A: 94-100
C+: 77-79
A-: 90-93
C: 74-76
C-: 70-73
B+: 87-89
D+: 67-69
B: 84-86
B-: 80-83
D: 64-66 D-: 60-63
F: 59 and below
Support Services: The Academic Resource Center provides supports services such as tutoring and help with
writing. It is the responsibility of the student to seek out this help if
pg. 5
Dr. Shandler
the student believes he/she needs such help. The instructor will only provide learning disability related
accommodations for the students who provide documentation from the university of such a need. In addition,
the University of Baltimore is committed to providing students with disabilities an accessible educational
environment as well as appropriate academic adjustments. Assistance with registration will be provided if
requested. For further information, contact the Office for Disability Support Services at 410-837-4775 (ITY
number, 410-837-5751).
University Academic Integrity Policy:
It is the repsonsiblity of the student to know and understand the university’s Academic
Integrity Policy.
As part of the University of Baltimore’s Academic Integrity Policy, students must:
1. Encourage and support an atmosphere of academic honesty
2. Utilize appropriate methods of documentation for written word, and recognize that
faculty considering written materials will assume such utilization
3. Do their own work and make all reasonable efforts to prevent the occurrence of
academic dishonesty
4. Set an example for other students by refraining from acts of cheating, plagiarism, or other violations of the
Academic Integrity Policy
5. Refrain from aiding or abetting other students in any attempts to violate the Academic Integrity Policy
6. Consider means to limit acts of academic dishonesty
Emergency Class Cancellation: In the event class needs to be canceled for inclement weather or any other
reason, any assignment missed will be automatically rescheduled for the next scheduled class day.
Information regarding class cancellation or delayed openings
or other emergencies may be obtained by the university.