Applying Research in Court Settings

Psychologists have interacted with the courts much longer than forensic psychology has been recognized as a field. Indeed, the usage of psychological expertise and data by the court and legal systems is quite broad. Attorneys, for example, hire psychologists and forensic psychology professionals as consultants to assist in the selection of a jury suitable to their client’s case. Expert testimony from psychologists and forensic psychology professionals has been proffered on many subjects to help jurors better understand technical and scientific data. Psychological research on how a jury works and how jurors make decisions has shed new light on the legal process. Even family courts rely on psychological data and expert testimony to aid in the awarding of child custody during divorce proceedings. Reading research studies related to court settings will familiarize you with a wide variety of empirical data used in the court system.

To prepare for this Discussion:

• Review this week’s DVD program, “Application of Psychological Research – Court Settings.”Think about how psychological research can guide the practice of forensic psychology relative to various issues presented in court settings.
• Review the article, “The Effects of Pretrial Publicity on Juror Verdicts: A Meta-Analytic Review.” Pay particular attention to the studies reviewed in this meta-analysis and think about how a forensic psychology professional working in a court setting might use this information.
• Review the article, “On the ‘ General Acceptance’ of Eyewitness Testimony Research: A New Survey of Experts.” Focus on how experts in the field of psychology evaluated eye witness testimony in a court setting. Consider how the results reported from the questionnaire given to the expert psychologists might be used or applied by professionals working in a court setting.
• Using the Walden Library, identify a psychological research study that could be used in a court setting by a forensic psychologist or forensic psychology professional.
• Review the methods and results sections of this research study and think about how this study might be used by forensic psychologists or forensic psychology professionals working in a court setting.

With these thoughts in mind:

Post  a brief description of the research study you selected. Then, explain the parts of this study that you believe might be important for a forensic psychology professional working in a court setting. Finally, explain how a forensic psychology professional might use the results of the study in a court setting.

The primary goal of the Learning and Cognition Handbook assignment is to integrate concepts from the discipline of learning and cognitive psychology into a usable and professional guide that is designed for a specific audience based on your career goals. The purpose of this handbook is to share helpful strategies and apply what you have learned from the course to six major topics in the field. You will incorporate your findings from required sources and the relevant sources you researched in the Week 2 Discipline-Based Literature Review, as well as those from the Week 3 Assignment: Choosing Your Focus.

To complete this assignment, you may utilize the Learning and Cognition Handbook template or create your own using the template as a guide. Your handbook should include the sections listed below, incorporating a minimum of one visual (e.g., table, figure, or image (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.) with a maximum of five visuals per section. Each image must be retrieved and cited based on current copyright laws. You may wish to use the Where to Get Free Images guide for assistance with accessing freely available public domain and/or Creative Commons licensed images.

Handbook Sections:

Table of Contents
List all sections and subsections included in the handbook with the applicable page numbers.

Preface (100 to 150 words)
Provide an overview of the handbook and its potential use by your chosen audience.

Introduction to the Major Topics (200 to 300 words)
Provide an introductory summary of the six topics listed below and discuss any careers in psychology specifically related to at least one of them:

• Traditional learning theories: Operant and classical conditioning
• Traditional learning theories: Behaviorism and social learning theory
• Attention and memory
• Decision-Making
• Language acquisition
• Organizational and lifelong learning

Describe how one or more of these areas may be connected to your future career goals.

Major Topics (1 to 2 pages for each major topic)
Communicate the extent to which the six major topics of learning and cognition affect related sub-topics by synthesizing the course learning principles and/or theories. Consider how these sub-topics may be related to your future career goals. For instance, if you intend to become an applied behavior analyst, behaviorism and related technique for learning may be directly connected to your future role. For each major topic, apply basic research methods and skeptical inquiry to explain the theoretical perspectives and empirical research that substantiate the relationship between the topic and at least two related sub-topics. In your review, consider how these topic and sub-topics are directly connected to evaluations and interventions in psychology practice in various fields. Focus on the areas most related to your future area of practice, paying particular attention to how theories are examined in research studies. The following are some sub-topics to consider:

• Comprehension
• Operant and classical conditioning
• Behaviorism
• Social learning theory
• Problem solving
• Memory development/retention
• Lifelong learning
• Individual and group learning
• Organizational learning
• Mentorship
• Apprenticeship models of learning
• Effects of demographic differences (e.g., gender, socioeconomics, religious affiliation, race) on learning

Although creative liberties are encouraged, all information incorporated should be supported and professionally presented through the consistent application of ethical principles and adherence to professional standards of learning and cognition psychology as applied to the chosen audience.

Conclusion (200 to 300 words)
Summarize the importance of the topics within the learning and cognition domain and their applicability within the psychology profession for the chosen audience.

Attention Students: The Masters of Arts in Psychology program is utilizing the Pathbrite portfolio tool as a repository for student scholarly work in the form of signature assignments completed within the program. After receiving feedback for this Learning and Cognition Handbook, please implement any changes recommended by the instructor, and go to Pathbrite (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.to upload the revised Learning and Cognition Handbook to the portfolio. (Use the Pathbrite Quick-Start Guide to create an account if you do not already have one.) The upload of signature assignments will take place after completing each course. Be certain to upload revised signature assignments throughout the program as the portfolio and its contents will be used in other courses and may be used by individual students as a professional resource tool. See the Pathbrite (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. website for information and further instructions on using this portfolio tool.

The Learning and Cognition Handbook

• Must be 12 to 15 pages in length (see instructions and rubric for each section and sub-topic) following the Learning and Cognition Handbook template as a guide. Although a handbook differs from a written paper, all citations and references must be formatted according to APA style (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.
• Must include a title page with the required information from the handbook template:
  • Title of handbook
  • Student’s name
  • Institution’s name
  • Course name and number
  • Instructor’s name
  • Date submitted
• Must use at least six scholarly sources in addition to the required resources.
  • The Scholarly, Peer Reviewed, and Other Credible Sources (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. table offers additional guidance on appropriate source types. If you have questions about whether a specific source is appropriate for this assignment, please contact your instructor. Your instructor has the final say about the appropriateness of a specific source for a particular assignment.
• Must include the sections and subsections required as indicated in the handbook template.
• Must address the topics with critical thought and substantiated assertions.
• Must document all sources in APA style as outlined in Citing Within Your Paper (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site..
• Must include a separate references page that is formatted according to APA style as outlined in Formatting Your References List (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site..

Carefully review the Grading Rubric (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. for the criteria that will be used to evaluate your assignment.