This volume consists of up-to-date review articles on topics relevant to psychology and law, and will be of current interest to the field. These topics are currently attracting a great deal of research and public policy attention in the U.S. and elsewhere and will be relevant to researchers, clinical practitioners, and policy makers. Topics include: attitudes toward police (Cole et al.), accuracy of memory for child sexual abuse (Goldfarb et al.), the use of interpreters in investigations (Goodman-Delahunty et al.), adjustment of former prisoners post-exoneration (Kirshenbaum et al.), psychological implications for gun policy (Pirelli et al.), ability to match people with images from ID cards and video (Rumschik et al.), judicial instructions on eyewitness evidence (Skalon et al.), social science of the death penalty (West et al.), and informant testimony (Wetmore et al.).

Lawmakers and judges often enact and enforce laws and policies that impact youth. The extent to which these legal actions are sensitive to juveniles' perspectives and experiences has changed recently. Compared to an earlier time when juvenlies were treated the same as adults, many policies are now created with the needs of juveniles in mind, thanks in part to psychological studies that have revealed that the decision making, behavior, and cognitions of children vary drastically from those of adults.

Unique in its angle and in the breadth of social issues it covers, Psychology, Law, and the Wellbeing of Children brings together new research and analyses to address how legal actions affect children's wellbeing. It addresses how civil and criminal law has evolved to protect, and sometimes inadvertently neglect or harm, the wellbeing and development of children. Each chapter describes a law or policy affecting children, identifies the relevant psychological issues, reviews the research that has been conducted or should be conducted, and provides recommendations for professionals in law and/or psychology. With contributions from top researchers and practitioners in the field, chapters discuss many current debates, including issues such as gender-specific programming for juvenile delinquents, interrogations of juveniles, changes in divorce and custody procedures, programs for imprisoned mothers, and legal actions adopted to protect the health of children and society (e.g., HPV vaccinations, considering child obesity to be abuse). This book will be a vital resource for those interested in protecting the wellbeing of children, including academics and researchers in psychology, criminology, and sociology; practitioners such as judges, attorneys, forensic psychologists, psychiatrists, and social workers; and graduate and law students.

Although the world has experienced many epidemics, the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is exactly that--novel. The impacts on society's way of life, education, family, and economy are drastic. As a result, people seek explanations that have answers rooted in social science.

The Social Science of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Call to Action for Researchers draws on theories derived from the social sciences to address the multitude of questions raised by the pandemic and to inspire a future generation of researchers. This book focuses specifically on the social science of a pandemic. While medical, health, and other sciences are critical to understanding a pandemic, so, too, is understanding the role of society and person. Together, psychology and society shape every aspect of life, and the COVID-19 pandemic is no exception to this pattern. Parts of society--and science--will be forever affected.

Edited by Monica K. Miller, The Social Science of the COVID-19 Pandemic is a collection of academic essays written by a group of international authors. The book begins by overviewing the timeline of the pandemic and how it affected life. It then discusses behaviors and experiences during the pandemic, followed by sections on outcomes after the pandemic and best practices for conducting future studies during or about the pandemic.

This book is an expansive, go-to text designed to help promote recovery from the pandemic, to minimize the negative effects of similar events in the future, and to inform social science research going forward.

This first volume of an exciting annual series presents important new developments in the psychology behind issues in the law and its applications. Psychological theory is used to explore why many current legal policies and procedures can be ineffective or counterproductive, with special emphasis on new findings on how witnesses, jurors, and suspects may be influenced, sometimes leading to injustice. Expert scholars make recommendations for improvements, suggesting both future directions for research inquiries on topics and needed policy changes. Topics included in this initial offering have rarely been considered in such an in-depth fashion or are in need of serious re-thinking:

• Interrogation of minority suspects: pathways to true and false confessions.
  
• A comprehensive evaluation of showups.
  
• The weapon focus effect for person identifications and descriptions.
  
• The psychology of criminal jury instructions.
  
• Structured risk assessment and legal decision making.
  
• Children's participation in legal proceedings: stress, coping, and consequences.
  
• Sex offender policy and prevention.
  
• The psychology of tort law.
  

Demonstrating the scope and rigor that will characterize the series, Volume 1 of Advances in Psychology and Law will interest psychology and legal experts as well as practicing psychologists, and will inspire fresh thinking as the two fields continue to interact.

The latest entry in this noteworthy series continues its focus on psychological issues relating to legal and judicial matters, with sound recommendations for situational and system-wide improvement. Salient concerns are described both in areas where their existence is frequently acknowledged (juror impartiality, the juvenile justice system) and where they are rarely considered (Miranda warnings, forensic mental health experts). Authors describe differences between professional and lay concepts of justice principles--and the resulting disconnect between community sentiment and the law. Throughout these chapters, psychological nuances and their legal implications are made clear as they relate to lawyers, jurors, suspects, and victims.

Included among the topics:

- From the headlines to the jury room: an examination of the impact of pretrial publicity on jurors and juries.

- Victim impact statements in capital sentencing: 25 years post-Payne.

- Psychology and the Fourth Amendment.

- Examining the presenting characteristics, short-term effects, and long-term outcomes associated with system-involved youths.

- Indigenous youth crime: an international perspective.

- An empirical analysis of law-psychology journals: who's publishing and on what?

As with the others in the series, this third volume of Advances in Psychology and Law will interest researchers in legal psychology and related disciplines (e.g., criminal justice) as well as practicing attorneys, trial consultants, and clinical psychologists.

​This volume is the most comprehensive reference book on community sentiment available. The classic book about community sentiment is Norm Finkel's Commonsense Justice: Jurors' Notions of the Law (1995). A similarly influential book called Justice, Liability, and Blame was published at the same time, examining lay sentiment about a variety of criminal issues and suggesting ways in which the substantive criminal law could be reformed in light of such lay responses (Robinson & Darley, 1995). Although these books were influential and important for their time (and since), this Handbook expands significantly on them, both by updating research since that time and broadens the scope of topic areas to ones that are not limited to trial and criminal justice issues. Each chapter is original/unpublished and focuses on an area related to children/families, many of which are hot topic areas in the news and courts today. For instance, the U.S. Supreme Court decided a case in June 2012 about the constitutionality of life without parole for juvenile offenders--a topic discussed in the Fass and Miora chapter. Thus, it is of interest to those interested in family law topics as well.​

​This volume is the most comprehensive reference book on community sentiment available. The classic book about community sentiment is Norm Finkel's Commonsense Justice: Jurors' Notions of the Law (1995). A similarly influential book called Justice, Liability, and Blame was published at the same time, examining lay sentiment about a variety of criminal issues and suggesting ways in which the substantive criminal law could be reformed in light of such lay responses (Robinson & Darley, 1995). Although these books were influential and important for their time (and since), this Handbook expands significantly on them, both by updating research since that time and broadens the scope of topic areas to ones that are not limited to trial and criminal justice issues. Each chapter is original/unpublished and focuses on an area related to children/families, many of which are hot topic areas in the news and courts today. For instance, the U.S. Supreme Court decided a case in June 2012 about the constitutionality of life without parole for juvenile offenders--a topic discussed in the Fass and Miora chapter. Thus, it is of interest to those interested in family law topics as well.​

The latest entry in this noteworthy series continues its focus on psychological issues relating to legal and judicial matters, with sound recommendations for situational and system-wide improvement. Salient concerns are described both in areas where their existence is frequently acknowledged (juror impartiality, the juvenile justice system) and where they are rarely considered (Miranda warnings, forensic mental health experts). Authors describe differences between professional and lay concepts of justice principles--and the resulting disconnect between community sentiment and the law. Throughout these chapters, psychological nuances and their legal implications are made clear as they relate to lawyers, jurors, suspects, and victims.

Included among the topics:

- From the headlines to the jury room: an examination of the impact of pretrial publicity on jurors and juries.

- Victim impact statements in capital sentencing: 25 years post-Payne.

- Psychology and the Fourth Amendment.

- Examining the presenting characteristics, short-term effects, and long-term outcomes associated with system-involved youths.

- Indigenous youth crime: an international perspective.

- An empirical analysis of law-psychology journals: who's publishing and on what?

As with the others in the series, this third volume of Advances in Psychology and Law will interest researchers in legal psychology and related disciplines (e.g., criminal justice) as well as practicing attorneys, trial consultants, and clinical psychologists.

Miller demonstrates how religion affects every aspect of the judicial system by focusing on religious appeals by attorneys in closing arguments of death penalty sentencing trials. She explores whether these appeals lead jurors to make legally impermissible decisions, as some courts have feared. Can religious appeals lead jurors to rely on the Bible instead of state law? Her results show that the more participants relied on Biblical authority, the more they relied on their instincts and the less they relied on evidence and judges instructions. Gender, devotionalism, belief in a literal Biblical interpretation, and an individuals cognitive processing style also affected verdicts.

This first volume of an exciting annual series presents important new developments in the psychology behind issues in the law and its applications. Psychological theory is used to explore why many current legal policies and procedures can be ineffective or counterproductive, with special emphasis on new findings on how witnesses, jurors, and suspects may be influenced, sometimes leading to injustice. Expert scholars make recommendations for improvements, suggesting both future directions for research inquiries on topics and needed policy changes. Topics included in this initial offering have rarely been considered in such an in-depth fashion or are in need of serious re-thinking:

• Interrogation of minority suspects: pathways to true and false confessions.
  
• A comprehensive evaluation of showups.
  
• The weapon focus effect for person identifications and descriptions.
  
• The psychology of criminal jury instructions.
  
• Structured risk assessment and legal decision making.
  
• Children's participation in legal proceedings: stress, coping, and consequences.
  
• Sex offender policy and prevention.
  
• The psychology of tort law.
  

Demonstrating the scope and rigor that will characterize the series, Volume 1 of Advances in Psychology and Law will interest psychology and legal experts as well as practicing psychologists, and will inspire fresh thinking as the two fields continue to interact.

All individuals face stress in their daily lives, but this is often particularly true for those who enforce the law, administer justice, or are forced into the legal system. Uncontrolled strain can result in negative behaviors, burnout, risk-taking, and physical and psychological symptoms ranging from colds to depression and suicide. This, in turn, can have a dramatic impact on the functioning of the legal system as a whole. On the other hand, contact with the legal system has the potential to promote wellbeing for many individuals, such as victims who feel that justice has been served and jurors and judges who feel they have helped preserve the integrity of the legal system.

Stress, Trauma, and Wellbeing in the Legal System presents theory, research, and scholarship from a variety of social scientific disciplines and offers suggestions for those interested in exploring and improving the wellbeing of those who are voluntarily (police, probation officers, civil plaintiffs, lawyers, judges, court staff) or involuntarily (jurors, criminal defendants, witnesses, children, the elderly) drawn into the legal system. This comprehensive volume is an invaluable resource for those intersested in protecting the wellbeing of individuals in the legal system, particularly criminal justice professionals, judges, attorneys, forensic psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, researchers in psychology, criminology, and sociology, and students in each of these areas.

This volume consists of up-to-date review articles on topics relevant to psychology and law, and will be of current interest to the field. These topics are currently attracting a great deal of research and public policy attention in the U.S. and elsewhere and will be relevant to researchers, clinical practitioners, and policy makers. Topics include: attitudes toward police (Cole et al.), accuracy of memory for child sexual abuse (Goldfarb et al.), the use of interpreters in investigations (Goodman-Delahunty et al.), adjustment of former prisoners post-exoneration (Kirshenbaum et al.), psychological implications for gun policy (Pirelli et al.), ability to match people with images from ID cards and video (Rumschik et al.), judicial instructions on eyewitness evidence (Skalon et al.), social science of the death penalty (West et al.), and informant testimony (Wetmore et al.).