Law and Cognitive Psychology Lecure Series
Reciprocity between Application and Theory: Two Examples from Psychology and Law
 Thursday, May 20
5:15PM
Gilmer 141
Reception Afterwards
Phoebe Ellsworth, Professor of Law and Psychology at the University of Michigan
As part of the Law and Cognitive Psychology Lecture Series, supported by the
Dean's Intellectual Enrichment Fund, Phoebe Ellsworth, Frank Murphy
Distinguished University Professor of Law and Psychology at the University of
Michigan, will speak at 5:15pm on Thursday, February 5, in Gilmer Hall, Room
141. A reception will follow the talk. The title of her Lecture is
"Reciprocity between Application and Theory: Two Examples from Psychology and
Law."
ABSTRACT: In this talk I will discuss the two-way street between
basic theory and real-world applications by drawing on two separate lines of
research. The first involves the role of race in jury decision making, an
example of how basic psychological theory can predict variations in the level
of prejudice in white jurors. Responses of Black and White jurors are examined
in interracial criminal cases where race is or is not a salient issue. The
second involves the study of changes in death penalty attitudes over the past
50 years. Psychological theory has little to say about changes in deeply held,
long-term attitudes, since researchers focus on attitudes that they can change
in the time frame of a laboratory experiment. And yet these attitudes do
change. I will report on how death penalty attitudes have changed in the last
half century, and how my research on these attitudes has led to new
theoretical insights about the process of attitude change.
BIOSKETCH:
Phoebe Ellsworth was named the Frank Murphy Distinguished University Professor
of Law and Psychology in 2003 and is a graduate of Harvard and Stanford
Universities. Professor Ellsworth, who has pioneered work in the field of
psychology and law, also holds an appointment in the Psychology Department at
the University of Michigan. She is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts
and Science and a Phi Beta Kappa Distinguished Lecturer (2002-2003). In March
2001, she was honored by Mount Saint Mary's College with the creation of the
annual Phoebe Ellsworth Psychology and Justice Symposium, in recognition of
her contributions to the areas of law and psychology. She has published widely
on the subjects of person perception and emotion, public opinion and the death
penalty, and jury behavior recent articles have appeared in The Handbook of
Affective Sciences, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, and
Psychology, Public Policy, and Law. |
For More Information:
Sponsored by Cognitive Area
Contact Bobbie Spellman
Submitted by dk5h
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