Psychology and Law Research Lab

The Psychology and Law Lab
Back Row (left to right): Narina Nunez, Scott Culhane, Mike Johns, Scott Freng
Front Row (left to right): Jennifer Gray, Jessica Hatz, Andre Kehn

Click here to see pictures of our 2005 Psychology Lab Retreat

Psychology and Law Faculty:

Scott Culhane, Social Psychology, Criminal Justice Department
Scott Freng, Social Psychology, Psychology Department
Narina Nunez, Developmental Psychology, Psychology Department

Current and Recent Research Activities

Juror reasoning and its impact on jury decision making
Cues to deception in judging witness credibility
Victim impact statements
Eyewitness accuracy
Credibility of child witnesses
Perception of juvenile defendants
Juror motivation and information processing

Recent Publications/Conferences

Kehn, A., Gray, J.M. & Nunez, N. Hearsay Testimony: Protecting the Needs of Children at the Expense of the Defendant’s Right to a Fair Trial, Journal of Forensic Psychology Practice.
Adams, C.M.S., & Bourgeois, M.J. (in press). Separating compensatory and punitive damage award decisions by trial bifurcation. Law and Human Behavior.
Nunez, N., Dahl, M.J. & Tang, C. M. & Jensen, B.L. (2007) Trial Venue Decisions in Juvenile Cases: Mitigating and Extralegal Factors Count. Legal and Criminological Psychology, 12, 21-39.
Culhane, S. E., & Hosch, H. M. (2005). Law enforcement officers serving as jurors: Guilty because charged? Psychology, Crime and Law, 11, 305-313.

Papers in progress/under review

Bourgeois, M.J., Nunez, N., Adams, C.M.S., Binder, D.M. (under review) Effects of Note taking and Early Discussion on Juror Reasoning.
Steblay, N., Hosch, H. M., Culhane S. E. & McWethy, A. (under review). Instructions to disregard inadmissible evidence: A meta-analysis.
Espinoza, R. K. E., Willis-Esqueda, C., & Culhane, S. E. (under review). Effects of ethnicity, SES and stereotypical-congruent or stereotypical-incongruent crimes on juror decision making.
Nunez, N., Tang, C.M., Dahl, M.J., & Jensen, B. (under review). Juveniles who commit Murder: The Effects of Age, Defendant Gender, and Abuse History on Juror and Jury Decisions.

Graduate Students:

Jennifer Gray

Andre Kehn

Grant activity:

Enhancing juror and jury reasoning, National Science Foundation
An examination of variations in juror reasoning and pre-deliberation verdicts and its impact on jury processes and decision-making, National Science Foundation

Ph.D.'s from our lab. They are gone but not forgotten.

Monica McCoy (Ph.D. 1997) Developmental Psychology, Dissertation "Jurors' reasoning skills and verdict decisions: The effect of jury deliberations." Currently an Associate Professor and Chair of the Psychology Department at Converse College.
Matt Dammeyer, (Ph.D. 1999) Clinical Psychology, Dissertation- "Self-reported levels of anxiety and depression among law students." Currently the Director of Behavioral Health at Central Peninsula General Hospital, Alaska
Walt Peters, (Ph.D. 2000) Developmental Psychology, Dissertation- "Adult perceptions of child witnesses." Currently a Research Associate at Neilson in Australia.
Kami London (Ph.D. 2001) Developmental Psychology, Dissertation "Investigative courtroom interviews of children: Examining the efficacy of Truth/Lie Discussions in increasing the veracity of children's reports." Currently an Assistant Professor at the University of Toledo.
Mindy Dahl (Ph.D. 2005) Developmental Psychology Dissertation- "Adolescent decisions in situations of uncertainty: The impact of risky choice framing and decision making competency." Currently a Senior Research Scientist/Epidemiologist, Wyoming Department of Health
Connie Tang (Ph.D. 2005) Developmental Psychology- Dissertation "Young Children's Awareness of When New Learning Occurred." Currently an Assistant Professor at Stockton College.
Dana Binder (Ph.D. 2006) Social Psychology- Dissertation "The relationship between Need for Cognition, argument strength, and the persuasiveness of courtroom technology." Currently a Trial Consultant at Dispute Dynamics, Inc.
Christine Shea Adams (Ph.D. 2007) Social Psychology- Dissertation "The Death Penalty Attitudes Scale: Can capital trial jurors be chosen more fairly?" Currently a Statistical Analyst at The Colorado Division of Criminal Justice.

Every year the Psychology Department has a bowling tournament that we call Bowlorama. Research labs compete for the coveted bowling trophy. We are proud to say we have won the trophy more times than any other lab. This year was no exception. We smoked the competition and kept the traveling trophy in our lab.


2007 Winning Team	2006 Winning Team

The Winners!!!!2003 Team	2004 Team