Application of

Social Psychology-I UNIT 7 APPLICATION OF SOCIAL

PSYCHOLOGY TO COMMUNITY
AND LEGAL SYSTEM*
Structure

7.0 Objectives
7.1 Introduction
7.2 Concept of Community
7.3 Application of Social Psychology to Community.
7.4 Applications of Social Psychology to the Legal System
7.4.1 Social Psychology and Crime

7.4.2 Social Psychology and Law

7.5 Let us Sum up

7.6 References
7.7 Key Words
7.8 Answers to check your progress
7.9 Unit End Questions

7.0 OBJECTIVES
After reading this Unit, you will be able to:
- describe the concept of community;
- describe the application of social psychology to community; and
- explainhow social psychology can be applied to the legal system.

7.1 INTRODUCTION
“In India . . . we must aim at equality. That does not mean and cannot mean
that everybody is physically or intellectually or spiritually equal or can be
made so. But it does mean equal opportunities for all, and no political,
economic or social barrier. . . . It means a faith in humanity and a belief that
there is no race or group that cannot advance and make good in its own way,
given the chance to do so. It means a realisation of the fact that the
backwardness or degradation of any group is not due to inherent failings in
it, but principally to lack of opportunities and long suppression by other
groups.”

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, The Discovery of India (1946)

*
Dr. Tina D‘ Cunha, SEN Inclusion Learning Mentor and Key worker
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 Application of Social
We have had a good introduction to social psychology in the previous Units Psychology to
and hence now we shall directly understand the main aspects of this Unit, that Community and Legal
System
is, application of principles of social psychology to community and legal
systems.

The Unit will mainly focus on the concept of community and how social
psychology can be applied to community. Community life is all about shared
practices, common values and belief system. For instance, Goa – has the
‗Goan‘ community- as it is often referred to. Being geographically on the
coast and four centuries of Portuguese rule has led people of the state to have
their own way of life and sustenance. The Portuguese influence is evident in
names, food, architecture, music and all this is beautifully blended with
Hindu festivals, the Konkani language, the farming, fishing and tourist
industry and an undeniable Indian culture. Thus, we will not only understand
the concept of community but will also look at the application of social
psychology to community.

Further, the Unit will also explain the application of social psychology in
legal system will be highlighted. The legal systems hold its prominence in
social living. Since criminal behavior involves the violations of socially
defined norms, psychologists view these behaviours to be accountable to
both, the person as well as the situation it occurred in.

7.2 CONCEPT OF COMMUNITY

The community we live in or are a part of has a great influence on people‘s
day-to-day lives and are central to humankind. They contribute to the
development and sustenance of in-group knowledge and identity and also
provide strong tools for empowerment. Under this section we will explore the
applications of social psychology to community life starting by
understanding the concept of a community.

According to the Oxford dictionary, the English-language word "community"

derives from the Old French word comuneté (currently "Communauté").
Archaeological studies of social communities use the term "community" in
two ways. The first is an informal definition of community as a place where
people used to live (example a village, city or town). The second meaning
resembles the usage of the term in other social sciences: a community is a
group of people living near one another who interact socially.

Community can be explained as a group of people who are functionally

related and reside in a certain geographical locality at certain point of time.
The people also display cohesiveness and a common culture. These people
are a part of a social structure and display awareness regarding their identity
as a group that is unique and separate identity.

Community can be differentiated from society as society can be explained as

a system of relationships amongst individuals and community can be
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Application of described as a group of people who reside in certain locality and display
Social Psychology-I
cohesiveness to one another. Thus, there are a group of individuals in both
society and in community but the society denotes a system related to social
relationship. Whereas, community can be related with certain locality.
Further, society as such may not have cohesiveness of we-feeling that is often
displayed by a community. Community is a concrete concept and society is
an abstract concept. Though, community is narrower when compared to
society. Community thus can be a village or state or national community,
where as society is larger in size. Any society has differences as well as
similarities. However, community is mainly on the basis of similarity
amongst the individuals.

There are three broad categories of community:

1) Rural Communities: Today it is difficult to explain the tern ‗rural‘. One

characteristic of these communities is that they have a lower population
density compared to the urban areas. Rural communities are often
understood to be quiet, isolated and untouched by the urban
developments of the world. These areas tend to have higher rates of
poverty, unemployed or underemployment. They also place emphasis on
family and blood lineages, kinship relationships, family and cultural
preservation.

An interesting element in a social contact emphasised when

understanding rural communities is ‗understanding resilience‘. Rather
than examining what is not working out in rural areas, this approach
examines what is present in these communities and its own strengths that
could help deal with any challenges. Margalit (2004) suggests that such
resilience is based on an inter-connection between the individual, family
and the socio-cultural adaptation.

1) Urban Communities: Urban communities tend to be more complex and

diverse interms of their social status and needs. They have higher level of
demographic complexity and hence the bonds that connect members of
these communities could be weaker. The people in these communities
could also come from many different places and often do not know one
another or the heritage of place they live in. Unlike in rural areas, urban
people may have to travel long distances for work and their lives are
more controlled by their working hours. Overall, the social condition of
people is more developed and generally more educated.

2) Suburban Communities: These are usually lower density areas that

separate residential and commercial areas from one another. They may
be part of a city or urban area. Suburban communities often have more
job opportunities than rural areas though may not be as many as in urban
areas. They often also benefit from better access to healthcare, spaces for
physical activity or recreation.

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 Application of Social
The discipline of psychology holds the view that we as individuals are social Psychology to
beings and we exist in a community culture and we need each of our Community and Legal
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community lives in order to realise our distinct sense of self, attachment and
individuality. Community life integrates individuals into a society. It
connects personal histories and experiences to shared cultural values and
practices. Social representations such as community symbols, histories,
rituals and aspirations of people shape community life and these become a
strong sense of social behavior and knowledge for people. Communities play
an important role in influencing the behaviour of individuals who are its
members. Communities provide social norms that direct and regulate the
behaviours of the individual

Social psychologists also highlight that a community helps us in our need for
‗belongingness‘. It is important to note that a community cannot develop in
isolation or influences from other communities. Hence, they construct their
roots and identity based on the social life and experiences of people living in
it.Though, there are numerous problems and issues world wide and they
occur at various levels like economic issues, health issues, climate change,
population, wealth distribution etc. Conflicts are bound to develop in groups
and among individuals. They are present in every community group as well.
There are differences in thought, opinions and experiences. These need to be
minimised and resolved in a fair and open manner.

Further, in all societies we notice that some groups are socially excluded and
may face discrimination. Social exclusion describes a process by which
certain groups are systematically disadvantaged because they are
discriminated against on the basis of their ethnicity, race, religion, sexual
orientation, caste, descent, gender, age, disability, HIV status, migrant status
or where they live and so on. Discrimination occurs in public institutions,
such as the legal system or education and health services, as well as social
institutions like in the household. A HIV positive lady gave this testimony ―I
got HIV from my husband. After a year of our marriage, my husband died
from AIDS. When it was discovered that I had become infected with HIV, my
in-laws stopped having anything to do with me and disowned me. So I had to
move back to my parents’ house. After this tragedy I went looking for a job.
Before my marriage I used to teach in a school, so I thought when I needed a
job I could apply to the same school again. But the school authorities found
out about my HIV status and refused to accept my application. Not only that,
I was also humiliated and looked down upon. Later, I got in touch with a
foundation which helped me get HIV treatment. Through them I found my
present job.‖ Social exclusion can also be subtle and unintentional like in the
cases of disability where the common spaces like educational institutes,
market places, government offices are not designed to be disabled friendly.
One of the direct consequences, among other factors, of social exclusion is
poverty in various communities. Socially excluded people are often denied
opportunities causing low income and are left economically behind. Living
with low income can increase parental stress and affect family bonding.
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Application of Poverty could indicate poor living and housing conditions, overcrowded
Social Psychology-I
neighbourhoods and unsuitable environments and influences like crime. It
has negative influences on children‘s health, development and overall
wellbeing.

Thus, there could be numerous issues in communities, that may need

interventions based on the principles of social psychology.

Check Your Progress I

1) List the three categories of community.

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7.3 APPLICATION OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY

TO COMMUNITY
In the context of application of social psychology to community, we can
discuss about the term community psychology that also encompasses
effective application of principles of social psychology to community.

Community psychology can be described as focusing on how individual

relates with communities and society. It also focuses on improvement of
quality of life for individuals as well as in communities and society as a
whole and this is done with the help of research and action. According to
Lafreniere et. al. (2012, page 275), the main values of community
psychology include ―family wellbeing, sense of community, respect for
diversity, social justice, participation of citizens, collaboration and
community strengths and empirical grounding‖.

Some of the relevant values and approaches in community psychology

(Lafreniere et. al., 2012, page 276 and 277) are discussed as follows:
- Sense of community: This is denoted by the feelings of belongingness
and membership that the individuals in the community have towards the
community. The main characteristics if the sense of community are
interdependence and attachment towards other members of the
community.
- Ecological perspective: The focus here is on fit between the individual
and his/ her environment. The outcomes of a lack of such a fit is also
highlighted. Further, any issue or problem is to be analysed at various
levels as individuals are influenced simultaneously by multiple systems
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like microsystem (family and peers), organisations (school, college, Psychology to
workplace), macrosystem (cultural group or political structures of the State Community and Legal
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of Country).
- Promotion of wellbeing and prevention of problems: Wellbeing here
can be explained in terms of both physical and mental wellbeing. The
focus of the community psychology is on enhancing wellbeing and also on
prevention of problems that can negatively impact wellbeing of the
individuals.
- Respect for diversity: In earlier unit, we focused on diversity. The
community psychology also strives towards inculcating respect for
diversity amongst the individuals.
- Social justice: Social justice denotes fair and equal distribution of
resources and opportunities in the community. The rights of the
underprivileged members are also upheld.
- Collaboration and community strength: Attempts are made to develop a
relationship that is collaborative and in which the expertise and the
experiences of the community members are utilised while the research is
designed and programmes are planned.
- Participation and empowerment of the citizens: This involves
encouraging the active participation of the members of the community in
dealing with the social issues and problems in the community and in
bringing about betterment of the community. The goal is also to make
individuals in the community take control of their lives and become
empowered.
- Social action and bringing about social change: Community psychology
aims at bringing about positive social change and direct social actions in
order to resolve social issues and problems.
- Empirical grounding: In this the focus is on research and empirical
methods that can be used to study social issues and problems and develop
suitable interventions in order to alleviate them.

In order to encourage positive influence of the community on the individuals

and to enhance their sense of community, the social psychologists can focus
on the four main elements that are described as follows:
- Membership:This denotes that any community will have boundaries that
are social and geographical and an individuals can be seen as belonging to
certain community or other. Sense of membership can lead to feelings of
safety and belonging ness amongst the individuals, which in turn will lead
to desire to work for the benefit of one‘s own community.
- Influence:This mainly focuses on the power. That is the influence that the
community has on the individual and vice versa. Individuals who feel that
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Social Psychology-I
of belongingness with that community.
- Interdependence: The members in the community are interdependent and
play a role in fulfilling each others needs. There is also sharing of
resources, goods and values.
- Shared emotional connection: A community that is cohesive in nature
will have a stronger shared emotional bond with the community and with
the members in the community. This can be promoted with the help of
shared experiences, rituals and celebrations.

Cultivating a sense of community can lead to wellbeing of individuals as the

community will provide the much needed direction and social support.
Interventions based on the fur elements of sense of community can be
developed in order to enhance the sense of community amongst the
individuals.

With regard to application of principles of social psychology to community,

the focus can be on understanding deindividuation, that is mainly a loss of
sense that is experienced when the person is in a crowded place or is
burdened with overstimulation. This is often seen in urban cities, where
despite of all the amenities and facilities, the individuals may not be fit to the
environment and may experience stress and various other issues (Lafreniere
et. al, 2012). Psychological experiences of living in an urban set up are not
only due to various aspects like pollution, crowing etc.) but they could also
be as a result of stimulus overload. Stimulus overload can be explained as a
condition that is denoted by an overloaded nervous system that makes it
difficult to respond simultaneously to varied stimuli in the environment. This
can lead to adaptation in form of psychological retreating where response is
not provided to all the stimuli that demand attention. According to Milgram
(as sited by Lafreniere et. al, 2012), the following ways in which the
psychological retreat takes place:
- Rushing through social situations and less time is devoted to dealing with
obstacles.
- Prioritisation takes place and thus, tasks that are low priority get less
attention or will be avoided.
- Structures are created in such a way that personal element has no place.
Automation in terms of ATM machines and so on reduces social
interaction to a greater extent.
- Barriers are created in order to avoid social interaction in day to day life.
- Specialised agencies are created to deal with certain issues and problems.
Thus, any problem is directed to that agency and the individuals do not
have to feel responsible.
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In the context we can also discuss about diffusion of responsibility, that can Psychology to
take place when none of the individuals feel responsible and each one feels Community and Legal
System
that some one else will help. This also leads to bystanders effect that we
study in social psychology. The term bystander effect refers to the tendency
for people to be inactive in high danger situations due to the presence of other
bystanders (Latané& Nida, 1981). Thus, people tend to help more when alone
than in a group. A young woman called Kitty Genovese was murdered in
New York, while several of her neighbors looked on. No one intervened until
it was too late. Latanéand Darley (1970) identified three different
psychological processes that might prevent a bystander from helping a person
in distress: (i) diffusion of responsibility; (ii) evaluation apprehension (fear of
being publicly judged); and (iii) pluralistic ignorance (the tendency to rely on
the overt reactions of others when defining an ambiguous situation).

Thus, when a social psychologist works in a community setup, especially in

an urban community, the points discussed above need to be taken in to
considered in order to enhance the person- environment fit and avoid
deindividuation and diffusion of responsibility that could negatively affect
the overall development and wellbeing of the community.

The main focus of community psychology (that could of interest to social

psychologists as well) is on how the community or society have an influence
on an individuals wellbeing. The focus is mainly on the disadvantages and
aversive conditions in the social environment of an individual that can have
an impact on his/ her mental health and wellbeing. And if community play a
role in an individuals wellbeing, then various interventions at community
level can have a positive impact and can play a role in enhancing the
wellbeing of the individuals in the society.

Community-based mental health services are emphasised in the World Health

Organisation‘s Mental Health Action Plan, the World Bank’s Disease Control
Priorities, and the Action Plan of the World Psychiatric Association. There is
increasing evidence for effectiveness of mental health interventions delivered
by non-specialists in community platforms in low- and middle-income
countries (Kohrt et. al., 2018). The availability and integration of mental
health services into communities can promote accessibility, acceptability,
affordability, and scalability of services, as well as promote adherence to
treatment and increase the likelihood of positive clinical outcomes.
Moreover, community services can play a crucial role in promoting mental
health awareness, reducing stigma and discrimination, supporting recovery
and social inclusion, and preventing mental disorders.In a study by
Nimgaonkar et. al. (2015) in Tamil Nadu used low cost task shifting by
providing community education and identifying and referring individuals
with psychiatric problems as effective strategies for treating mental disorders
in tribal communities. Through the program, the health workers established a
network within the village, which in turn helped the patients to interact with
them freely. Consenting patients volunteered at the educational sessions to
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Social Psychology-I
Community awareness programs altered knowledge and attitudes toward
mental illness in the community.

Thus, community based interventions can play an important role in

promoting mental health and wellbeing amongst individuals in the
community.

Social psychologists also need to focus on diversity and respect and

acceptance of diversity among the members in the community. This was
discussed by us in details in the previous unit. Interventions can be designed
by social psychologists in order to promote respect and acceptance of
diversity and reduce stigmatization, prejudice and discrimination.

Community psychology also focuses on research and action in order to bring

about social change. This is in accordance with the definition of applied
social psychology, where empirical research is carried out in order to
understand a social issue or problem and then based on the results
intervention strategies are designed, developed and implemented.
Community psychologists aim to create a positive social change within a
social structure at two levels, firstorder changes, that involves encouraging
changes in individuals inorder to prevent or fix a community problem. And
second order changes that involves changing the social systems that
contribute to problems inorder to ensure that individuals fit well into their
environments. And interventions can be developed accordingly in order to
bring about first order or second order change. Action research that we
discussed n unit 2 of this course can be used in order to study social issues
and problems and develop suitable intervention strategies.

Check Your Progress II

1) What is sense of community?

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7.4 APPLICATION OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY Psychology to
Community and Legal
TO THE LEGAL SYSTEMS System

Legal systems are a part of political, social and economic development of any
given country. Major social changes are always reflected in the laws of the
land. The relationship between social psychology and law may not be
common in our understanding but it helps when we look at it as a ‗coded set
of rules that regulate human behavior and interactions‘. The regulation of
behaviours through set laws helps in conflict resolution and guiding accepted
behaviours. There is a very deep connection between human mind and
behaviours and the functioning of the legal system. In the following case
study of false confessions, we can attempt to see how being ‗caught‘ in a
criminal offence can work on the human mind and have its consequences.

At 16, Huwe Burton confessed to killing his mother. He was still in shock
from discovering her body when New York City police began to interrogate
him. After hours of being threatened and cajoled, he told the police what they
wanted to hear. He soon recanted, knowing he was innocent and hoping the
justice system would clear him. Burton was convicted of second-degree
murder in 1991 and received a sentence of 15 years to life. After 20 years in
prison, he was released on parole, but he never could shake the stigma of the
conviction. Attorneys from several organisations worked for more than a
decade to clear him. They produced facts that contradicted the confession
and showed evidence of prosecutorial misconduct. But for the Bronx District
Attorney's Office, Burton's confession outweighed all other evidence; after
all, who would admit to a crime they did not commit? Burton's attorneys
brought in Saul Kassin, a psychologist, to help with the interrogation.

Kassin explained that false confessions are not rare. Drawing on more than
30 years of research, Kassin told the legal team how standard interrogation
techniques combine psychological pressures and escape hatches that can
easily cause an innocent person to confess. He explained how young people
are particularly vulnerable to confessing, especially when stressed, tired, or
traumatised, as Burton was.

The above case study highlights the role of psychology in legal system. The
focus of the presnet unit though will be specifically on how the principles and
concepts of social psychology can be applied to legal system.

7.4.1 Social Psychology and Crime

The foremost issue under legal system that needs to be focus on is crime and
criminal behaviour. Crime can be termed as a social issues and can be linked
to various other social issues and problems like poverty, discrimination
socio-economic status and so on. Thus, it is important to view crime from
social psychology lens in order to understand it and suggest suitable
intervention strategies to deal with it.

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Application of In this section we will discuss the role of social psychology in the legal
Social Psychology-I
system. The socio-legal approach says that law is directly linked to the
analysis of a social situation involving a legal angle and should be put into
perspective of how the law plays a role in the maintenance or change of the
situation.

When we try to understand crime or criminal behaviour, we need to focus on

the factors that lead to criminal behaviour. And in the context of social
psychology, it is important to focus on the environment or social situation of
the offender rather than only his/ her personal characteristics.

Deindividuation: Once such factor (in the context criminal behaviour) could
be deindividuation (that was also mentioned earlier in the previous sub-
section). Deindividuation can not only have a negative impact on the
community as was discussed earlier but can also promote criminal behaviour
and thus needs to be dealt with adequately. Deindividuation refers to the fact
that when people are placed into groups or surrounded by a crowd, many
people seem to lose their sense of identity or individuality, resulting in the
loss of self-control or moral restraints. Deindividuation is commonly used to
explain various situations of violence, including genocide, violent riots or
crowds, gangs or antisocial group behavior.Philip Zimbardo, a well-known
psychologist, believes deindividuation usually follows as a result of a
complex set of events:

a) The presence of many others encourages a feeling of anonymity.

b) The individual feels that he/she has lost their sense of identity and
becomes part of ―the group‖.

c) The group identity gives comfort in the fact that he/she can no longer be
singled out or held responsible for their behavior.

This then generates a loss of self-awareness, reduced concern of his or her

behavior being evaluated by others, and an increasingly narrowed focus of
attention.

Criminal behaviours like stealing are more likely when individual are in a
group. Deindividuation can also be attributed to collective aggression as there
is a loss is sense of identity when on wis ina group and there may be loss of
self control that could lead to individuals displaying behaviours that may not
be as per the societal norms.

Social facilitation: Yet another concept that we can discuss in the context of
social psychology and crime or criminal behaviour is social facilitation.
Social facilitation refers to the finding that people sometimes show an
increased level of effort as a result of the real, imagined, or implied presence
of others. In a study by Thornberry et. al. (1993) the boys of the Rochester
Youth Development Study who were gang members were found to be much
more delinquent than non-gang members. Results for transient gang
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members, those who were gang members for only one year and presumably Psychology to
less committed to the gang, were most consistent with the social facilitation Community and Legal
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model. Involvement in delinquency was particularly high when the boy was
an active gang member, but these boys were not consistently more delinquent
than non-gang members when they were not active in the gang. For those
who remained gang members for at least tw years and were presumably more
committed to the gang, that is, the stable gang members, these boys exhibited
the highest rates of general delinquency, yet delinquent involvement was
greatest during their years of active gang membership.

Antisocial patterns of attitudes: The study of attitudes, including antisocial

attitudes, and their relation to behavior is an important endeavour in social
psychology. Attitudes are generally thought of as evaluative judgments that a
person makes about an issue, an object, an event, or a person. Thus, a
person‘s attitudes toward crime may be relevant to his or her tendency to
commit a crime. Andrews and Bonta (2002) identified five elements that
comprise an antisocial pattern of attitudes (including values and beliefs):
- High tolerance for deviance in general,
- Rejection of the validity of legal authority and institutions,
- Use of cognitive distortions (for example rationalisation, denial) to make
one‘s antisocial behavior acceptable.
- Interpretation of a wide range of environmental stimuli as a reason for
anger, and
- A style of thinking that is generally antisocial.
The frustration- aggression hypothesis: We can also discuss about the
frustration- aggression hypothesis in the context of criminal behaviour. This
hypothesis is a social psychology model that states that anger, hostility and
violence are more likely an outcome of an individual being prevented from
achieving his/her goals (frustration). This theory is based on the
psychodynamic theory of catharsis, (catharsis — the process of releasing, and
relieving strong or repressed emotion). The following stages are proposed;

1) An attempt to achieve a goal is blocked,

2) Frustration is experienced,
3) Aggressive drive is created,
4) Aggressive behaviour displayed (e.g. violent fantasy, verbal / physical
outburst.

This is cathartic because the aggression created by the frustration is satisfied,

thereby reducing the drive and making further aggression less likely.

The principles of social psychology can thus be used to understand criminal

behaviour and the above points can be kept in mind when programmes are
developed to prevent criminal behaviour and workshops and programmes can
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Application of also be organised at community levels in order to understand the factors
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leading to community behaviours so that the same can be avoided.

7.4.2 Social Psychology and Law

Discussing about legal psychology, it can be explained as the application of
psychology and its principles to legal system. According to Tapp (1973 as
sited in Fisher, 1982), there are three main areas of application to psychology
in legal systems that have been mainly focused on, they are legal
socialisation in communities, the process of judiciary in the court of law and
the criminal justice process. Though in the present section out focus will be
on how one of the branches of psychology, that is, social psychology find sits
application in legal system. Almost all aspects of legal rules and procedures
relate to human behavior. Many assumptions made by the law about human
behavior have been challenged by research in psychology, more specifically
social psychology. In the related field of cognitive psychology, important
contributions from research in memory regarding eyewitness testimony and
eyewitness identification have led to greater scrutiny and occasionally expert
testimony at trials (Ceci and Friedman, 2000).

Social psychology can thus find its application in legal system to understand
the behaviour of the jury, lawyers, eyewitnesses, defendants as well as the
accused. Further, it can also find it application to the arrest, interrogation and
prosecution process.

Police investigation: Social psychology can play a role in understanding the

investigation that is carried out by police. Investigation mainly involves a
careful and systematic collection of information. And this involves
interacting with the victim, eyewitness and even suspects. It is important that
this process is free from any bias and error and is carried out as per the
required procedure as stated by the law.

A lot will also depend on the interview that is carried out during the
interrogation as the interviewer can have an impact on the interviewee (who
could be the victim, eyewitness or the suspect). Interactional synchrony could
take place, where the the body movements are coordinated by the people
when they are interacting with each other. This can have a detrimental effect
on the investigation process. For example, if the interviewer, is a police
officer, is restless during the interview, as a result of interactional synchrony,
the interviewee could also get restless and this could be perceived as
suspicious behaviour by the police officer. Any stress created during the
investigation may make the suspect wrongly confess to crime. Thus, these
issues need to be considered while the investigation is being carried out.

Further, self fulfilling prophecies can also play a role here. Self fulfilling
prophesies occurs when expectations that a person has from another person,
affects his/ her own behaviour and that of the other person in such a way that
the person‘s beliefs will be confirmed. Thus, is the investigating officer has a
144 preconceived notion that the person he/ she is interviewing has committed the
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crime, the interviewee will behave in accordance with the self fulfilling Psychology to
prophesy, thus leading to error in the investigating process. Investigative Community and Legal
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interviews thus can be carried out keeping these aspects in mind and by
employing effective cognitive interview techniques. For example, focus on
rapport building, asking open ended questions, questions that are non leading,
and strategic silence could be used (Day and Marion, 2012). The
investigative officer needs even more careful while investigating children and
questions asked again need to be non suggestive or non leading and neutral in
nature.

Eyewitness testimony: The application of social psychology can also be

discussed in the context of how eyewitness‘s testimony, mainly the ability to
identify the perpetrator. There could be errors in this as well as this
identification will depend on various circumstances. For instance, the
eyewitness could make error when under stress while witnessing the event.
Fewer errors are made when the full face of the perpetrator is visible rather
than when the perpetrator is in disguise or the face is not clearly visible. In
this regard cross-race effect may also occur, where the individuals are able to
recognise a face of individuals belonging to their own race rather than that of
an individual belonging to another race. The conditions under which the
eyewitness has to identify the witness may also play a role. In this regard, the
foils (individuals who are innocent), who stand in the lineup along with the
suspects need to be selected carefully. The line up could also be sequential
line up (one at a time) rather than simultaneous line up (all lined up together).
Thus, errors can be reduced in investigation and the perpetrator identification
process using the principles and concepts in social psychology.

Further, we discussed some of the important skills related to cognitive

interviewing, communication skills and so on. Workshops on these can be
organised for the police personnel in order to help them enhance their
investigative skills.

A tool that could be of help during interrogation is the polygraph test or lie
detector that is based on principles of psychology. Lie detection is a major
theme in ‗psychology and law‘, which in turn is one of the main areas of
applied psychology. To fucilitate lie detection, psychologists and
practitioners have developed numerous lie detection tools. Such tools span
the entire possible range from observing behavior, analysing speech, and
measuring peripheral physiological responses to recording brain activity.

Negotiations by lawyers: In legal system, there are often negotiations that

take place between two or more parties. In the legal context the key aims of
negation are to
- Arrive at a compromise in settling a dispute in a way which is most
beneficial to the client.
- Achieve the best possible outcome for the client without needing to resort
to litigation. 145
Application of - Obtain enough information from the other party to reach a potential
Social Psychology-I
solution.

A lawyer must always act ethically in negotiations. However, there is much

room for debate as to where and how lines should be drawn. For example, a
lawyer should never lie but is not obliged to volunteer information which
may adversely affect his or her case. Negotiators may suffer from a bias blind
spot, which refers to the tendency for people to view others as biased, while
being unable to perceive their own biases, even when alerted to the potential
for bias in their decisions. Rapport is another interpersonal influence in
negotiation, and it is an important determinant of the extent to which
negotiators develop the trust necessary to reach mutually beneficial
agreements (Nadler, 2004).

Jury: A jury is a sworn body of people (the jurors) convened to render an

impartial verdict (a finding of fact on a question) officially submitted to them
by a court, or to set a penalty or judgment. The role of the jury is described as
that of a finder of fact, while the judge is seen as having the sole
responsibility of interpreting the appropriate law and instructing the jury
accordingly. The jury determines the truth or falsity of factual allegations and
renders a verdict on whether a criminal defendant is guilty, or a civil
defendant is civilly liable. It is important that the Juror needs to be impartial
they need to reach a decision based on the admissible trial evidence alone
(Day and Marion, 2012). According to Vidmar and Schuller (2001, as sited in
Day and Marion, 2012, page 263), a juror could have following prejudices
that can lead to bias:
- Interest prejudice: The juror has interest or stake in the trial outcome.
- Specific prejudice: The juror has certain attitudes and beliefs that may
interfere with his/ her impartial judgement of the case.
- Generic prejudice: The juror may have a general attitude related to race
or gender and so on that can interfere with his/ her evaluation of the
evidence.
- Normative prejudice: A strong community sentiment about a case could
interfere with the ability of the judge to make an impartial decision about
the case.

Prison climate: Besides the above the principles of social psychology can
also be applied to understanding and improving prison climate or setup. The
prison has many goals. It can be a form of punishment or means of removing
the individual from the society for safety of others, it can be incapacitation of
the offender, rehabilitation and also denunciation to imply that the behaviour
as displayed by the offender will not be tolerated. Prison includes a social
environment as various offenders as well as the guards interact with each
other on day to day basis. The social climate of a correctional system like

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 Application of Social
prison has three main dimension according to Moos (1987, as sited in Day Psychology to
and Marion, 2012, page 266): Community and Legal
System
- Relationship oriented: Includes support, involvement and expression.
- Personal development: Includes autonomy, practical orientation and
personal problems orientation.
- System maintenance and change: Includes order and organisations,
programme clarity and staff control).

Prisons need to play an important role in rehabilitation of the offender and

thus the environment needs to be created in such a way that it facilitates
positive behaviour change.

Thus, when we discuss about application of social psychology to legal

system, numerous issues are covered including the crime related instigation,
to the eyewitness testimony, to jury prejudices and prison settings.

Principles and concepts in social psychology can be used not only to

understand various aspects of legal system and also to develop suitable
interventions.

Check Your Progress III

1) What is deindividuation?

…………………………………………………………………………….

…………………………………………………………………………….

…………………………………………………………………………….

…………………………………………………………………………….

…………………………………………………………………………….

7.5 LET US SUM UP

To sum up, in the present unit, we discussed about the concept of community.
Community can be explained as a group of people who are functionally
related and reside in a certain geographical locality at certain point of time.
The people also display cohesiveness and a common culture. These people
are a part of a social structure and display awareness regarding their identity
as a group that is unique and separate identity. The three broad categories of
community, namely, rural, urban and sub-urban communities were also
discussed. The unit also focused on the application of social psychology to
community. In this section, some of the relevant values and approaches in
community psychology were also covered. With regard to application of
social psychology to legal system, the subsection focused on social
psychology and crime and social psychology and law. Under social
psychology crime, deindividuation, social facilitation, antisocial patterns of
147
Application of attitude and the frustration- aggression hypothesis. Under social psychology
Social Psychology-I
and law, we discussed about police investigation, eyewitness testimony,
negotiation by lawyers, jury and prison climate.

7.6 REFERENCES
"Community" Oxford Dictionaries. 2014. Oxford Dictionaries from
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communityon 19.07.2021.

Canuto, Marcello, A. & Yaeger, J. (editors). (2000). The Archaeology of

Communities. Routledge, New York. Hegmon, M. (2002). Concepts of
Community in Archaeological Research. In Seeking the Center: Archaeology
and Ancient Communities in the Mesa Verde Region, edited by Mark D.
Varien and Richard H. Wilshusen, pp. 263–79. University of Utah Press, Salt
Lake City.

Ceci, S. J. and R. D. Friedman (2000). ―Suggestibility of Children: Scientific

Research and Legal Implications.‖ Cornell Law Review 86: 33.

Emeghara, U. (2020). Bystander effect and diffusion of responsibility.

Simply Psychology. https://www.simplypsychology.org/bystander-
effect.html.

Fisher, R.J. (1982). Social Psychology An Appliesd Approach New York: St.
Martin‘s Press, Inc.

Goldberg, D., Huxley, P. (2012). Mental Illness in the Community: The

Pathway to Psychiatric Care. London: Routledge.

Hedin, D. P. (1989). Power of community service. Proceedings of the

Academy of Political Science. Volume 37. Werner and McVaugh

Kassin, S. M., S. A. Drizin, T. Grisso, G. H. Gudjonsson, R. A. Leo, and A.

D. Redlich (2010). ―Police-Induced Confessions: Risk Factors and
Recommendations.‖ Law and Human Behavior 34(1): 3–38.
doi:10.1007/s10979-009-9188-6.

Kohrt, B. A., Asher, L., Bhardwaj, A., Fazel, M., Jordans, M., Mutamba, B.
B., Nadkarni, A., Pedersen, G. A., Singla, D. R., & Patel, V. (2018). The
Role of Communities in Mental Health Care in Low- and Middle-Income
Countries: A Meta-Review of Components and Competencies. International
journal of environmental research and public health, 15(6), 1279.
https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15061279.

Latané´, B., & Nida, S. (1981). Ten years of research on group size and
helping. Psychological Bulletin, 89, 308 –324.

Margalit, M. (2004). Second-generation research on resilience: Social-

emotional aspects of children with learning disabilities. Learning Disabilities
Research & Practice, 19, 45-48.
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 Application of Social
Nizamie, H. S., Akhtar, S., Banerjee, S., Goyal, N. (2009). Health care Psychology to
delivery model in epilepsy to reduce treatment gap: WHO study from a rural Community and Legal
System
tribal population of India. Epilepsy Res Elsevier, 84:146–52.

Nimgaonkar, A. U, Menon, S. D. (2015). A task shifting mental health

program for an impoverished rural Indian community. Asian Journal of
Psychiatry. 16:41–7.

Prabhakar, H., Manoharan, R. (2005). The Tribal Health Initiative model for
healthcare delivery: A clinical and epidemiological approach. National
Medical Journal of India, 18:197–204.

7.7 KEY WORDS

Community: Community can be explained as a group of people who are
functionally related and reside in a certain geographical locality at certain
point of time. The people also display cohesiveness and a common culture.
These people are a part of a social structure and display awareness regarding
their identity as a group that is unique and separate identity.

Community psychology: Community psychology can be described as

focusing on how individual relates with communities and society. It also
focuses on improvement of quality of life for individuals as well as in
communities and society as a whole and this is done with the help of research
and action.

Deindividuation: Deindividuation refers to the fact that when people are

placed into groups or surrounded by a crowd, many people seem to lose their
sense of identity or individuality, resulting in the loss of self-control or moral
restraints.

Frustration- aggression hypothesis:This hypothesis is a social psychology

model that states that anger, hostility and violence are more likely an
outcome of an individual being prevented from achieving his/her goals
(frustration).

Social facilitation: Social facilitation refers to the finding that people

sometimes show an increased level of effort as a result of the real, imagined,
or implied presence of others.

7.8 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

Check Your Progress I

1) List the three categories of community?

The three categories of community are rural, urban and suburban.

149
Application of Check Your Progress II
Social Psychology-I

1) What is sense of community?

This is denoted by the feelings of belongingness and membership that

the individuals in the community have towards the community. The main
characteristics if the sense of community are interdependence and
attachment towards other members of the community.

Check Your Progress III

1) What is deindividuation?

Deindividuation refers to the fact that when people are placed into
groups or surrounded by a crowd, many people seem to lose their sense
of identity or individuality, resulting in the loss of self-control or moral
restraints.

7.9 UNIT END QUESTIONS

1) What is a community? describe the different types of communities.
2) Describe the application of social psychology to community.
3) Explain social psychology and crime.
4) Describe social psychology and law.

150