De rechtspsychologische benadering van rechterlijk beslissingsgedrag: enkele kanttekeningen bij recent Nederlands onderzoek

Samenvatting

A review essay of J. ten Kate's & P. J. van Koppen's dissertation Determinanten van privaatrechterlijke beslissingen ([Determinants of Legal Decisions], Arnhem: Gouda Quint, 1984) on judicial decision-making behavior in the Netherlands. Judicial decision-making behavior cannot adequately be described as individual problem solving. Decisions are made within a social field of infinitely possible variations. An experiment wherein judges, law students, & laymen (N not provided) were asked to decide a number of cases led to such divergent results that ten Kate & van Koppen concluded that, although the psychology of law is a complement of the sociology of law, the traditional mode of research -- the psychological approach -- should be abandoned. Judicial decision making is a social phenomenon & should be treated & researched as such. 24 References. M. Barker