Читать книгу The Psychology of Environmental Law - Arden Rowell - Страница 14

Although environmental law can be deeply informed and helped by psychology, the field should, of course, be about the law. This section begins by describing the origins and history of the field; environmental law scholars will be familiar with this history, but psychologists and nonenvironmental scholars may find this context to be helpful. We then discuss two important features of environmental law that any psychological approach must contend with: That the law is normative, and the law is institutional. By “normative” we mean that law is written, implemented, interpreted, and complied with (or not) by legal actors who have goals. These goals are selected because those actors think that it would be better if those goals were achieved, all things considered, than if those goals were not achieved. They believe that the law therefore should pursue them. Second, and importantly, legal actors have particular and circumscribed roles in the legal system. They are entitled, or even required, to act in particular ways because of those roles. In other words, the law is “institutional.” Recognizing these features of the law is important to understanding what use the law can make of psychology, because to be valuable, psychology must work within these limitations and structures.