New Faculty Publication: Lea Vaughn on Law, Cognitive Science, and Narrative
What is the "how and
why" of law's affinity for narrative? In order to explain why the use of
stories is such an effective teaching and presentation strategy in the law,
this paper will consider theories and accounts from cognitive as well as
evolutionary psychology, neuroscience, and, briefly, cultural anthropology.
This account seeks to address "how" narrative helps us learn and use
the law as well as "why" we are so compelled to use stories in
teaching and in practice.
Brain science, simplified here,
suggests that the first task is to grab someone's attention. Emotionally
charged events are more likely to capture our attention and to be remembered.
Because of their emotional content, stories and narrative (which will be used
interchangeably here) seize the attention of listeners and readers, students
and jurors. In turn, this emotional fixation focuses attention on context and
meaning. Studies suggest that this context is the platform that allows later
and successive integration of details. Thus, stories work because they focus
attention and provide a context for learning the details, that is, the law.
Moreover, the same principles that apply to the success of using stories in the
classroom also bear fruit in practice. Our culture, and perhaps our genetic
make-up, compels us to use stories as a way to both comprehend and transmit the
law.
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