Conclusion: A Psychological Perspective on Tort Rules, Tort Cases, and Tort Reform

This chapter reviews the ways in which a psychological perspective informs an understanding of how plaintiffs, defendants, lawyers, judges, and jurors make decisions. It then explores how a psychological analysis of the tort system can contribute to the ongoing debate about tort reform, with psychology offering insight into why notions of frivolous lawsuits and litigiousness have become a common part of the public’s torts nomenclature and how tort reform implicates widely cherished values such as the value of personal responsibility. Finally, the chapter raises a number of questions and topics that deserve further systematic study, including causal reasoning within the adversary system; the impact of psychological heuristics; the interaction of liability, compensatory damages, and punitive damages judgments; settlement processes in mass tort;, and the objectives of tort law.