Anne van Aaken (University of Hamburg, Law School) has posted Bridging Minds and Practices: Integrating Cognitive Psychology and Practice Theory in International Legal Reasoning on SSRN. Here is the abstract:
This chapter explores the intersection of cognitive psychology and practice theory to provide a more holistic understanding of legal interpretation, particularly in international law. While practice theory emphasizes the social and embodied nature of interpretive routines, cognitive psychology can offer insight into the mental processes that underlie those routines. The tools for legal reasoning used – interpretative methods – often determine the outcome of interpretation. The question is thus how can cognitive processes (like perception and heuristics) be understood not in isolation but as imbedded in practice and being shaped by and shaping legal interpretive practices. This chapter attempts to weave those strands together. How do legal actors’ cognitive biases interact with field-specific interpretive tools? The chapter aims to develop a dual-layered account where the use of interpretational tools is not only a product of situated social practices (practice theory) but also constrained by mental architecture (cognitive psychology).