Stephen Tang is an interdisciplinary scholar who applies psychological theory and methods – especially from clinical psychology, experimental psychology and decision science – to understand and reform legal education, the legal profession and legal regulation. Stephen is a member of the Profession, Education and Regulation in Law (PEARL) Centre at the ANU College of Law.

Stephen has led quantitative and qualitative empirical work on projects investigating the psychological wellbeing and mental health of law students and lawyers. His research has included extensive psychometric research investigating personal and institutional factors associated with improved and impaired wellbeing (with Anneka Ferguson and A/Prof Molly Townes O’Brien). Stephen is also involved in a multi-stage project on the development of ethical professional identity and capability in newly-admitted Australian lawyers (with Prof Tony Foley, A/Prof Vivien Holmes and Margie Rowe).

With Prof Tony Foley, Stephen has been examining the positive role of uncertainty and ignorance in legal education and practice. He is also actively involved on research in emerging and interdisciplinary fields such as behavioural legal ethics, therapeutic jurisprudence, mental health law and empirical methods in legal regulation and evaluation.

Stephen has previously convened and taught in LAWS4260 (Law and Psychology) and in the Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice program, and actively supervises law honours students interested in interdisciplinary legal-psychological topics.

In addition to his legal qualifications, Stephen holds a PhD (Clinical Psychology) from the ANU Research School of Psychology. His doctoral research developed a new psychological model of indecision and indecisiveness, informed by behavioural, psychophysiological and experimental studies.

Stephen is only working part time at the ANU College of Law in 2018. Stephen is currently as legal and policy adviser in the Office of the Chief Psychiatrist in ACT Health. Stephen has also acted as a consultant to the World Health Organization on global mental health law and human rights, and is the Secretary of the ACT Branch of ANZAPPL (the Australian and New Zealand Association for Psychiatry, Psychology and Law).