COGAPP - Englich & Mussweiller (1997)

Question 1

aim

Answer 1

to determine the effect of a prosecutor’s suggestion for sentencing on the decision-making of a judge.

Question 2

design

Answer 2

independent sample design
allowed same case study for both conditions

Question 3

dual processing :

Answer 3

system 1 : reliant on past info with goal of making fast decisions - what we use on a daily basis

system 2 : more effortful and requires more concious reasoning - long term thinking

Question 4

participants

Answer 4

19 young judges - 15 male, 4 female - average of 9.34 months of experience

24 experienced law students - as a pilot study

Question 5

what were given to participants?

Answer 5

a case of an alleged rape

Question 6

conditions

Answer 6

1st. demand of sentence of 2 months
2nd. demand of sentence of 34 months

Question 7

average demand of time sentenced given by law students :

Answer 7

17 months (17.21)

Question 8

what were participants asked to do?

Answer 8

all - form an opinion on the case they just read (15 minutes) - then given a questionnaire

half of the participants were told that the prosecutor demanded a 34-month sentence (high anchor)
other half were told that he demanded a 2-month sentence. (low anchor)

Question 9

results

Answer 9

system 1 was used since law students had only 15 minutes (limited time) to fully study the case
decision and thinking process relied on system 1 by using cognitive bias

system 1 allowed participants to make quick and intuitive decisions without considering the logistics

lack of system 2 thinking