Factors influencing jury decision making (need to finish) Flashcards
What are some characteristics of a defendent that may effect a juries decision?
- Attractiveness
- Race
- Accent
- Gender
- Age
How might attractiveness affect jury making decisions?
The more attractive you are the less you are likely to be found guilty. This is due to a form of cognitive bias where we attribute positive characteristic to more attractive people. Also known as the physical attractiveness stereotype and the “what is beautiful is good” principle, the halo effect, at the most specific level, refers to the tendency of people to rate attractive individuals more favourably for their personality traits or characteristics than those who are less attractive. So in a trial we may assumed attractive people are not capable of criminal acts as it doesn’t fit their physical appearance.
What is the “halo effect”?
This is a form of cognitive bias which suggests we tend to attribute positive characteristics to people we regard as attractive. Thus, in a criminal trial, it might be assumed that an attractive defendent is
How might gender affect jury making decisions?
Pre-conceived notions of the traditional roles of males and females- this links to stereotypes of male and female traits e.g…… and SLT may play a role in this too- how?. McCoy and Gray (2007) suggest that jurors see female defendants as more believable than male defendants. This assumption is likely to be based on males committing high risk crimes and having high re-offending rates. Additionally, female defendants are often mothers with primary responsibility for their children which makes them seem unlikely to commit a serious crime and/or be treated leniently by the court
How might race affect jury making decisions?
There is a higher proportion of ethnic minorities in prison (15%) compared to 8% of the UK general population. There has been a long-held stereotypical view that black men are more likely to commit a crime- this clearly links to subsequent prejudice and discrimination in the court room. Stereotyping and prejudiced schemas have been shown to influence the recall and interpretation of information, therefore it is a factor that could affect the reliability of the juror’s decisions. For example, research suggests that that white jurors are more likely to find a black defendant guilty compared to a white one. Black defendants also receive harsher sentences than a white defendant for the same crime.
How might attractiveness affect a juries’ decision in a negative way?
The more attractive you are the less you are likely to be found guilty – Halo effect
Also, better treatment in court and less harsh sentence
But… if you use your looks for the crime, more likely to be found guilty
How might gender affect a juries’ decision in a negative way?
Females are seen as more believable than male defendants- better treatment in court
Type of sentence also can be impacted by gender = females less harsh
But if you are seen to violate your gender role this could influence a guilty verdict
How might race affect a juries’ decision in a negative way?
Ethnic minorities are found guilty more often and have harsher sentences
However….. Social desirability can matter
Similarity of cultural norms- may be different race but if similar culture may reduce effects
What evidence supports the idea that attractiveness may alter a juries decision?
Abwender and Hough
Their aime was to invesitgate the Attractiveness Leniency Hypothesis (ALE), that attractive defendants are treated more favourably by juries than less attractive ones. However, the researchers also wanted to examine whether this effect was dependent on the sex of the jurors.
There were 207 ppts in the study of which 129 were eomen, and 78 were men. All ppts were asked to judge the guilt of, and recommend sentence for, the imaginary case of a drunk driver who drock recklessly and killed a pedestrian. They found that female ppts were more lenient towards an attractive female defendant and less lenient towards an unattractive defendant. Male ppts displayed the opposite tendency.
What evidence supports the idea that race may alter a juries decision?
Bradbury and Williams
Suggest that ethnic groups matters. The researchers analysed data from real criminal cases in the US and found that juries compromised of predominantly white jurors were more likely to convict black defendants, as were juries made up of mostly Hispanic jurors. In both cases, the effect was more marked for certain crimes, for example, drug offences.
What evidence supports the idea that gender may alter a juries decision?
McCoy and Gray (2007) suggest that jurors see female defendants as more believable than male defendants. This assumption is likely to be based on males committing high risk crimes and having high re-offending rates. Additionally, female defendants are often mothers with primary responsibility for their children which makes them seem unlikely to commit a serious crime and/or be treated leniently by the court.
What was Nancy Steblay procedure to do with PTP?
A meta- analysis was made of 44 studies involving 5755 ppts in a mock- jury trial or questionnaires. Negative information was given to experiemental group ppts and they were then asked to decide on whether the defendant was guilty or innocent. Control group were not given such information.
What did Nancy Steblay say about PTP?
She reviewed past research and concluded that pre trial publicity, for example on TV news, may have a negative influence on juror’s judgemements?
What was the findings of Nancy Steblay study?
Those who were exposed to negative pre-trial publicity were significantly more likely to return a guilty verdict (59%) than control groups who were not (45%). A number of variables were identified which enhances the effect (e.g. if the delay between judgement and PTP was larger, or the type of crime - the PTP effect was strongest for murder or sexual abuse). Other variables diminished the effect (e.g. type of crime such as disorderly conduct, or using students as ppts).
What were the conclusions to Nancy Steblay’s study?
The data analysed supports the belied that PTP leads people to be more likely to reach a guilty judgement, especially related to certain conditions. The researchers suggest one possible remedy would be to hold trials that attract extensive PTP in foreign locations. They also offer an explanation for the effect of PTP, that it creates schemas in the minds of jurors which then become difficult to shift, and the more publicity there is, the more these schemas become entrenched.
