module 3: social psychology and the law Flashcards
what is persistence of memory
memory is an active constructive process in which inferences about “what must have been” guide memories of “what was”
what was the Loftus & Pickrell Implantation study about?
- Asked P’s relatives to create a fake story of their children (who are the P’s) getting lost
- The P’s said they remembered getting lost and started giving details about the event even though it never happened.
why do some people give false confessions?
the police interrogation tactic uses a
“9 fold process”
- sometimes these tactics can be too effective which sometimes leads to false confessions
how big is a juror selection?
around 12 people but they question whether it would be more beneficial to have less than 12.
how is a jury selected?
through public records like: phone books, voter registration poles, vehicle records etc…
what is the process of being picked as a juror?
they go through a “Voir Dire” : interview with the judge, the prosecuting attorney and the defence attorney then asked a serious of questions based on who your are
voir dire
the portion of a trial in US courts in which prospective jurors are questioned about potential biases and a jury is selected
peremptory challenges
the right to exclude a prospective juror without any justification
scientific jury selection
attorneys accept or reject jurors on the basis of demographic and statistical data
what is “just desserts” justice?
the goal is to avenge a prior evil deed rather than prevent future ones.
what is “deterrence” justice?
reduce the likelihood of future crimes committed by the criminal or by others.
why is it better to have a bigger jury size (12 than 6?)
because it is more likely that the defendant will have an ally in a group of 12 than of 6
what is one way to accelerate the flow of cases through court?
having juries with less than 12 members
