PY4 - Decision Making of Juries Flashcards
Who is a jury made up of and what is their role in a courtroom?
12 members of the public that are over 18 and are randomly selected from the electoral role. Their job is to decide on the innocence of a defendant following a court hearing.
What is majority influence?
A small group of people (minority) feeling a false pressure to conform with a larger group of people (majority).
What is normative and informational conformity?
Normative: people conforming because they want to be liked
Informational: People conforming because they want to be right
What reasons did Smith and Mackie give for how much influence a majority can have on a minority?
Arguments are more numerous
Ideas discussed longer
More compelling and convincing
Give a supporting piece of evidence for majority influence in jury decision making
Kalven and Zeisel (1966) of 215 juries with a majority view at the beginning of a trial, only 6 of these gave a different verdict at the end of a trial
Give a disputing factor for majority influence on juries.
Nemeth (1977): Majority not guilty - won 16/18 Majority guilty won 7/19 –> shows that it can dependent on the verdict not just what the majority says
What did Bartol suggest about attractiveness and it’s effect on juries?
3 types of attractiveness: physical (most influential), social and attitudinal.
More likely to get a more lenient sentence if considered to be physically attractive
Legal teams coach clients on how to appear attractive on the stands
What is the Halo effect?
A cognitive bias causing us to make instant judgement on someones character on one outstanding trait (usually attractiveness)
What are two issues with the idea that attractiveness can effect the decision making of juries?
Doesn’t account for individual differences
Deterministic in the way that it views behaviour
What is a supporting factor for the effect of attractiveness on juries?
Castellow (1990) - Guilty verdicts are more likely when the defendant is unattractive and the victim is attractive.
How can ethnicity effect jury decision making?
Less consistent than physical attractiveness
Race of jurors
