Jury Decision Making 2 Flashcards

1
Q

What are the persuasion models?

A

Heuristic-Systematic model of information processing (chaiken and trope, 1999)

Elaboration likelihood model (petty and cacioppo, 1986)

Epsteins cognitive experimental self theory

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2
Q

What is heuristic processing?

A

Use pre-existing judgement rules
Minimal cognitive effort
Availability, accessibility and applicability
More likely to agree with experts

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3
Q

What is systematic processing?

A

Comprehensive and analytic cognitive processing of relevant information.
Cognitive effort
Focus on message content, not its source

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4
Q

What’s better - heuristic or systematic?

A

Ideally like jurors to use the systematic processing of the information

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5
Q

How does the elaboration likelihood model work

A

Persuasive message = central route or peripheral route

Central =
Audience - motivated, analytical
Processing - high effort; evaluate message
Persuasion - lasting change in attitude

Peripheral =
Audience - not motivated, not analytical
Processing - low effort, persuaded by cues outside of message
Persuasion - temporary change in attitude

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6
Q

Why is ELM good?

A

Takes info processing one step further, linking it to persuasion

Often used in advertising

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7
Q

Summary of peripheral / heuristic processing

A

Unmotivated or incapable of evaluating argument

Use a mental short cut or heuristic

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8
Q

Summary of central / systematic processing?

A

Motivated to understand and evaluate the argument

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9
Q

What did Baguley (2017) find?

A

Jurors influence by expert credentials in cases with complex expert testimony and technical language but not in cases with simple nontechnical testimony.

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10
Q

What is the Epstein’s cognitive experimental self theory?

A

Thinking involves two pathways/mindsets, operating in parallel

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11
Q

What are the stages of Epstein’s cognitive experimental self theory?

A

Human information processing = rational info processing pathway or experimental ‘’’’’’

Rational - based on analysis, logic and fact. Effortful. - use formal evidence to make decision

Experiential - based on learned experience and emotion. Effortless. - use non-evidential factors to make decision.

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12
Q

What are general processes in criminal decision making?

A

Confirmation bias

Feature positive effect

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13
Q

What is confirmation bias?

A

Favour incriminating over exonerating evidence

Searching for, interpreting, favouring and recalling information in a way that confirms one pre-existing beliefs

E.g. witness placing defendant at crime scene vs witness providing an alibi

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14
Q

What is feature positive effect?

A

Give more emphasis to the finding of evidence about events than the failure to secure evidence

E.g. finding DNA evidence vs not finding any

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15
Q

Emotions displayed by victim?

A

Emotionally controlled
Emotionally numb
Emotionally expressive

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16
Q

What is emotionally controlled?

A

Responds to the questions in a straightforward and matter of fact way, as if describing neutral events

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17
Q

What is emotionally numb?

A

Timid and nervous self-presentation

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18
Q

What is emotionally expressive?

A

Crying several times, with choked, trembling speech

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19
Q

What are heuristics?

A

Simple, efficient rules used to form judgements and make decisions
Mental shortcuts
Work well but can lead to cognitive biases

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20
Q

What are representativeness heuristics?

A

Using categories

High representativeness = very similar to the prototype of the category

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21
Q

What extra-evidential info will be processed by the heuristic/peripheral/experiential route?

A

Defendant attractiveness
Defendant ethnicity/ancestry and gender
Defendant socio-economic status
Display of emotion

22
Q

How are physically attractive defendants treated differently?

A

Jurors more lenient towards attractive defendant (Sigall & Ostrove, 1975)

If defendant was unattractive, experiential thinkers convicted more often than rational thinkers (Gunnell & Ceci, 2010)

Attractive defendants received harsher punishments in cases of negligent homicide and swindling

23
Q

What did Jones and Fitness (2008) find?

A

Ppts exposed to descriptions of criminals experienced disgust

Jurors high on disgust sensitivity were biased towards conviction and recommending lengthy sentences.

24
Q

What’s the similarity principle?

A

People prefer others who are similar to them

Mock jurors give fewer guilty verdicts when the defendant resembles their background, ethnicity and beliefs

Jurors can also react negatively if the defendant is similar to them and has acted shamefully (Kerr at al., 1995)

25
Q

What is the similarity-leniency hypothesis?

A

Jurors similar to the defendant, less likely to convict

26
Q

How did Kerr et al. (1995) test the similarity-leniency hypothesis?

A

Varied race of defendant/juror ands strength of evidence

If evidence weak or moderate, racially similar jurors less likely to convict
BUT (boomerang effect) similar jurors occasionally harsher (black sheep effect) - threat to positive image.
- especially when evidence strong
- especially when in minority group

27
Q

What’s the black sheep effect?

A

Similar jurors occasionally harsher - threat to positive image

28
Q

Issues with jury size and composition?

A

6 person

  • minority views less likely to be represented
  • or less likely to have an ally
  • minority may feel greater pressure to conform

12 person

  • deliberate longer
  • recall evidence more accurately
  • generate more arguments
  • more representative of the community
  • hang more often
29
Q

Who is represented in the jury?

A

Men over represented
POC underrepresented

Perspectives of women and POC are minimised

30
Q

Are random electoral roll samples representative of the population?

A
No 
Non-registration tends to be higher for:
- ethnic minorities 
- 20-24 year olds 
- those living in rented accommodation
31
Q

What are the advantages and disadvantages of unanimous decision rule?

A
Hangs twice as often 
Evidence driven 
Take more time examining the evidence 
Jurors feel more satisfied 
Minority views are heard more
32
Q

What are the advantages and disadvantages of majority decision rule?

A

Takes votes earlier
More driven to reach a verdict
Spend more time voting
Minority group members are not heard as often

33
Q

What are the deliberation styles?

A

Verdict-driven

Evidence-driven

34
Q

What are verdict-driven deliberation?

A

Start deliberation with an initial verdict poll
Deliberation is dominated by statements of verdicts preference

Creates adversarial factions preoccupied with winning the point and silencing the dissenters
Involves fewer speaking ppts

35
Q

What are evidence-driven deliberations?

A

Start deliberation by discussing evidence
Later ballot of juror verdicts

Emphasises group story construction
Seeks to produce a collective representation

36
Q

What did Waller et al. (2011) look into?

A

12 (not so) angry men

Does jury size matter
Social/group dynamic
Natural conversational limits - large groups >4 spontaneously split

Implications for 12 person jury

  • subgroup dominates discussion?
  • representativeness of decision?
37
Q

What did Waller et al (2011) do?

A

Mock jury paradigm
120 UG students
40 min video of murder trial

Required to reach verdict in their groups
- subdivided: (A) small groups, (B) normal jury seating

Self-report measures

  • contribution A>B
  • Inhibition A<b></b>
38
Q

What are jury room persuasions?

A

Social or normative influence

Cognitive or informational influence

39
Q

What is social or normative influence?

A

Influencing others according to existing relations

we feel we must conform to the positive expectations of others

40
Q

What is cognitive or informational influence?

A

Influencing by means of actual facts

we feel we must accept info from another as evidence of reality

41
Q

What is group polarisation?

A

Tendency for group discussions to produce more extreme group decisions than the mean of members pre-discussion opinions.

42
Q

What did Myers’s and Kaplan (1976) find?

A

Found group polarisation in mock juries

After discussing low guilt cases, subjects were more extreme in their judgments of innocence and more lenient in recommended punishment

After discussing high guilt cases shifted toward harsher judgments of guilt and punishment

43
Q

How do persuasive arguments influence group polarisation?

A

Stasser, Kerr and Davis, 1980

Majority of arguments likely to be repeated/heard more often, better elaborated (minority less).

Familiarity breeds ‘liking’ - zajonc (1968), mere exposure effect = eventually give in to repeated concepts.

So polarisation influenced by arguments presented, desire to be correct

44
Q

How do normative influence affect group polarisation?

A

Influence based on a individuals desire to be accepted by, and affiliated with others

Need for social approval (Schacter, 1951)

So polarisation influenced by group members perceptions of self relative to other group members, desire to belong

45
Q

What is groupthink?

A

Groups can follow poor decision making procedures, resulting in poor decisions

The desire to reach unanimous agreement overrides the motivation to adopt proper rational decision making procedures.

Tends to occur in high status, highly cohesive groups.

  • members suppress personal doubt
  • open disagreement is stifled by other group members

Can reduce decision quality

46
Q

What are groupthink symptoms?

A

Might is right
Closed mindedness
Uniformity pressure

47
Q

What is might is right?

A

Illusion of invulnerability (excessive optimism, increased risk-taking).

Illusions of morality (losing sight of individual morals, discounting warnings).

48
Q

What is closed mindedness?

A

Rationalisation (justify rather than re-appraise)

Stereotyping opponents (underestimate argument, character attacks)

49
Q

What is uniformity pressure?

A

Illusion of unanimity (majority view assumed to be universal)

Conformity pressure (pressure not to express arguments against group views)

Self-censorship (withhold misgivings strengthen impression of unanimity)

Mind guards (cults, etc - certain members protect the group and the leader from problematic/contradictory information)

50
Q

What is conformity?

A

Matching attitudes, beliefs, and behaviours to group norms

Asch’s 1951 study show people conform to group majority even when this majority is blatantly wrong.

51
Q

What is minority influence?

A

How minorities influence majorities?

  • consistency
  • confidence
  • defections from the majority

(persistent/confident minority punctures illusions of unanimity. Defections more influential than persistence)

Change of decision vs change of decision process
- doing what’s right as a group as an argument more than the right decision.

Devils advocate
- make opinions against the majority to create a false sense of assurance in the final verdict and promote individualistic thinking