Document Type

Thesis

Publication Date

2014

Disciplines

Psychology

Advisor

Benjamin Faber

Abstract

This study explored the interactions between individuals’ attitudes and group dynamics during the jury deliberation process. More specifically, whether implicit racial bias are correlated with pre-deliberation decision of innocence and which factors contribute to an individual’s tendency to take on a leadership role in a mock jury setting. 10 mock juries, consisting of groups of 4 White undergraduate students, participated in this experiment. Each participant completed an Implicit Association Test (IAT) and a self-report survey to examine racial bias, a self-report personality survey to examine extraversion, and then participated in a mock jury deliberation. Results showed that implicit racial bias are negatively correlated with an individual’s pre-deliberation certainty of innocence. Results also showed that regardless of a juror’s extraverted or introverted personality typology, participants that were certain the defendant was innocent were most likely to become the leader during the deliberation. This study has implications for the field of Psychology and Law because these trends could potentially impact the way attorneys assess and select individuals during the voir dire (jury selection) process.

Comments

Readers: Aubrey Immelman, Pam Bacon, Rodger Narloch

Amanda Nusbaum also presented her research on May 1st, 2014, at the Midwestern Psychology Conference in Chicago, Illinois. Her poster from the conference is attached as an Additional File.

Additional Files
The Jury Process - Poster Presentation.pdf (443 kB)
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