CHARACTER STRUCTURE AND JURY BEHAVIOR - CONCEPTUAL AND APPLIED IMPLICATIONS

• NCJ Number: 67209
• Journal: Journal of Personality and Social Psychology Volume: 38 Issue: 4 Dated: (APRIL 1980) Pages: 662-667
• Author(s): C J MILLS; W E BOHANNON
• Date Published: 1980
• Length: 6 pages
• Sponsoring Agency: Spencer Foundation
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

A STUDY FOCUSING ON THE EXTENT TO WHICH A JUROR'S PERSONAL DECISION, AS WELL AS THE GROUP DECISION, IS INFLUENCED BY INDIVIDUAL PERSONALITY, ATTITUDINAL, AND DEMOGRAPHIC DIFFERENCES IS DISCUSSED.

Abstract

THE THREE DIMENSIONS OF CHARACTER STRUCTURE IN THE STUDY; I.E., SOCIALIZATION, EMPATHY, AND AUTONOMY, WERE MEASURED BY THE SOCIALIZATION SCALE OF THE CALIFORNIA PSYCHOLOGICAL INVENTORY (CPI), AN EMPATHY SCALE DEVELOPED FROM THE CPI AND THE MINNESOTA MULTIPHASIC PERSONALITY INVENTORY, AND AN AUTONOMY SCALE DEVELOPED FROM CPI TEST ITEMS. INFORMATION ON GENERAL VERDICT PATTERNS AND INDIVIDUAL JUROR EFFECTIVENESS AND INFLUENCE WAS OBTAINED THROUGH SUBJECT RESPONSE TO A SELF-REPORT QUESTIONNAIRE WHICH IMPLEMENTED THE THREE SCALES. INFORMATION ON FINAL VERDICT WAS AVAILABLE THROUGH COURT RECORDS AS A CHECK ON RELIABILITY. PARTICIPANTS WERE 117 FEMALES AND 80 MALES WHO WERE RANDOMLY SELECTED FROM THE BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, JURY PANELS. THREE HYPOTHESES WERE TESTED IN THE STUDY. FIRST, IT WAS HYPOTHESIZED THAT HIGHLY SOCIALIZED INDIVIDUALS WOULD BE MORE LIKELY TO REACH GUILTY VERDICTS. SECOND, IT WAS THEORIZED THAT HIGHLY EMPATHIC INDIVIDUALS WOULD REACH MORE NOT GUILTY VERDICTS. THIRD, IT WAS PREDICTED THAT HIGHLY AUTONOMOUS INDIVIDUALS WOULD BE ABLE TO WITHSTAND GROUP INFLUENCE, WOULD INFLUENCE OTHER JURORS, WOULD FIND THE DECISIONMAKING PROCESS RELATIVELY EASY, AND WOULD EXPERIENCE MORE SATISFACTION WITH THEIR DECISIONS. IN GENERAL, THE DATA ANALYSIS CONFIRMED PREDICTIONS FOR THE PERSONALITY VARIABLES. HIGH SOCIALIZATION SCORES CORRELATED WITH MORE GUILTY VERDICTS, PARTICULARLY AMONG MEN. EMPATHIC PERSONS REACHED NOT GUILTY VERDICTS MORE OFTEN AND FREQUENTLY WERE SELECTED AS FOREMEN. HIGH AUTONOMY SCORES CORRELATED WITH MORE NOT GUILTY VERDICTS FOR BOTH SEXES. CORRELATIONS OF EDUCATION AND AGE WITH EMPATHY AND AUTONOMY ARE NOTED. A REFERENCE NOTE, TABLES AND APPROXIMATELY 20 REFERENCES ARE INCLUDED IN THIS ARTICLE.