NCJ Number
130679
Journal
Law and Human Behavior Volume: 15 Issue: 3 Dated: (June 1991) Pages: 305-314
Date Published
1991
Length
10 pages
Annotation
Earlier research on hindsight bias, i.e., distortions in individuals' judgments, was extended to suggest that the effect of this bias on lay perceptions of third-party consent to warrantless searches of residences may be contingent upon the presence versus absence of the search target (the suspect).
Abstract
Seventy-two students voluntarily participated in a study to explore this possibility using random assignment to experimental conditions in a between-subjects design. The experiment indicated that hindsight bias in perceived rights of the third-party consentor was influenced both by search outcome and by a web of overlapping and potentially competing social obligations and personal prerogatives, the salience of which was influenced by situational dynamics. When the outcome of the search proved fruitless, the third-party consentor was perceived as more justified in allowing entry and search when the suspect was present and protesting. If evidence was uncovered, the suspect's objections were heeded more when he or she was present. If evidence was not found, the suspect appeared to be innocent, and the suspect was unable to protect his or her rights due to absence, many subjects indicated that the consentor did have the right to allow entry. 1 table and 37 references (Author abstract modified)