Juror Decisionmaking, Attitudes, and the Hindsight Bias

• NCJ Number: 110842
• Author(s): J D Casper; K Benedict; J L Perry
• Date Published: 1987
• Length: 32 pages
• Corporate Author: Northwestern University
• Publication Format: Document
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Working Paper No. 17

Annotation

This study examines juror decisionmaking in civil suits against police officers alleged to have engaged in illegal searches.

Abstract

The experiment simulated case materials and mock jurors drawn both from adults called for jury service and a student subject pool. It assesses the impact of an information processing strategy (the 'hindsight bias') and of individual attitudes in awards and finds that both are related to juror decisions. A theoretical model was tested which specifies that both attitudes and outcome knowledge exercise their influence upon the damage award decision by means of their impact on interpretation of testimony. Causal models of the decisionmaking process appear to support the role played by interpretation evidence as a mediator between individual attributes and juror decisions. 18 references. (Author abstract modified)