USE OF THE SIMULATION METHOD IN THE STUDY OF JURY BEHAVIOR - SOME METHODOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS

• NCJ Number: 67154
• Journal: Law and Human Behavior Volume: 3 Issue: 1-2 Dated: (1979) Pages: 107
• Author(s): R M BRAY; N L KERR
• Date Published: 1979
• Length: 13 pages
• Corporate Author: Plenum Publishing Corp
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

EXPERIMENTAL SIMULATION AS A STRATEGY FOR THE STUDY OF JURY BEHAVIOR IS EXAMINED THROUGH A REVIEW OF PROCEDURES USED IN MOCK TRIAL SIMULATIONS WITHIN EXISTING STUDIES OF JURY BEHAVIOR.

Abstract

CONSIDERABLE DIVERSITY IS PRESENT AMONG JURY STUDIES, WITH THE 'UNREALISTIC' SIMULATION (I.E., SHORT WRITTEN SUMMARY, COLLEGE POPULATION, LABORATORY SETTING, ETC.) BEING THE MOST WIDELY USED METHOD. MOST STUDIES ALSO USED A COMBINATION OF DEPENDENT VARIABLES THAT INCLUDE DICHOTOMOUS AND CONTINUOUS GUILT, SENTENCING, CIVIL SUIT AWARDS, AND ANALYSIS OF INTERACTION PATTERNS. THE IMPACT OF THE FOLLOWING THREE DIMENSIONS EXAMINED IN THE 72-JURY STUDY SAMPLE WERE ASSESSED: (1) GROUP DELIBERATIONS, (2) RESPONSE SCALES (I.E., DEPENDENT MEASURES), AND (3) DECISION CONSEQUENCES (I.E., THE EFFECT OF KNOWING THAT DECISIONS HAVE NO REAL CONSEQUENCE FOR A DEFENDANT). ALTHOUGH ADDITIONAL RESEARCH IS NEEDED TO ISOLATE THE SPECIFIC CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH PREDELIBERATION JUROR VERDICTS WILL OR WILL NOT BE MIRRORED IN JURIES, DATA ON GROUP DELIBERATIONS GENERALLY DO SUGGEST THAT EFFECTS AMONG GROUPS ARE PREDICTABLE FROM EFFECTS AMONG INDIVIDUALS. ALTHOUGH BOTH DATA AND THEORY SUGGEST THAT VERDICTS AND OTHER COMMON RESPONSE SCALES ARE OFTEN RELATED IN RELIABLE WAYS, THERE IS ALSO CONSIDERABLE EVIDENCE INDICATING THAT THEY SHOULD NOT BE ASSUMED TO BE FUNCTIONALLY EQUIVALENT. DECISION CONSEQUENCE STUDIES OFFER MIXED RESULTS THAT PRECLUDE FIRM CONCLUSIONS AT PRESENT. SOME RESEARCH BEARING ON THE ISSUES OF EXTERNAL VALIDITY IN JURY BEHAVIOR IS SUGGESTIVE OR INCONCLUSIVE DUE TO LACK OF DATA, METHODOLOGICAL CONFUSIONS, AND/OR CONFLICTING FINDINGS; BUT THE PATTERN OF RESULTS DOES NOT WARRANT UNIFORMLY NEGATIVE REACTIONS. FURTHERMORE, ALTHOUGH THE 'UNREALISTIC' SIMULATION OF JURY BEHAVIOR IS NOT ALWAYS THE PREFERRED MODEL, SOCIAL SCIENTISTS SHOULD NOT DISMISS THE OCCASIONAL UTILITY OF CLOSELY CONTROLLED EXPERIMENTAL SIMULATIONS OUT OF A ZEAL FOR REALISM. REFERENCES ARE PROVIDED. (DEG)