We found a match
Your institution may have access to this item. Find your institution then sign in to continue.
- Title
The Influence of Cognitive Heuristics and Stereotypes About Greek Letter Organizations on Jury Decisions.
- Authors
Kramer, Allison; Van Volkom, Michele
- Abstract
The current study utilized data from 140 participants ranging in age from 18-35 years old (M = 19.66, SD = 1.84) to test whether a defendant's affiliation with a Greek letter organization would result in biased jury decisions. Participants read a short case summary about a college aged man arrested for driving under the influence. The defendant in question was described as either being a member of a fraternity, or an affiliation was not mentioned. Participants were then asked a series of questions regarding their perception of the defendant and asked to determine a final verdict. In addition to the defendant's affiliation, participants' affiliation with Greek life was also taken into consideration. Results indicated that nonaffiliated participants were less attracted to the defendant (p = .05). Main effects were also found for both participants' affiliation and the defendant's affiliation on guilty ratings. Guilty ratings were higher when the defendant was affiliated with Greek life, compared to when the defendant was not affiliated with Greek life (p = .04). Additionally, nonaffiliated participants rated the defendant as more guilty than affiliated participants (p = .03). Gender differences were also found, indicating that men were more lenient in verdict decisions compared to women (p = .002). These results can be used to understand factors that influence jury decisions, including the use of cognitive heuristics and biases within the court system.
- Subjects
JURY decision making; COGNITION; STEREOTYPES; GREEK letter societies; JUROR bias
- Publication
Psi Chi Journal of Psychological Research, 2018, Vol 23, Issue 1, p51
- ISSN
2164-8204
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.24839/2325-7342.JN23.1.51