Explosion Of Field Essay
Explosion of Field
– Dr. Phil and Oprah
– O. J. Simpson and Prosecutor Marcia Clark
• Predict what a jury will do from the demographic characteristics of jurors.
• Predict what a jury will do from the individual characteristics--personalities--of the jurors.
Does SJS Work?
• Can consultants predict what a certain type of juror is likely to do?
• Demographic Characteristics
– Race?
– Gender?
– Politics?
– Religion?
– Education?
– Age?
Can consultants predict what a certain juror demographic is likely to do?
• No.
• Jurors do not reliably vote for guilt or acquittal on the basis of their demographic characteristics.
• However…
• There is some slim evidence that women, as a group, may be more likely to convict with sex crimes.
• There is …show more content…
some evidence that African Americans are unlikely to convict in capital cases.
• But, that is it, and it is not much.
Traditional Personality Test Predictors
• Locus of Control
• Just World Scale
• Authoritarianism: F-Scale
• Juror Bias Scale
Locus of Control
• 1. Becoming a success is a matter of hard work; luck has little or nothing to do with it.
• 2. People who can’t get others to like them don’t understand how to get along with others.
• 3. One of the main reasons that we have wars is that people don’t take enough interest in politics.
• 4. No matter how hard you try, some people just don’t like you.
• 5. Sometimes I can’t understand how teachers arrive at the grades they give.
• 6. Most people don’t realize the extent to which their lives are controlled by accidental happenings.
• 7. The average citizen can have an influence on government decisions.
• 8. There is a direct connection between how hard I study and the grades I get.
• 9. Getting a good job depends mainly on being in the right place at the right time.
• 10. There really is no such thing as luck.
• 11. There will always be wars no matter how hard people try to prevent them.
• 12. The world is run by a few people in power and there is not much the little guy can do about it.
Just World Scale
• 1. I’ve found that a person rarely deserves the reputation he has.
• 2. Basically, the world is a fair place.
• 3. People who get “lucky breaks” have usually earned their good fortune.
• 4.
Careful drivers are just as likely to get hurt in traffic accidents as careless ones.
• 5. It is a common occurrence for a guilty person to get off free in American courts.
• 6. Students almost always deserve the grades they get in school.
• 7. Men who keep in shape have little chance of suffering a heart attack.
• 8. The political candidate who sticks up for his principles rarely gets elected.
• 9. It is rare for an innocent man wrongly to be send to jail.
• 10. In professional sports, many fouls and infractions never get called by the referee.
• 11. By and large, people deserve what they get.
• 12. When parents punish their children, it is almost always for good reasons.
• 13. Good deeds often go unnoticed and unrewarded.
• 14. Although evil men may hold political power for awhile, in the general course of history, good wins out.
• 15. In almost any business or profession, people who do their job well rise to the top.
• 16. American parents tend to overlook the things most to be admired in their children.
• 17. It is almost impossible for a person to receive a fair trial in the USA.
• 18. People who meet with misfortune have often brought it on themselves.
• 19. Crime frequently does
pay.
• 20. Many people suffer through absolutely no fault of their own.
Authoritarianism Scale (F-Scale)
• 1. Every child should have religious instruction.
• 2. This country would be better off if religion had a greater influence in daily life.
• 3. Our country should be engaged constantly in research to develop superior weapons for our national defense.
• 4. Central government should run only those things which cannot be run effectively at the local level.
• 5. If a man is showing a sex movie to friends at home, the police should stop it.
• 6. Sexual relations between unmarried people should be illegal.
• 7. The police should put homosexuals in jail.
• 8. Criminals convicted of three separate felonies should never be released.
• 9. In our country, the sentences handed out to criminals are usually too light.
• 10. A mentally ill man who attacks and kills a little girl should be executed.
• 11. A gunman who kills someone in an armed robbery should receive the death sentence.
• 12. Every able-bodied male should willingly serve for a period of time in his country’s military.
• 13. A man who is ready to die for his country deserves the highest honor.
• 14. Most unions try to prevent the efficient use of labor.
• 15. The strength of this country today is largely a product of the free enterprise system.
• 16. Regulation of business by government usually does more harm than good.
• 17. A woman who has sexual relations with a man for money should go to jail.
• 18. More restrictions should be imposed to prevent young people from having sexual relations before marriage.
• 19. Motion pictures which offend any sizable religious group should be banned.
• 20. Public libraries should contain only boks which are morally sound.
SJS: Testing Focus Groups
• This technique has been shown to be useful…but, slim evidence.
• Draw a focus group from the same juror pool and get their attitudes and opinions about important issues in the trial…everything…
• Nature of the crime
• Characteristics of defendant
• Develop juror “profiles”
• Who will vote to convict or acquit
Focus Group Example
• Review police reports and depositions
• Learn case strategy
• Develop and revise survey
• Collect data
• *Identify correlates of guilt judgments
• Submit report
• Develop jury questionnaire
• Venire observation
• Assist in voir dire and execution of challenges
Key Issues in Example Case: Murder/Insanity
• Number of stab wounds
• No evidence of previous dysfunction
• Evidence of remorse
• History of childhood abuse
• Use of OTC stimulants
Survey Given in Example Case: Murder/Insanity
• Instructions and scale orientation
• Case summary and elements of verdict
• 3-4 key prosecution arguments
• 3- 4 key defense arguments
• Case specific attitude questions
• Best reasons for verdict --free response
• Demographic information
Key Points in Example Report
• Description of sample and generalizability to venire
• Description of the questionnaire and analysis
• Summary of verdict preference
• Change in verdict preference
• Percent citing reasons for verdict
• Attitude correlates
• Demographic correlates
• Summary indicating key issues for voir dire
Summary of SJS Usefulness
• Simple demographic variables cannot predict verdict bias.
• Simple personality variables cannot predict verdict bias.
• Case-specific survey of attitudes of representative sample from venire can predict attitudinal bias regarding key issues in a case.
• Not necessarily the resulting verdict.
• BUT can help plan strategy.
– Dr. Phil and Oprah
– O. J. Simpson and Prosecutor Marcia Clark
• Predict what a jury will do from the demographic characteristics of jurors.
• Predict what a jury will do from the individual characteristics--personalities--of the jurors.
Does SJS Work?
• Can consultants predict what a certain type of juror is likely to do?
• Demographic Characteristics
– Race?
– Gender?
– Politics?
– Religion?
– Education?
– Age?
Can consultants predict what a certain juror demographic is likely to do?
• No.
• Jurors do not reliably vote for guilt or acquittal on the basis of their demographic characteristics.
• However…
• There is some slim evidence that women, as a group, may be more likely to convict with sex crimes.
• There is …show more content…
some evidence that African Americans are unlikely to convict in capital cases.
• But, that is it, and it is not much.
Traditional Personality Test Predictors
• Locus of Control
• Just World Scale
• Authoritarianism: F-Scale
• Juror Bias Scale
Locus of Control
• 1. Becoming a success is a matter of hard work; luck has little or nothing to do with it.
• 2. People who can’t get others to like them don’t understand how to get along with others.
• 3. One of the main reasons that we have wars is that people don’t take enough interest in politics.
• 4. No matter how hard you try, some people just don’t like you.
• 5. Sometimes I can’t understand how teachers arrive at the grades they give.
• 6. Most people don’t realize the extent to which their lives are controlled by accidental happenings.
• 7. The average citizen can have an influence on government decisions.
• 8. There is a direct connection between how hard I study and the grades I get.
• 9. Getting a good job depends mainly on being in the right place at the right time.
• 10. There really is no such thing as luck.
• 11. There will always be wars no matter how hard people try to prevent them.
• 12. The world is run by a few people in power and there is not much the little guy can do about it.
Just World Scale
• 1. I’ve found that a person rarely deserves the reputation he has.
• 2. Basically, the world is a fair place.
• 3. People who get “lucky breaks” have usually earned their good fortune.
• 4.
Careful drivers are just as likely to get hurt in traffic accidents as careless ones.
• 5. It is a common occurrence for a guilty person to get off free in American courts.
• 6. Students almost always deserve the grades they get in school.
• 7. Men who keep in shape have little chance of suffering a heart attack.
• 8. The political candidate who sticks up for his principles rarely gets elected.
• 9. It is rare for an innocent man wrongly to be send to jail.
• 10. In professional sports, many fouls and infractions never get called by the referee.
• 11. By and large, people deserve what they get.
• 12. When parents punish their children, it is almost always for good reasons.
• 13. Good deeds often go unnoticed and unrewarded.
• 14. Although evil men may hold political power for awhile, in the general course of history, good wins out.
• 15. In almost any business or profession, people who do their job well rise to the top.
• 16. American parents tend to overlook the things most to be admired in their children.
• 17. It is almost impossible for a person to receive a fair trial in the USA.
• 18. People who meet with misfortune have often brought it on themselves.
• 19. Crime frequently does
pay.
• 20. Many people suffer through absolutely no fault of their own.
Authoritarianism Scale (F-Scale)
• 1. Every child should have religious instruction.
• 2. This country would be better off if religion had a greater influence in daily life.
• 3. Our country should be engaged constantly in research to develop superior weapons for our national defense.
• 4. Central government should run only those things which cannot be run effectively at the local level.
• 5. If a man is showing a sex movie to friends at home, the police should stop it.
• 6. Sexual relations between unmarried people should be illegal.
• 7. The police should put homosexuals in jail.
• 8. Criminals convicted of three separate felonies should never be released.
• 9. In our country, the sentences handed out to criminals are usually too light.
• 10. A mentally ill man who attacks and kills a little girl should be executed.
• 11. A gunman who kills someone in an armed robbery should receive the death sentence.
• 12. Every able-bodied male should willingly serve for a period of time in his country’s military.
• 13. A man who is ready to die for his country deserves the highest honor.
• 14. Most unions try to prevent the efficient use of labor.
• 15. The strength of this country today is largely a product of the free enterprise system.
• 16. Regulation of business by government usually does more harm than good.
• 17. A woman who has sexual relations with a man for money should go to jail.
• 18. More restrictions should be imposed to prevent young people from having sexual relations before marriage.
• 19. Motion pictures which offend any sizable religious group should be banned.
• 20. Public libraries should contain only boks which are morally sound.
SJS: Testing Focus Groups
• This technique has been shown to be useful…but, slim evidence.
• Draw a focus group from the same juror pool and get their attitudes and opinions about important issues in the trial…everything…
• Nature of the crime
• Characteristics of defendant
• Develop juror “profiles”
• Who will vote to convict or acquit
Focus Group Example
• Review police reports and depositions
• Learn case strategy
• Develop and revise survey
• Collect data
• *Identify correlates of guilt judgments
• Submit report
• Develop jury questionnaire
• Venire observation
• Assist in voir dire and execution of challenges
Key Issues in Example Case: Murder/Insanity
• Number of stab wounds
• No evidence of previous dysfunction
• Evidence of remorse
• History of childhood abuse
• Use of OTC stimulants
Survey Given in Example Case: Murder/Insanity
• Instructions and scale orientation
• Case summary and elements of verdict
• 3-4 key prosecution arguments
• 3- 4 key defense arguments
• Case specific attitude questions
• Best reasons for verdict --free response
• Demographic information
Key Points in Example Report
• Description of sample and generalizability to venire
• Description of the questionnaire and analysis
• Summary of verdict preference
• Change in verdict preference
• Percent citing reasons for verdict
• Attitude correlates
• Demographic correlates
• Summary indicating key issues for voir dire
Summary of SJS Usefulness
• Simple demographic variables cannot predict verdict bias.
• Simple personality variables cannot predict verdict bias.
• Case-specific survey of attitudes of representative sample from venire can predict attitudinal bias regarding key issues in a case.
• Not necessarily the resulting verdict.
• BUT can help plan strategy.