NCJ Number
86687
Journal
Psychological Reports Volume: 51 Issue: 3 Dated: Part 2 (December 1982) Pages: 1067-1074
Date Published
1982
Length
8 pages
Annotation
This experiment investigated the effects of authoritarian, antiauthoritarian, and egalitarian legal attitudes on verdicts by simulated jurors and juries, using 360 undergraduate students.
Abstract
The students were classified as authoritarian, antiauthoritarian, or egalitarian in their legal attitudes based on their responses to the Legal Attitudes Questionnaire. An equal number (120) of each juror type was selected. They were grouped into six-person homogeneous mock juries and asked to render an individual decision prior to deliberation, an individual postdeliberation verdict, and a group decision. Prior to deliberation, the authoritarian student jurors responded more punitively toward a defendant to whom they were similar. The deliberation process exerted a moderating influence, and the egalitarian student jurors were especially susceptible to this influence. Finally, similarity to the defendant was the most salient factor in determining the decision, and student juries were significantly more punitive toward a defendant who was similar to them in race and socioeconomic status. Study data and 11 references are supplied. (Author abstract modified)