NCJ Number
64544
Journal
Law and Human Behavior Volume: 2 Issue: 2 Dated: (1978) Pages: 363-376
Date Published
1978
Length
9 pages
Annotation
WHEN A GIVEN NUMBER OF JURORS ARE HETEROGENEOUS AND SEPARATE, THEIR OPINIONS ABOUT A CASE ARE MORE INDEPENDENTLY DERIVED AND HAVE MORE IMPACT UPON A NEUTRAL JUROR.
Abstract
APPLYING ATTRIBUTION THEORY TO ONE ASPECT OF JURY DELIBERATIONS, RESEARCH SHOWED THAT A DISSENTING JUROR FACED CONSIDERABLE SOCIAL PRESSURE FROM THE MAJORITY TO ACCEPT THEIR POSITION. POSTULATING THAT WHETHER A DISSENTER CONFORMED OR NOT SHOULD BE DEPENDENT, IN PART, ON ATTRIBUTIONS MADE ABOUT THE CAUSE OF THE MAJORITY'S BEHAVIOR, IT WAS HYPOTHESIZED THAT TO THE EXTENT THE MAJORITY JURORS ARE PERCEIVED TO BE INDEPENDENT OF ONE ANOTHER, THEIR CREDIBILITY SHOULD BE HIGH AND THE DISSENTER WILL BE LIKELY TO ADOPT THEIR POSITION. ON THE OTHER HAND, AGREEMENT AMONG HOMOGENEOUS JURORS MAY BE ATTRIBUTED TO MUTUAL INFLUENCE OR SIMILAR PERSONALITIES AND DISCOUNTED AS A RELIABLE SOURCE OF INFORMATION ABOUT THE CASE. TWO STUDIES INVESTIGATED THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BOTH ATTRIBUTIONS OF INDEPENDENCE AND SOCIAL INFLUENCE, AND THE HOMOGENEITY OF THE JURORS ATTEMPTING INFLUENCE. THE STUDIES THUS EXAMINED THE EFFECTS OF CATEGORIZING JURORS INTO GROUPS ON THEIR ABILITY TO INFLUENCE A SUBJECT. FINDINGS SHOWED THAT THE MANNER IN WHICH JURORS ARE INITIALLY CATEGORIZED INTO SOCIAL GROUPS AFFECTS THEIR PERCEIVED INDEPENDENCE AND PERSUASIVE IMPACT. PREDICTION AND UNDERSTANDING OF BEHAVIOR IN ANY SOCIAL SITUATION, INCLUDING THE JURY WILL IMPROVE IN RELATION TO THE AMOUNT OF CONSIDERATION GIVEN TO HOW PERSONS ATTEND TO, STRUCTURE, AND INTEGRATE INFORMATION AVAILABLE TO THEM. A LIST OF REFERENCES IS GIVEN. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED---MJW)