Jurors’ decisions in animal abuse trials

In this work, we are conducting some of the first scientific investigations of jurors’ attitudes toward animal abuse and the factors that influence jurors’ perceptions and decisions in various kinds of trials involving allegations of animal cruelty and abuse.

 

Collective guilt and legal decision making

For her master’s, Kelly Burke is investigating the role of collective guilt about the historical mistreatment of African Americans in the United States in influencing jury decision making and police decisions to shoot suspects. Key questions include: how does collective guilt affect individuals’ attitudes and reactions? Does collective guilt lead people to be more accurate and impartial? Does collective guilt have positive consequences for some individuals, but negative consequences for others?

 

Jurors’ experiences, attitudes, and empathy in child sexual abuse cases

We are examining the impact of a number of factors on jurors’ decisions in child sexual abuse cases through archival analysis of data from nine mock trial studies. The power of such a large data set will allow for understanding the role of jurors’ gender, history of sexual abuse, and other factors on their empathy for child victims, trait empathy, attitudes toward adult/child sex and believability of child victims, as well as juror decision making.

 

Jurors’ consideration of a victim’s depression during deliberations

Led by Dr. Liana Peter-Hagene, this research explores, for the first time, how jurors discuss evidence of a victim’s depression and how these discussions differ as a function of factors such as victim race and juror gender.

 

Adults’ perceptions of children’s testimony: Examining the confidence-accuracy relationship

In this research, we are examining whether adults can tell when children are accurate during forensic interviews, and the factors that affect those judgments of accuracy, such as their perceptions of child confidence and of their own confidence in judgments.

 

Exploration of the promise-honesty effect in children

The aim of this study, begun by Dr. Kari Nysse-Carris, is to determine whether oaths (promises to tell the truth) and secrecy pacts influence children’s truthfulness and whether anticipated self-reactions, social reactions, and moral reactions account for children’s truth-telling behaviors in various cases.

 

Jurors’ perceptions of video evidence from police body worn camera footage

In a collaboration led by Dr. Alana Saulnier, we are exploring whether jurors’ perceptions of eyewitness credibility are affected by corroborating body-worn camera footage, and factors that moderate the relationship.