Developing a Model of Jury Decision Making: The Influence of Group Dynamic Variables on Story Construction

过去的研究人员已经确定了陪审员个人决策的模型，其他人已经确定了影响群体决策过程的变量。然而，到目前为止，还没有一个统一的陪审团决策模型来解释这两个研究领域。本项目将首次将群体过程的研究与陪审团决策的故事模型（最被广泛接受的陪审团决策模型）的研究结合起来，开始创建一个全面的陪审团决策模型。模拟陪审员将观看重新制定的审判，然后审议作出裁决。审议将根据逻辑、内容、复杂性以及陪审团是否创建统一的故事（以及他们讨论了多少故事）进行编码。经过审议后，陪审员们将分别回答几个问题，这些问题与他们在审判和审议期间提出的故事有关。研究者将使用这些定性和定量的方法来检验故事模型是否转化为群体决策，以及为什么陪审员在审议过程中改变他们对证据、证人或判决的决定。该项目将为学生提供参与社会科学教学、培训、学习和研究的机会。此外，这项研究的结果将广泛传播到可能接触到科学家的渠道，以进一步开展科学研究。它还将分发给律师、法官、警察和社区成员，以扩大对陪审团决策过程的了解，以及可以采取哪些措施来提高陪审团决定的质量。本研究的结果将提供有关审议过程的宝贵信息，并将开始发展统一的陪审团决策理论，该理论将我们对陪审员个人决策过程的了解与群体决策过程相结合。

Past researchers have identified models of individual juror decision making, and others have identified variables that influence the decision making processes of groups. However, to date, there is no unified model of jury decision making that accounts for both of these areas of research. This project will be the first to integrate research on group processes with research on the story model of jury decision making (the most widely accepted model of juror decision making) to begin the process of creating a comprehensive model of jury decision making. Mock jurors will view a re-enacted trial and then deliberate to a verdict. Deliberations will be coded for logistics, content, complexity, and whether juries create unified stories (and how many stories they discuss). After deliberation, jurors will individually answer several questions about the story they developed during trial and deliberation. The investigator will use these qualitative and quantitative measures to examine whether the story model translates to the group decision and why jurors change their decisions about evidence, witnesses, or verdict during deliberation. This project will provide opportunities for students to participate in social science in an integration of teaching, training, learning, and research. In addition, results of this research will be disseminated broadly to outlets likely to reach scientists in order to further scientific research. It will also be disseminated to attorneys, judges, police officers, and community members to expand understanding of the jury decision making process as well as what can be done to improve the quality of the jury's decision. The results of this research will provide valuable information about the deliberation process, and will begin the development of a unified theory of jury decision making that integrates what we know about the individual juror's decision making process with the group decision making process.