Understanding and Reducing Biases in Jury Decision Making

这项研究涉及刑事审判中的种族和民族偏见问题。对实际案件中定罪和判刑的审查以及审判模拟实验的结果提供了歧视少数群体的证据。 全国民意调查和媒体报道显示，偏见在美国仍然普遍存在。 但研究对偏见在法庭上如何运作几乎没有提供任何见解，也没有确定增加或减少歧视的关键因素。 通过一系列涉及审判模拟的实验，该项目寻求更好地从理论上理解被告的种族/民族如何以及何时影响陪审团的决定。 它还旨在确定减少法庭偏见的干预措施，从而为法律的界提供政策和实践建议。 在一个寻求人人享有平等正义的多元化社会中，这些都是重要的事业。 将进行八个审判模拟实验，其中黑人，西班牙裔和白色陪审团合格的公民担任模拟陪审员。 他们将在审查被告是其种族/族裔群体成员（“内群体”被告）或其他群体成员（“外群体”被告）的审判后提供判决偏好和其他印象。 在一些实验中，模拟陪审员也会进行深思熟虑。 社会心理学理论指导研究，并为整合社会学，刑事司法，犯罪学和心理学的各种研究结果提供了一个框架。 根据社会心理学理论，威胁感-对社会身份、文化世界观或安全的威胁-应该以更大的内疚感和对外群体被告的定罪的形式增加歧视。 偏见被理解为存在于无意识或隐含的层面，即使在许多有意识地拒绝偏见的人中也是如此。 为了评估这些因素的影响，一些实验研究是否歧视增加时，陪审员参与这些威胁，通过信息之前遇到的审判。 其他实验侧重于减少歧视的方法，包括法官关于防止偏见和审议机会的指示。结果将为刑事司法系统的决策提供信息。

This research addresses questions about racial and ethnic prejudice in criminal trials. Reviews of convictions and sentencing in actual cases, and findings from trial simulation experiments, provide evidence of discrimination against minorities. National polls and media stories reveal that prejudice remains prevalent in America. But research has provided little insight into how prejudice operates in the courtroom and has not identified critical factors that increase or decrease discrimination. Through a series of experiments involving trial simulations, the project seeks better theoretical understanding of how and when a defendant's race/ethnicity influences jury decisions. It also aims to identify interventions that lessen courtroom bias, thereby providing policy and practice suggestions to the legal community. These are important undertakings in a diverse society that seeks equal justice for all. Eight trial simulation experiments will be conducted in which Black, Hispanic, and White jury-eligible citizens serve as mock-jurors. They will provide verdict preferences and other impressions after reviewing a trial in which the defendant is a member of either their racial/ethnic group (an "ingroup" defendant) or one of the other groups (an "outgroup" defendant). In some experiments, mock-jurors will also deliberate. Social-psychological theory guides the research and offers a framework for integrating diverse findings from sociology, criminal justice, criminology, and psychology. Based on social-psychological theory, a sense of threat -- to social identity, cultural worldview, or security -- should increase discrimination in the form of greater perceived guilt and convictions of outgroup defendants. Prejudice is understood to exist at an unconscious or implicit level, even among many who consciously reject prejudice. To assess the impact of these factors, some experiments examine whether discrimination increases when participant-jurors experience these threats through information encountered prior to the trial. Additional experiments focus on ways to reduce discrimination, including judges' instructions to guard against prejudice and the opportunity to deliberate. Results will inform decision making in the criminal justice system.