Understanding and Reducing Biases in Jury Decision Making

这项研究解决了刑事审判中关于种族和民族偏见的问题。对实际案件的定罪和量刑的审查，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，偏见在美国仍然很普遍。但研究几乎没有提供偏见在法庭上如何运作的洞察力，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，从而向法律界提供政策和实践建议。在一个为所有人寻求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，由符合陪审团资格的黑人、西班牙裔和白人公民担任模拟陪审员。他们将提供判决偏好和其他印象，在审查的审判中，被告是其种族/民族群体(“内部群体”被告)或其他群体之一(“外部群体”被告)的成员。在一些实验中，模拟陪审员也会深思熟虑。社会心理学理论指导着这项研究，并为整合社会学、刑事司法、犯罪学和心理学的不同发现提供了一个框架。根据社会心理学理论，一种威胁感--对社会认同、文化世界观或安全--应该以更大的罪恶感和对非群体被告的信念的形式增加歧视。偏见被理解为存在于无意识或隐含的水平上，甚至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，一些实验考察了当参与者陪审员通过审判前遇到的信息经历这些威胁时，歧视是否会增加。其他实验侧重于减少歧视的方法，包括法官的指示，以防止偏见和商议的机会。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.