Doctoral Dissertation Research: Exploring Psychological Mechanisms Underlying Plea Bargaining Decisions

博士论文研究：探索辩诉交易决策背后的心理机制

• 批准号: 1823500
• 负责人: Margaret Bull Kovera
• 金额: $ 1.9万
• 依托单位: CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2018
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2018-09-01 至 2023-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1823500&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Doctoral; Dissertation; Research; Exploring; Psychological

Title: Doctoral Dissertation Research: Exploring Psychological Mechanism Underlying Plea Bargaining Decisions Abstract: Approximately 95% of criminal convictions are resolved through guilty pleas, in which a defendant admits guilt and waives his constitutional right to a jury trial in exchange for a reduced punishment. Although the Supreme Court has ruled that plea deals are not inherently coercive, this project will test whether the plea-bargaining system is coercive by identifying factors that might hinder defendants? ability to make objective plea decisions. Using an experimental approach, the project will examine whether interrogation tactics, such as those that are designed to provide suspects with misinformation, influence plea decisions; as well, the project will examine the effect of anxiety and guilt on defendant's plea decisions. This project will consist of two experimental studies. The first study will employ online participants to examine how individuals make plea decisions using hypothetical scenarios in which the guilt or innocence of the defendant, as well as the interrogation tactics, are varied. The second study will employ undergraduate students who will be placed in situations involving real consequences, and where questioning techniques of the students are manipulated, to determine their likelihood of choosing plea deals. This project will contribute to the body of research on the influence of interrogation techniques on the plea-bargaining process and the circumstances under which criminal defendants waive their right to a trial in favor of a plea deal.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

摘要：大约95%的刑事定罪是通过认罪解决的，即被告承认有罪并放弃宪法赋予陪审团审判的权利，以换取减刑。虽然最高法院已经裁定认罪协议本身不具有强制性，但本项目将通过识别可能阻碍被告的因素来测试认罪交易制度是否具有强制性。能够做出客观的辩护决定。采用实验方法，该项目将研究审讯策略，例如那些旨在向嫌疑人提供错误信息的审讯策略，是否会影响认罪决定；此外，该项目还将研究焦虑和内疚对被告认罪决定的影响。这个项目将包括两项实验研究。第一项研究将使用在线参与者来研究个人如何在被告有罪或无罪以及审讯策略不同的假设情况下做出认罪决定。第二项研究将雇用本科生，他们将被置于涉及真实后果的情境中，并且学生的提问技巧被操纵，以确定他们选择认罪交易的可能性。该项目将有助于研究审问技术对辩诉交易程序的影响以及刑事被告放弃审判权利以支持辩诉交易的情况。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。