Guilty or Not Guilty?

How do jurors arrive to verdicts when the available
evidence is weak?

A study was conducted to test the hypothesis that in
trials where the strength of evidence is weak,
verdict outcomes are significantly affected by the
individuals need for cognitive closure (NFC), in
conjunction with their ideology. 167 jury-eligible
participants read a narrative describing a trial
where the defendant was charged with murdering an
abortion practitioner. Participants reached a
verdict, completed the NFC scale and reported other
demographic and dispositional items. Results
confirmed that, in this specific scenario, high-NFC
liberals were more conviction-prone than high-NFC
conservatives. No differences were found among low-
NFC individuals. There was no direct effect of NFC
on verdicts. Correlations between NFC, ideology,
attribution to internal dispositions and attitudes
toward abortion were also found.

Autorentext

Dr. Claudia Diez is a consulting psychologist and member of the training faculty at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center in New York City. She specializes in personality assessment and behavioral analysis.

Klappentext

How do jurors arrive to verdicts when the available evidence is weak? A study was conducted to test the hypothesis that in trials where the strength of evidence is weak, verdict outcomes are significantly affected by the individuals' need for cognitive closure (NFC), in conjunction with their ideology. 167 jury-eligible participants read a narrative describing a trial where the defendant was charged with murdering an abortion practitioner. Participants reached a verdict, completed the NFC scale and reported other demographic and dispositional items. Results confirmed that, in this specific scenario, high-NFC liberals were more conviction-prone than high-NFC conservatives. No differences were found among low-NFC individuals. There was no direct effect of NFC on verdicts. Correlations between NFC, ideology, attribution to internal dispositions and attitudes toward abortion were also found.