Chapter 12: Social Psychology

Adversarial model

A dispute-resolution system in which the prosecution and defense 
present opposing sides of the story

Cross-race identification bias

The tendency for people to be more accurate at 
recognizing members of their own racial group than of other groups

CSI effect

A phenomenon in which popular TV shows are 
thought to raise jurors’ expectations about forensic science, particularly crime scene 
investigation and DNA testing

Death qualification

A jury-selection procedure used in capital cases that permits judges 
to exclude prospective jurors who say they would not vote for the death penalty

Eyewitness identification:

The process by which an eyewitnesses decide whether 
someone they see in a lineup or photograph is the person they had earlier seen commit a 
crime

False confessions

an innocent person’s admission of guilt to a crime he or she did not 
commit

Inquisitorial model

A dispute-resolution system in which a neutral investigator gathers 
evidence from both sides and presents the findings in court

Jury nullification

The jury’s power to disregard, or “nullify” the law when it conflicts 
with personal conceptions of justice 

Leniency bias

The tendency for jury deliberation to produce a tilt toward acquittal 

Misinformation effect

The tendency for false postevent misinformation to become 
integrated into people’s memory of an event

Peremptory challenge

A means by which lawyers can exclude a limited number of 
prospective jurors without the judge’s approval

Polygraph

A mechanical instrument that records physiological arousal from multiple 
channels; it is often used as a lie-detector test

Scientific jury selection

A method of selecting juries through surveys that yield 
correlations between demographics and trial-relevant attitudes

Sentencing disparity

Inconsistency of sentences for the same offense from one judge to 
another

voir dire

The pretrial examination of prospective jurors by the judge or opposing lawyers to uncover signs of bias

weapon-focus effect

The tendency for the presence of a weapon to draw attention and impair a witness’s ability to identify the culprit

Research concerning eyewitness testimony has demonstrated that juries are not well-informed about many of the factors that influence eyewitness accuracy

TRUE 

Internalized false confessions are most likely to occur when false evidence of guilt is presented 

TRUE

The foreperson of the jury will spend LESS time than other jurors discussing procedural items

FALSE 

Polygraph tests can be fairly accurate when the suspect is naïve and the examiner is competent 

TRUE

Adversarial model

A despite resolution system in which the prosecution and defense present opposing sides of the story

Inquisitorial model

A dispute resolution system in which a neutral investigator gathers evidence from both sides and presents the findings in court

Research suggests that small juries are _______ likely than larger juries to deliberate for a shorter period of time. 

MORE

The three-step process of deliberation

• Orientation: set an agenda, talk in open-ended terms, raise questions, and 
  explore the facts. 

• Open conflict: differences of opinion surface, usually after the first vote is 
  take, factions develop, and groups shifts abruptly. 

• Reconciliation: once group decides after going evidence, etc. reconciliation 
  happens. 

Sentencing disparities 

inconsistency of sentences for the same offense from one judge to another

When do juries pay attention to inadmissible evidence - even after the judge says not to?

• Added instruction draws attention to the information in controversy. 

• Judge’s instruction to disregard may arouse reactance. 

• Jurors want to reach the right decision, so it is hard to ignore information that seems relevant to the case.

What factors contribute to a juror being chosen as the foreperson for their jury? 

• A person is more likely to be chosen as foreperson if he or she is: 

• Of higher occupational status or has prior jury experience. 

• A male. 

• The first person who speaks. 

• Sitting at the head of a rectangular table.