Abstract
The Western District of Washington recently developed an educational video to reduce jurors’ implicit biases. Little is known regarding the effectiveness of this proposed remedy to address a range of implicit biases. This study tested whether this educational video reduces pretrial publicity (PTP) bias. A total of 330 undergraduate participants were randomly assigned to read PTP or unrelated articles. An average of 9 days later, they were randomly assigned to watch the educational video prior to viewing a murder trial. Those exposed to PTP were more likely to convict and found the defendant more culpable and less credible. The educational video did not reduce PTP bias. A more tailored debiasing strategy may be needed to overcome the biasing effects of PTP. Differences in legal decisions also emerged depending on whether participants completed the second phase in-person or online, which has implications for future data collection modes.
Original language | American English |
---|---|
Journal | Criminal Justice and Behavior |
Volume | 49 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jan 1 2022 |
Keywords
- juror decision-making
- pretrial publicity
- bias
- debiasing strategies
Disciplines
- Psychology
- Social and Behavioral Sciences