307 posts · 189,118 views
Social science research, current events & jury news all viewed through the lens of litigation advocacy with an emphasis on persuasion, bias, communication, and all phases of case preparation.
Rita Handrich
3 posts
Doug Keene
153 posts
Sort by: Latest Post, Most Popular
View by: Condensed, Full
- January 13, 2012
- 07:02 AM
- 464 views
Simple Jury Persuasion: The “extremist effect”
by Doug Keene in The Jury Room
Most of us are familiar with the strategy of destroying a reputation with a barrage of nastiness. We all bemoan the ‘negative campaigning’ that is ramping up in this election year. But the problem is–it works. That is, “if you throw enough mud against the wall, something sticks”. And as it turns out, it doesn’t [...]
Related posts:
Simple Jury Persuasion: The innuendo effect
Simple Jury Persuasion: The ‘attitude alignment’ effect & persuasion
Simple Jury Persuasion: The ‘what the hell’ effect
... Read more »
Nelson, T., Gwiasda, G., & Lyons, J. (2011) Vilification and Values. Political Psychology, 32(5), 813-835. DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9221.2011.00844.x
- September 30, 2011
- 07:02 AM
- 461 views
Simple Jury Persuasion: Channel James Earl Jones
by Rita Handrich in The Jury Room
Oh that deep uniquely resonant voice! Whether reading Edgar Allen Poe or reciting Justin Bieber lyrics this voice is instantly recognizable. We remember it without even trying. Especially if we are women. Yes. If you have a deep male voice, you have an edge with (heterosexual) female jurors. If your expert or fact witness has a [...]
Related posts:Simple Jury Persuasion: Should we channel Donna Reed and James Dean?
Simple Jury Persuasion: Are those folks in the jury box thinkers or feelers?
Simple Jury Persuasion: Another reason to wear red in court!
... Read more »
Smith, D., Jones, BC, Feinberg, DR, & Allan, K. (2011) A modulatory effect of male voice pitch on long-term memory in women: Evidence of adaption for mate choice? . Memory and Cognition. info:/
- October 7, 2011
- 07:02 AM
- 460 views
Simple Jury Persuasion: The foot-in-the-face technique
by Doug Keene in The Jury Room
What a great name for a persuasion technique! You’ve likely heard of foot-in-the-door or the door-in-the-face techniques and perhaps even the foot-in-the-mouth technique! The foot-in-the-door technique is the idea that if someone agrees to a small request, they are then more likely to agree with a larger request. This technique originated in 1966 following some research [...]
Related posts:Simple Jury Persuasion: If they say ‘No’, ask ‘why not’?
Simple Jury Persuasion: Keep them from going with the immoral flow!
Simple Jury Persuasion: Channeling Cialdini & becoming a master of social influence
... Read more »
Dolinski, D. (2011) A rock or a hard place: The foot-in-the-face technique for inducing compliance without pressure. . Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 41(6). info:/
- February 22, 2012
- 07:02 AM
- 455 views
Brainpower, Beliefs and Racial Bias: Is this smart research?
by Rita Handrich in The Jury Room
Liberals probably did this research. And we’re surprised it hasn’t hit the media in a big way. We have written about research saying conservatives are more driven by fear than are liberals and how liberals and conservatives simply ‘see’ the world differently. So far, though, we haven’t written about which group is smarter. Researchers from friendly [...]
Related posts:
Is racial bias fueling anti-Obama rhetoric?
Simple Jury Persuasion: When to talk about racial bias and when to stay quiet
When you wear glasses you are less attractive but more smart and trustworthy
... Read more »
Hodson, G., & Busseri, M. (2012) Bright Minds and Dark Attitudes: Lower Cognitive Ability Predicts Greater Prejudice Through Right-Wing Ideology and Low Intergroup Contact. Psychological Science, 23(2), 187-195. DOI: 10.1177/0956797611421206
- December 23, 2011
- 07:02 AM
- 453 views
Simple Jury Persuasion: The innuendo effect
by Rita Handrich in The Jury Room
“I know that’s what he said, but this is what he really meant…!” From early sibling conflicts and on into adulthood, we know the power of innuendo. Now we have academic research findings that corroborate that childhood experience (especially for women). Researchers were curious about how hearing only positive information might still be construed negatively by [...]
No related posts.... Read more »
Kervyn, N., Bergsieker, H., & Fiske, S. (2012) The innuendo effect: Hearing the positive but inferring the negative. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 77-85. info:/
- September 7, 2012
- 07:02 AM
- 444 views
Simple Jury Persuasion: Educating jurors about science may have no effect
by Doug Keene in The Jury Room
It’s very frustrating to present logical explanations to jurors about science or technology only to have it fall on deaf ears. What we have come to understand is that if you tell a story that jurors relate to, their are globally more receptive and your scientific explanation fits more easily in their day-to-day lives. Hard to accept [...]
No related posts.... Read more »
Legare CH, Evans EM, Rosengren KS, & Harris PL. (2012) The coexistence of natural and supernatural explanations across cultures and development. Child development, 83(3), 779-93. PMID: 22417318
- November 16, 2011
- 07:02 AM
- 442 views
You killed your spouse. But who is responsible?
by Rita Handrich in The Jury Room
So if a medical professional prescribes medication to you and that medication is known to have psychiatric side effects, are they responsible when you kill your spouse? The Utah Supreme Court is considering that very question in the case of David Ragsdale (who killed his wife almost three years ago, but says he wouldn’t have [...]
Related posts:Motherhood and Employment: Pregnancy Discrimination in the Workplace
A new “Too Much Coffee Man”?
It isn’t just about your case…
... Read more »
Sage, W., & Hyman, D. (2011) Do Health Reform and Malpractice Reform Fit Together?. SSRN. info:/
- April 25, 2012
- 07:02 AM
- 419 views
Everyday racism at work: Hope for African American Women?
by Doug Keene in The Jury Room
Black women are expected to behave like white men when they have reached a higher level of leadership. That is the conclusion of new research looking at black women leaders. Traditionally, white men are expected to be assertive and even aggressive leaders, but black men and white women are often perceived negatively for those sorts [...]
No related posts.... Read more »
Livingston, R., Rosette, A., & Washington, E. (2012) Can an Agentic Black Woman Get Ahead? The Impact of Race and Interpersonal Dominance on Perceptions of Female Leaders. Psychological Science, 23(4), 354-358. DOI: 10.1177/0956797611428079
- February 24, 2012
- 07:02 AM
- 418 views
Simple Jury Persuasion: Pollyanna got a bad rap–maybe
by Doug Keene in The Jury Room
Not only are ‘Pollyanna’ type people good lie detectors they are also good-hearted people in general. They “value relationships, prosocial behavior and smooth interpersonal interactions”. What wonderful jurors! Maybe. And maybe not. Imagine that your case involves allegations of conduct that Plaintiff or Prosecutor feels is an assault on social values. Behavior that Pollyanna would [...]
Related posts:
Simple Jury Persuasion: Christian religious concepts increase racial prejudice
Simple Jury Persuasion: The innuendo effect
Simple Jury Persuasion: Don’t confuse argument with persuasion
... Read more »
Kammrath, L., & Scholer, A. (2011) The Pollyanna Myth: How Highly Agreeable People Judge Positive and Negative Relational Acts. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 37(9), 1172-1184. DOI: 10.1177/0146167211407641
- May 7, 2012
- 07:02 AM
- 408 views
Dining while black: “Because they tip for shit!”
by Rita Handrich in The Jury Room
Wow. So much for that “post-racial society”. On the heels of the new Duke study about all white juries in Florida convicting black defendants 16% more (still) than juries with even a single black member, we also have a study out of North Carolina State University on what the authors dub “tableside racism”. In other words, if [...]
Related posts:
You’re on trial: Is it better to be an atheist or a black radical Muslim lesbian?
The Danger of Stereotyping: Does Gay + Black = Likable?
Don’t confuse me with your ethnicity!
... Read more »
Brewster, Z., & Rusche, S. (2012) Quantitative Evidence of the Continuing Significance of Race: Tableside Racism in Full-Service Restaurants. Journal of Black Studies, 43(4), 359-384. DOI: 10.1177/0021934711433310
Sarah E. Rusche, & Zachary W. Brewster. (2008) ‘Because they tip for shit!’: The Social Psychology of Everyday Racism in Restaurants. Sociology Compass, 2(6), 2008-2029. info:/
- February 3, 2012
- 07:02 AM
- 401 views
We have nothing to fear (unless we are conservative)
by Rita Handrich in The Jury Room
A number of recent research projects have focused on attitudinal differences corresponding to political orientation. Many of them have looked at our political leanings are based in our genes. That is, we’re born this way. We have another one and this one is on how fear motivates conservatives (more than it motivates liberals). First, research participants [...]
Related posts:
Republicans prefer ‘Republican-looking’ political candidates
A screwdriver: The new addition to your trial toolbox? (We think not.)
Voir Dire Strategy: Who’s the Libertarian?
... Read more »
Dodd MD, Balzer A, Jacobs CM, Gruszczynski MW, Smith KB, & Hibbing JR. (2012) The political left rolls with the good and the political right confronts the bad: connecting physiology and cognition to preferences. Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences, 367(1589), 640-9. PMID: 22271780
- February 15, 2012
- 07:02 AM
- 400 views
The hypercorrection effect: Correcting misinformation and false beliefs
by Doug Keene in The Jury Room
“I know it’s true, I heard about it somewhere…”. Simple words that strike such fear in the hearts of lawyers monitoring mock jurors from behind the infamous mirrored glass. We’ve all heard it and the absolute certainty in tone that accompanies this dubious but emphatic proclamation. And we’ve also heard that it’s nearly impossible to [...]
Related posts:
Expert witness influence: Interrogation tactics and false confessions
Does desire trump beliefs based on facts when evaluating scientific evidence?
Images and ads create false memories
... Read more »
Butler, A., Fazio, L., & Marsh, E. (2011) The hypercorrection effect persists over a week, but high-confidence errors return. Psychonomic Bulletin , 18(6), 1238-1244. DOI: 10.3758/s13423-011-0173-y
- February 13, 2012
- 07:02 AM
- 398 views
Aw shucks! It wasn’t nothin’!
by Rita Handrich in The Jury Room
Humble people are often seen as “salt of the earth” sorts with all manner of pro-social qualities. Historically, researchers used a “modesty scale” to assess humility. High scorers on this scale are described as “humble and self-effacing” while low scorers “believe they are superior people and may be considered conceited or arrogant by others”. Researchers in [...]
No related posts.... Read more »
LaBouff, J., Rowatt, W., Johnson, M., Tsang, J., & Willerton, G. (2012) Humble persons are more helpful than less humble persons: Evidence from three studies. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 7(1), 16-29. DOI: 10.1080/17439760.2011.626787
- April 27, 2012
- 07:02 AM
- 384 views
“I punish you because you harmed him!”
by Rita Handrich in The Jury Room
Humans appear to be the only species who are willing to punish others who lie, cheat, steal or violate social norms even when they [the punisher] was personally unharmed or don’t stand to directly benefit from punishing the wrong-doer. The practice is called “third-party punishment”. Ironically, punishment itself is thought to have a foundational role [...]
No related posts.... Read more »
Buckholtz, J., & Marois, R. (2012) The roots of modern justice: cognitive and neural foundations of social norms and their enforcement. Nature Neuroscience. DOI: 10.1038/nn.3087
Yamada M, Camerer CF, Fujie S, Kato M, Matsuda T, Takano H, Ito H, Suhara T, & Takahashi H. (2012) Neural circuits in the brain that are activated when mitigating criminal sentences. Nature Communications, 759. PMID: 22453832
- October 25, 2010
- 08:24 AM
- 374 views
Hard to be a woman? The beat goes on….
by Rita Handrich in The Jury Room
If you like to keep track of such things, we’ve written a number of times on how it’s hard to be a woman. Tammy Wynette did the original (although it’s better if you don’t listen to the lyrics too closely) and the hits just keep on coming! You may remember the controversy around Clarence Thomas’ [...]
Related posts:Redux: Sometimes it’s hard to be a woman (with appreciation to Tammy Wynette, Linda Ronstadt and Anne Reed)
“I didn’t know truth had a gender”
Arkansas: If a judge calls you a ‘slut’ in open court, it doesn’t show prejudice... Read more »
Brescoll VL, Dawson E, & Uhlmann EL. (2010) Hard Won and Easily Lost: The Fragile Status of Leaders in Gender-Stereotype-Incongruent Occupations. Psychological science : a journal of the American Psychological Society / APS. PMID: 20876882
- April 13, 2012
- 07:02 AM
- 371 views
Simple Jury Persuasion: Oooh! Seeing that makes me so angry!!!
by Rita Handrich in The Jury Room
We’ve read repeatedly about how video games might increase aggression and how the internet makes us stupid. Each of these positions has proponents and opponents who hotly debate each other at seemingly every opportunity. And if you have heard of the movie, Mean Girls, then you know what the term “relational aggression” means. Researchers wondered whether [...]
No related posts.... Read more »
Coyne SM, Linder JR, Nelson DA, & Gentile DA. (2012) "Frenemies, Fraitors, and Mean-em-aitors": Priming Effects of Viewing Physical and Relational Aggression in the Media on Women. Aggressive Behavior. PMID: 22331575
- February 8, 2012
- 07:02 AM
- 367 views
Osama bin Laden is dead and (simultaneously) Osama bin Laden lives!
by Rita Handrich in The Jury Room
Conspiracy theorists are strange. While they can provide both consternation and entertainment value in mock trials, the idea they could show up on your jury is not in the least bit funny. New research shows us that not only are they strange–they are also contradictory. Researchers wanted to find out if the suspicion of conspiracy [...]
Related posts:
Birthers, deathers, and did you hear about Jimmy Hoffa?
The Jury Room: A new blawg
“Reactions vary along traditional partisan lines”
... Read more »
Wood, M., Douglas, K., & Sutton, R. (2012) Dead and Alive: Beliefs in Contradictory Conspiracy Theories. Social Psychological and Personality Science. DOI: 10.1177/1948550611434786
- February 6, 2012
- 07:02 AM
- 364 views
My soul is not for sale!
by Doug Keene in The Jury Room
Oh really? Then why are the US Navy, the US Air Force and the NSF looking at how we make decisions to sell our souls? As it happens, when we are considering disavowing “sacred values”, a specific cognitive process occurs. That has to be good, of course, since we wouldn’t want soul-selling to be relegated [...]
Related posts:
“I can see it from both sides”
Derogating do-gooders [like vegetarians] is how I roll
Pretrial publicity & bias: Take a look at the age of your jurors!
... Read more »
Berns, G., Bell, E., Capra, C., Prietula, M., Moore, S., Anderson, B., Ginges, J., & Atran, S. (2012) The price of your soul: neural evidence for the non-utilitarian representation of sacred values. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 367(1589), 754-762. DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2011.0262
- January 30, 2012
- 07:02 AM
- 360 views
Earlobes askew and crooked nose. Aha, it’s a transformational leader!
by Rita Handrich in The Jury Room
Most people would agree that Jeff Bezos of Amazon is a transformational leader. But many of us would likely look askance at using earlobes that are unevenly aligned as a measure of leadership potential. But according to some new research, we might want to think again! As it happens, asymmetry occurs in-utero as a result of [...]
Related posts:
This is what a good leader does not look like
... Read more »
Senior, C., Martin, R., Thomas, G., Topakas, A., West, M., & M. Yeats, R. (2011) Developmental stability and leadership effectiveness. The Leadership Quarterly. DOI: 10.1016/j.leaqua.2011.08.005
Senior C, Martin R, West M, & Yeats RM. (2011) How earlobes can signify leadership potential. Harvard Business Review, 89(11), 32. PMID: 22111428
- May 4, 2012
- 07:02 AM
- 357 views
Simple Jury Persuasion: The “turban effect”
by Doug Keene in The Jury Room
Yes, we know. You get this. Since 9-11-2001, we are all wary of Muslims and other turban-wearing people [who, after all, must be Muslim]. Regardless of the (in)accuracy of this perspective, it is prevalent and seemingly hard-wired in our brains. All the “true Islam does not condone violence” clarifications in the world do not seem to [...]
No related posts.... Read more »
Unkelbach, C., Forgas, J., & Denson, T. (2008) The turban effect: The influence of Muslim headgear and induced affect on aggressive responses in the shooter bias paradigm. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 44(5), 1409-1413. DOI: 10.1016/j.jesp.2008.04.003
topics
join us!
Do you write about peer-reviewed research in your blog? Use ResearchBlogging.org to make it easy for your readers — and others from around the world — to find your serious posts about academic research.
If you don't have a blog, you can still use our site to learn about fascinating developments in cutting-edge research from around the world.
