JSB174 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Hindsight Bias, Internal Validity, Takers
Document Summary
Methods for studying jurors and juries: post-trial interviews, archival research, questionnaire surveys, simulation/ mock juries, field studies. Post-trial interviews: assess jurors" understanding of judges" instructions, jurors may not be explicitly aware of what influences them. Archival research: records of trials, police interviews with witnesses, only have the information available, cannot go back and ask more questions, high external validity but cannot establish cause and effect. Independent variables are often manipulated: race or age of defendant, admission or exclusion of some piece of evidence or defendant/plaintiff background. Field studies: needs the courts cooperation which can be difficult. Investigate, for example, differences between jurors that were allowed to take notes and those who were not: high external validity, in the american jury days, a district court judge allowed taping of jury deliberations. When it was made public; resulted in the law banning recordings of jury deliberations.
