| Popis: |
Eyewitness testimony can be a critical factor in criminal cases, particularly when it is the only or primary evidence. However, research has shown that eyewitnesses may be less reliable in identifying a culprit of a different race compared to their own. This raises important questions about the extent to which jurors are aware of this phenomenon and whether it affects their judgments of guilt. For example, if we find that jurors are generally aware of the cross-race identification phenomenon but do not use it to inform their judgments of guilt, we may be able to adjust jury instructions. Research studies have found that race can significantly influence mock jurors' perceptions of defendants and their recommended sentences. Phan, Espinoza, and Sy (2022) discovered that mock jurors exhibited aversive racism towards East Asian American defendants, recommending lengthier sentences and perceiving them as more culpable and negative than other defendants. Rickett (2021) also found that race influenced jurors' perceptions of a defendant's dangerousness and guilt or innocence, as well as their recommended sentence. In addition, Leippe, Bergold, and Eisenstadt (2017) found that mock jurors were more likely to perceive guilt and prefer conviction for outgroup members compared to ingroup members. Similarly, Saucier et al. (2010) found that the characteristics of interracial crimes, such as crime severity and perpetrator and victim races, affected individuals' perceptions and reactions to those crimes. Furthermore, Abshire and Bornstein (2003) found that the race of victims and defendants can also affect mock jurors' evaluations of eyewitness reliability. To build upon prior research, we aim to conduct a vignette study that examines mock juror evaluations of eyewitness dependability in a cross-race identification scenario. Our study will follow the designs of Mansour et al. (2020) and Vallano et al. (2019), with minor alterations to race and victim race conditions while maintaining a consistent confidence variable. By doing so, we will explore whether mock jurors weight eyewitness decisions/identifications differently when the race of the victim and/or defendant varies. The objective of our study is to learn more about how people interpret eyewitness judgments, which will expand our understanding of juror decision-making in crimes involving individuals from different races. Participants will be presented with a case vignette and asked to make relevant judgments, such as the likelihood that the eyewitness correctly identified the perpetrator of a crime. This research has important implications for academics interested in eyewitness psychology and practitioners in the criminal justice system. |
