The Role of Emotion and Cognition in Juror Perceptions of Victim Impact Statements
| Autor: | Robert J. Cramer, John W. Clark, Amy L. Wevodau, Andre Kehn |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2014 |
| Předmět: |
Need for cognition
Sociology and Political Science media_common.quotation_subject education Poison control Human factors and ergonomics Victim impact statement Affect (psychology) humanities Blame Jury Vignette Anthropology behavior and behavior mechanisms Law Social psychology health care economics and organizations media_common |
| Zdroj: | Social Justice Research. 27:45-66 |
| ISSN: | 1573-6725 0885-7466 |
| DOI: | 10.1007/s11211-014-0203-9 |
| Popis: | Recent legislation has contributed to an increasing number of victims participating in the trial process by way of providing victim impact statements (VISs). The present study evaluated jurors’ perceptions of VISs in a jury-eligible sample. Participants were 402 jury-eligible community members in the southwestern United States. Using a vignette-based method, VIS presence and content (i.e., Victim Harm versus Victim Emotion information) were examined for their influence on sentencing decisions and blame attribution. Individual differences of need for affect (NFA) and need for cognition (NFC) were featured as moderators of these relations. Notable results included significantly lengthier sentencing recommendations and decreased levels of victim blame in the presence of a VIS, regardless of content. In addition, juror NFC was significantly positively associated with perpetrator blame, while NFA moderated the relation between VIS content and sentencing length. The presence of a VIS impacted blame and sentencing, although jury panel member individual differences moderated such effects. Implications for victim rights policy, trial consultation, and social–emotional theory are discussed. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
| Externí odkaz: |
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