Predicting jurors' decisions : the effects of repeated expression and forewarning in civil voir dire
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Major/Program
Psychology
First Advisor's Name
Kevin O ’Neil
First Advisor's Committee Title
Committee Chair
Second Advisor's Name
Rebecca Mae Salokar
Third Advisor's Name
Christian Resick
Fourth Advisor's Name
Ronald Fisher
Date of Defense
7-13-2006
Abstract
To help lawyers uncover jurors’ attitudes and predict verdict, litigation experts recommend that attorneys encourage jurors to repeatedly express their attitudes during voir dire. While social cognitive literature has established that repeated expression of attitudes increases accessibility and behavior predictability, the persuasive twist on the method exercised in trials deserves empirical investigation. Only one study has examined the use of repeated expression within a legal context with the results finding that the tactic increased accessibility, but did not influence the attitude verdict relationship. This dissertation reexamines the ability of civil attitudes to predict verdict in a civil trial and investigates the use of repeated expression as a persuasive tactic utilized by both parties (Plaintiff and Defense) within a civil voir dire in an attempt to increase attitudinal strength, via accessibility, and change attitudes to better predict verdict. This project also explores potential moderators, repetition by the opposing party and the use o f a forewarning, to determine their ability to counter the effects of repeated expression on attitudes and verdict.
Identifier
FI14061597
Recommended Citation
Danielsen, Erin Michelle, "Predicting jurors' decisions : the effects of repeated expression and forewarning in civil voir dire" (2006). FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 2713.
https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/2713
Rights Statement
In Copyright. URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).