North Carolina State University

The Role of Physical Perceptions in Mock Juror's Decision Making

Many studies devoted to jury decision-making have suggested that other factors than the evidences presented in courts may influence jurors'decisions. The purpose of this project is to examine the effect of 2 of these factors on the harshness of jurors'verdicts: the defendants'face attractiveness and the nature of the crime committed. The project replicates to some extent the experiments done in Sigall & Ostrove and Abwender & Hough's studies. The new results are compared to those 2 past studies.