Graduation Year

2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree

Ph.D.

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

Degree Granting Department

Psychology

Major Professor

Edelyn Verona, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Bryanna Fox, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Christine Ruva, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Peter Clayson, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Jack Darkes, Ph.D.

Keywords

Mock Jurors, Mental Health Evidence, Capital Punishment, Defendant Psychopathy

Abstract

Research suggests that mock jurors impose harsher sentencing (including death sentencing) when defendants are described as psychopathic, but reasons for this are unclear. This preregistered study investigated the role of juror anger and cognitive biases (predecisional distortion [PDD]) in the relationship between defendant psychopathy descriptions and mock juror decision-making. In an online experiment, participants (undergraduates in a large Southeastern university [n=410] and a US Census-representative online sample [n=384]) reviewed case facts of a murder, were randomized to expert witness testimony of defendant psychopathy or control conditions and read the prosecution and defense arguments before sentencing the defendant to death or life in prison. Juror anger and PDD were assessed throughout. Relationships between variables were examined via correlation and path analysis to determine if psychopathy was related to sentencing via anger and PDD. Although psychopathy (vs. control) condition was related to harsher sentencing in one of our four univariate analyses, path analyses indicated no effects of condition on sentencing. Rather, anger was the most robust predictor of death sentencing across both samples, suggesting that negative emotions influence sentencing decisions. In contrast, PDD was not meaningfully related to either condition or to harsher sentencing. The current study elucidated the emotional and cognitive experiences that follow from different mock trial elements, such as prosecution and defense testimony, which may impact the extent to which defendant psychopathy affects sentencing.

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