The Effects of a Defendant's Demeanor on Juror Perceptions of Credibility and Guilt

Pryor, Bert; Buchanan, Raymond W.

doi:10.1111/j.1460-2466.1984.tb02176.x

Cited by 26 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…In deliberations, jurors talked about the judge's negative behaviors; jurors talked about how they did not like the judges, and, again, how the judge appeared to have his or her mind made up. These findings are consistent with research on attorney communication styles and witness evaluations in that most comments are related to negative impressions (see, for example, Aron, Fast, & Klein, 1986;Pryor & Buchanan, 1984;Smith & Malandro, 1985).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

“…It is expected, then, that judge low nonverbal behaviors will "stand out" and draw comment from jurors. Further, the comments are likely to be negative because we are taught to focus on the negative (Smith & Malandro, 1985); moreover, research has shown that negative comments flourish in the courtroom (Pryor & Buchanan, 1984). Thus, we advance the following three research questions: RQ 1: Do mock jurors notice judge nonverbal behavior?…”

Section: Judge Nonverbal Communicationmentioning

confidence: 97%

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Judge Nonverbal Communication on Trial: Do Mock Trial Jurors Notice?

Burnett

Badzinski

2005

Journal of Communication

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This study investigated jurors' reactions to judges' nonverbal communication in mock trials. Participants in 80 mock juries viewed taped segments of direct and cross examination that varied the judges' level of nonverbal involvement. Comments about the judge were solicited in predeliberation questionnaires and unsolicited comments obtained from dialogue that occurred during mock jury deliberations. The investigation found that jurors are aware of nonverbal cues from judges, particularly negative behaviors. Although the high-and low-involved judges solicited roughly the same number of comments, more negative comments were made about the judge displaying low than high nonverbal involvement. The results also revealed that jurors made more negative comments than positive ones. Overall, jurors are most aware of a judge's lack of involvement and apparent bias. Discussion focuses on ways to minimize the influence of judge nonverbal communication on jurors.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

Section: Judge Nonverbal Communicationmentioning

confidence: 97%

Judge Nonverbal Communication on Trial: Do Mock Trial Jurors Notice?

Burnett

Badzinski

2005

Journal of Communication

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show abstract

“…Researchers also have studied a variety of elements, other than the evidence and the law, which might contribute to a juror's decision. For example, studies have focused on powerful and powerless speech styles (Erickson et al, 1978), nonverbal lying behaviors (Pryor & Buchanan, 1984), and current political trends .…”

Section: Factors Influencing Jurors 'Decisionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“The verdict is in: A study of jury decision making factors, moment of personal decision, and jury deliberations—from the jurors' point of view”

Pettus

1990

Communication Quarterly

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“…Even some of the deception research has blurred the boundaries between deception and anxiety. For example, Pryor and Buchan (1984) termed the cluster of behaviours that they had identified as distinguishing between truths and lies as 'anxiety' and found that those exhibiting high levels of the 'anxiety' behaviours were judged less credible than those exhibiting low levels of 'anxiety'. Vrij (2008) reviewed perceived cues to deception and found that the most commonly assumed cue was gaze aversion.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The importance of looking credible: the impact of the behavioural sequelae of post-traumatic stress disorder on the credibility of asylum seekers

Rogers

Fox

Herlihy³

2014

Psychology, Crime & Law

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Memory difficulties following traumatic experiences have been found to result in testimonial inconsistencies, which can affect credibility judgements in asylum decisions. No investigations have looked into how/whether the behavioural sequelae of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) affect decisions. This study aimed to investigate this by looking at whether observable symptoms of PTSD can be confused with perceived cues to deception. An actor performed four versions of a fictional 'asylum interview' that contained differing levels of pre-defined 'deception' and 'trauma' behaviours. Four groups of students (total n = 118) each watched a different interview. They gave subjective ratings of credibility, plus quantitative and qualitative information about the factors that influenced their judgements. Despite the content of the interviews remaining the same, significant differences in credibility ratings were found between interviews; with the interview containing both 'trauma' and 'deception' behaviours being rated as significantly less credible than the interview containing only the PTSD behaviours. 'Emotional congruence' was conceptualised as an important factor in influencing credibility. Results are discussed in terms of possible heuristics involved in judgements of an asylum-seeker population, as well as implications for vulnerable asylum seekers whose symptoms do not conform to stereotypes. Limitations and avenues for future research are highlighted.

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The Effects of a Defendant's Demeanor on Juror Perceptions of Credibility and Guilt

Abstract: A defendant portrayed as either very anxious or not anxious was found guilty less of the time than when he was portrayed as only moderately anxious.

Cited by 26 publications

References 7 publications

Judge Nonverbal Communication on Trial: Do Mock Trial Jurors Notice?

Judge Nonverbal Communication on Trial: Do Mock Trial Jurors Notice?

“The verdict is in: A study of jury decision making factors, moment of personal decision, and jury deliberations—from the jurors' point of view”

The importance of looking credible: the impact of the behavioural sequelae of post-traumatic stress disorder on the credibility of asylum seekers

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