Critical Analysis: Psychology and Understanding Jury Decision

This essay critically examines the contribution of psychology to understanding jury decision-making, emphasizing its importance in the UK legal system. It discusses the psychological measurements that influence juror decisions, the cognitive and social psychological components at play, and the challenges jurors face in evaluating evidence and applying the law. The essay explores factors such as juror behavior, mindset, and potential biases, highlighting the role of advocates in presenting cases effectively. It also addresses the complexities of assessing jury performance, the process of jury decisions, and the potential for favoritism. Ultimately, the essay concludes that understanding the psychological aspects of jury decision-making is crucial for ensuring fair trials and upholding justice, with psychology providing a framework for analyzing and improving the legal process. Desklib provides access to similar solved assignments and study resources for students.

Element CW 2

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................4
Critically examine the contribution psychology has made to out understanding of jury's
decision-making .........................................................................................................................4
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
Propounding with the role of psychological measurements on the facet of the jury
decision-making, which needs to be communicated and contemplated with the scope of
psychology as it puts an influence on the decision making spectrum, later leading to verdict. The
critical role which is played by the legal lay individuals in the legal system of any country. The
standing strong distribution of powers, tends to connect with the legal system and here comes the
decision-making parameters of the jury. The defined trials in the court of law catching up with
the interest encircled by the psychologist. The view point involved in the purview of an
independent jurors, which leads to the propounding of how the jurors get to the judgements, they
seek the evidence, remembers the arguments and interpret the case trial. The reflection of the
jury much likely to be correlated in the measures of cognitive and social psychological
components. Jury supposedly is proven to be held as the walking example of the judgement
giving, decision making, expressions, memory, typecast, hypothesis, inducement and imputation.
The factors related to psychology tends to give about the better form of understanding in the
pursuit of the jury related matters as well as the knowledge about the fair trail procedures.
Connotation of jury decision-making gravitates towards the ideology of psychology, research
carry onto psychology and the indications which assists in the legal policy. This essay will

prescribe the benefaction of psychology in the scope of jury decision-making (Chorn, and
Kovera,2019).
MAIN BODY
Critically examine the contribution psychology has made to out understanding of jury's
decision-making
The vital objective of the jury is beyond different and crucial both for the legal system,
for the country and their citizens. The structure of jury includes , bunch of ordinary and non-
trained individuals who needs to understand the importance of evidence, the knowledge
regarding the facts of the case and the strain for figuring out the procedure of application of
regulation regarding to the laws of the country, And all these parameters to be followed by the
jurors in order to attain to a fair trial and justified judgement. When it comes to the solely study
of the psychology which is taken the under purview of the jury, it tends to be acknowledged by
the study of the behaviour of the juror, the mindset while occurrence of the decision-making and
at the time of their contemplation (Gamblin,Kehn,Vanderzanden Ruthig, Jones,and Long,2021).
At the time of the trail, were the mind of the individual jurors are under the immense
pressure of giving out the correct judgement, by looking at the all the facts, arguments and the
evidence. The measures of psychological positioning lean to seek some basic components which
comes under the scope of the mental and intellect understanding of the individual juror, which at
the time of decision-making is needed to be taken under the account. The role of psychology
study on the basis of the behaviour and mindset of the juror is effective and zestful. The system
of faith and belief which is usually played in the courtroom, the complications which brings
about in the distributive confusing case trial, gravitate and could weaken the decision making
powers of juror. The plan of action needs to focused as well as reflect the qualities of ardent
mindset. The decision which are given as the verdict on the factors of the trial cannot be
arbitrary, false implicated, worthless and undertaken in a pseudo manner.

Understand and tending to gain knowledge about the laws, the evidence, the rules of the
courtroom and the facts of the case is very vital for getting to know the giving of decision
making which will affect the verdict will entirely work, the advocates who lean onto to win the
case needs to understand the mindset of the judges and the jurors which will give them a brief
idea on how should they present their case. If in case, the jurors fails to understand the case and
certainly fails to know the evidence, then the trails can face the measures and will be stayed to be
doomed. It solely depends on the advocates who are presenting the case facts and evidence to
make the case up to the mark in order to get the winning and justice for the client (Groscup,and
Tallon,2016.).
It is not easy to evaluate the jury decisions, which can determined by both legal
components and by the assistance of the psychological patterns. It happens very often that some
star witness or significant evidence comes to the light of the courtroom, and without it is very
difficult to let know if the jury has persuaded with the right verdict. In the scope of assessment of
the jury performance and the powers of jury's decision-making, the questions remain the same,
that What measures can be seen to determine the performance parameters by the jury ?
This question can be answered by three viewpoints of psychology, Firstly, the
comprehensive dependency on the evidentiary support which later tends to be set side by side
with the decision of the resource person.
Secondly, the course of action which needs to be figured out , it to ask the opinion and
the jurors , that if the solely depend their decisions on the scope of evidence. The decisions the
jurors put on the tables needs to be non-biased and must not be negative in any formation.
Thirdly, Jurors must gravitate their applications of decision-making on the spectrum of
legal perspective and leaning to utilize terms of the informational gained from the trial.
Process of jury decisions- The revolving process of jury decision making includes the
precedence which are taken on the account of contrasting events occurred in the past. This
structure gets along within the parameters of dependable or balanced on the purview of subject
matter mounting from the future aspects. The presented framework research which is done by the
jurors expects to be apt and accordingly portrait the basic narratives of the decision on the
counter of the process. The chronicle impact on the fore-ordination which is put on the bias of
the adjudication (Najdowski,and Stevenson,2018).

Factors putting an impact on the decision-making powers of the jurors- The
components which can tends to be involved in the scenarios of factors which can bring about
interchangeable within the purview of the decision-making includes the characteristics such as,
(a) Socio-demographic facet, (b) Interpersonal component of the individual involved in the trial,
(c) facet of publicity and media affecting the trial, (d) Scale of satisfaction attaining by the jurors
after the given adjudication (Peter-Hagene,Salerno,and Phalen,2019).
Jurors making decisions in the stream of United Kingdom- In the spectrum of United
Kingdom legal system, The respective Judge, asked about the jurors to contemplate all the
evidence, the facts of the case, the arguments which are presented by the advocates and other
facets which tends to affect the criteria of the decision giving by the jury. The judges gives an
order to the jurors to provide the complete accord and give out a united judgement.
Determination for the adjudication rely on the basis of looking within the accurate evidences and
understand the scenarios of case. The truth needs to prevails and in accordance jury needs to
provide an correspondence which will apparently prove, if the defendant is guilty or not guilty
(Rodriguez,Agtarap,Boals,Kearns, and Bedford,2019).
Prospective causes of favouritism in juror at the time of decision-making- The major
focal points which happens to be the source which make the juror accountable when indulging
into partisanship, the sources can be examined as, (a) Representation of the trial publicly, (b) At
the time of dispensing of evidence, (c) tenure after the introduction of the evidence
(Dionne,Gooty,Yammarino, and Sayama,2018).

CONCLUSION
In this essay it is prescribes that the jury is considered to be analytical and examining
authority, it creates a trademark badge for the legal structure of the United Kingdom. The
operational functioning which involves in the better understanding of the jury decision making
spectrum, this method of gaining the knowledge related to the jury decision making is apparently
related to the cognitive and social psychological undertaking. The connotations of psychological
parameters are determined to be crucial for the jurors. From this above essay it is established the
circumcircle and working scenarios of the jurors is not easy to do so, it requires mental capacity ,
intellect and through understanding of law within the extent of the evidences mentioned. The
duties which the jurors are responsible to full-fill face reasonable challenges , with a weight on
their heads to prove that the individual standing for the trial could receive fair trial.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Chorn, J.A. and Kovera, M.B., 2019. Variations in reliability and validity do not influence judge,
attorney, and mock juror decisions about psychological expert evidence. Law and
human behavior, 43(6), p.542.
Dionne, S.D., Gooty, J., Yammarino, F.J. and Sayama, H., 2018. Decision making in crisis: A
multilevel model of the interplay between cognitions and emotions. Organizational
Psychology Review, 8(2-3), pp.95-124.
Gamblin, B.W., Kehn, A., Vanderzanden, K., Ruthig, J.C., Jones, K.M. and Long, B.L., 2021. A
comparison of juror decision making in race-based and sexual orientation–based
hate crime cases. Journal of interpersonal violence, 36(7-8), pp.3231-3256.
Groscup, J. and Tallon, J., 2016. Theoretical models of jury decision-making. In Jury
psychology: Social aspects of trial processes (pp. 41-65). Routledge.
Najdowski, C. and Stevenson, M. eds., 2018. Criminal Juries in the 21st Century: Psychological
Science and the Law. Oxford University Press.
Peter-Hagene, L.C., Salerno, J.M. and Phalen, H., 2019. Jury decision making.
Rodriguez, L., Agtarap, S., Boals, A., Kearns, N.T. and Bedford, L., 2019. Making a biased jury
decision: Using the Steven Avery murder case to investigate potential influences
in jury decision-making. Psychology of Popular Media Culture, 8(4), p.429.