scholarly journals Battling Bias: Can Two Implicit Bias Remedies Reduce Juror Racial Bias?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine L Ruva ◽  
Elizabeth Sykes ◽  
Kendall Donovan Smith ◽  
Lillian R Deaton ◽  
SUMEYYE ERDEM
Keyword(s):  
Racial Bias ◽  
Implicit Bias ◽  
Unconscious Bias ◽  
Mock Jurors ◽  
The Unconscious ◽  
Black And White ◽  
Project Study ◽  
Race Effects ◽  
Murder Trial ◽  
White Defendants

Two studies examined the effectiveness of two implicit bias remedies at reducing racial bias in Black and White mock-jurors’ decisions. Participants were recruited through a Qualtrics Panel Project. Study 1 (murder trial; N = 554): Mage = 46.53; 49.1% female; 50% Black; 50.0% White. Study 2 (battery trial; N = 539): Mage = 46.46; 50.5% female; 49.5% Black; 50.5% White. Half of the participants viewed the UBJ video. Then participants read pretrial instructions (general or UBJ), trial summary, posttrial instructions (general or UBJ), and completed measures. Mock-juror race was expected to moderate the effect of defendant race (Black vs. White) on verdicts, sentences, culpability, and credibility, with jurors being more lenient toward same-race defendants. This interaction would be moderated by the unconscious bias juror (UBJ) video and instructions, reducing bias for White jurors only. Mock-jurors’ counterfactual endorsements would mediate race effects on verdicts. In Study 1, juror race moderated the effect of defendant race on verdicts, culpability, and credibility—White, but not Black, jurors demonstrated greater leniency for Black versus White defendants. The UBJ video moderated the effect of defendant race on murder counterfactual endorsement—when the video was present defendant race did not significantly affect endorsement. This endorsement mediated the effect of defendant race on White jurors’ verdicts. In Study 2, juror race influenced verdicts and sentences—White jurors were more lenient regardless of defendant race. The effect of juror race on sentence was qualified by the UBJ video—when present the effect of race was no longer significant. The UBJ remedies increased all mock jurors’ defendant credibility ratings. In conclusion, the debiasing interventions were ineffective in reducing racial bias in jurors’ verdicts. However, they do impact aspects of juror attribution and may be effective with modification.

Insanity Defense: Ethnicity of Defendants and Mock Jurors

1992 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 243-256 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tori Towers ◽  
Hugh McGinley ◽  
Richard A. Pasewark
Keyword(s):  
Socioeconomic Status ◽  
Insanity Defense ◽  
Mock Jurors ◽  
Black And White ◽  
White Defendants

Prior research, in which only white subjects were used and socioeconomic status (SES) of the defendant was not controlled, has indicated that ethnicity of defendants influences the decisions of mock jurors in homicide trials in which insanity is an issue. Controlling for SES, the present study used black and white mock jurors who rendered verdicts about black or white defendants. No significant effect was found for ethnicity of either defendant or respondent.

scholarly journals Reducing Racial Health Care Disparities

2014 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 204-212 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louis A. Penner ◽  
Irene V. Blair ◽  
Terrance L. Albrecht ◽  
John F. Dovidio
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Racial Disparities ◽  
Health Care Disparities ◽  
Racial Bias ◽  
Care Delivery ◽  
Implicit Bias ◽  
Health Care Delivery System ◽  
Black And White ◽  
Black Patients ◽  
The Impact

Large health disparities persist between Black and White Americans. The social psychology of intergroup relations suggests some solutions to health care disparities due to racial bias. Three paths can lead from racial bias to poorer health among Black Americans. First is the already well-documented physical and psychological toll of being a target of persistent discrimination. Second, implicit bias can affect physicians’ perceptions and decisions, creating racial disparities in medical treatments, although evidence is mixed. The third path describes a less direct route: Physicians’ implicit racial bias negatively affects communication and the patient–provider relationship, resulting in racial disparities in the outcomes of medical interactions. Strong evidence shows that physician implicit bias negatively affects Black patients’ reactions to medical interactions, and there is good circumstantial evidence that these reactions affect health outcomes of the interactions. Solutions focused on the physician, the patient, and the health care delivery system; all agree that trying to ignore patients’ race or to change physicians’ implicit racial attitudes will not be effective and may actually be counterproductive. Instead, solutions can minimize the impact of racial bias on medical decisions and on patient–provider relationships.

The Contribution of Static and Dynamic Factors to Recidivism Prediction for Black and White Youth Offenders

2021 ◽  
pp. 0306624X2110226
Author(s):  
William T. Miller ◽  
Christina A. Campbell ◽  
Jordan Papp ◽  
Ebony Ruhland
Keyword(s):  
Racial Bias ◽  
Black Youth ◽  
Criminal History ◽  
Risk Assessments ◽  
White Youth ◽  
Youth Offenders ◽  
Black And White ◽  
Dynamic Factors ◽  
Recidivism Prediction ◽  
The Individual

Scholars have presented concerns about potential for racial bias in risk assessments as a result of the inclusion of static factors, such as criminal history in risk assessments. The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which static factors add incremental validity to the dynamic factors in criminogenic risk assessments. This study examined the Youth Level of Service/Case Management Inventory (YLS/CMI) in a sample of 1,270 youth offenders from a medium-sized Midwestern county between June 2004 and November 2013. Logistic regression was used to determine the predictive validity of the YLS/CMI and the individual contribution of static and dynamic domains of the assessment. Results indicated that the static domain differentially predicted recidivism for Black and White youth. In particular, the static domain was a significant predictor of recidivism for White youth, but this was not the case for Black youth. The dynamic domain significantly predicted recidivism for both Black and White offenders, and static risk factors improved prediction of recidivism for White youth, but not for Black youth.

scholarly journals Black and White Lies: Race-Based Biases in Deception Judgments

2017 ◽  
Vol 28 (8) ◽  
pp. 1125-1136 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Paige Lloyd ◽  
Kurt Hugenberg ◽  
Allen R. McConnell ◽  
Jonathan W. Kunstman ◽  
Jason C. Deska
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Eye Tracking ◽  
Interpersonal Relationships ◽  
Late Stage ◽  
Racial Bias ◽  
Lie Detection ◽  
Intergroup Communication ◽  
Black And White ◽  
Truth Bias ◽  
Practical Implications

In six studies ( N = 605), participants made deception judgments about videos of Black and White targets who told truths and lies about interpersonal relationships. In Studies 1a, 1b, 1c, and 2, White participants judged that Black targets were telling the truth more often than they judged that White targets were telling the truth. This truth bias was predicted by Whites’ motivation to respond without prejudice. For Black participants, however, motives to respond without prejudice did not moderate responses (Study 2). In Study 3, we found similar effects with a manipulation of the targets’ apparent race. Finally, in Study 4, we used eye-tracking techniques to demonstrate that Whites’ truth bias for Black targets is likely the result of late-stage correction processes: Despite ultimately judging that Black targets were telling the truth more often than White targets, Whites were faster to fixate on the on-screen “lie” response box when targets were Black than when targets were White. These systematic race-based biases have important theoretical implications (e.g., for lie detection and improving intergroup communication and relations) and practical implications (e.g., for reducing racial bias in law enforcement).

Possibility of death sentence has divergent effect on verdicts for Black and White defendants.

2015 ◽  
Vol 39 (6) ◽  
pp. 539-546 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jack Glaser ◽  
Karin D. Martin ◽  
Kimberly B. Kahn
Keyword(s):  
Death Sentence ◽  
Black And White ◽  
White Defendants

scholarly journals A Test of Racial Bias in Capital Sentencing

2014 ◽  
Vol 104 (11) ◽  
pp. 3397-3433 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alberto Alesina ◽  
Eliana La Ferrara
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Capital Punishment ◽  
Racial Bias ◽  
The United States ◽  
Type I ◽  
Habeas Corpus ◽  
Trial Courts ◽  
Southern States ◽  
Percentage Points ◽  
White Defendants

We collect a new dataset on capital punishment in the United States and we propose a test of racial bias based upon patterns of sentence reversals. We model the courts as minimizing type I and II errors. If trial courts were unbiased, conditional on defendant's race the error rate should be independent of the victim's race. Instead we uncover 3 and 9 percentage points higher reversal rates in direct appeal and habeas corpus cases, respectively, against minority defendants who killed whites. The pattern for white defendants is opposite but not statistically significant. This bias is confined to Southern states. (JEL J15, K41, K42)

Masks and racial stereotypes in a pandemic: the case for surgical masks

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Leah Christiani ◽  
Christopher J. Clark ◽  
Steven Greene ◽  
Marc J. Hetherington ◽  
Emily M. Wager
Keyword(s):  
Black People ◽  
Racial Bias ◽  
White Male ◽  
Elevated Risk ◽  
Racial Stereotypes ◽  
Black And White ◽  
Surgical Masks ◽  
Racial Resentment ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Male Model

Abstract To contain the spread of COVID-19, experts emphasize the importance of wearing masks. Unfortunately, this practice may put black people at elevated risk for being seen as potential threats by some Americans. In this study, we evaluate whether and how different types of masks affect perceptions of black and white male models. We find that non-black respondents perceive a black male model as more threatening and less trustworthy when he is wearing a bandana or a cloth mask than when he is not wearing his face covering—especially those respondents who score above average in racial resentment, a common measure of racial bias. When he is wearing a surgical mask, however, they do not perceive him as more threatening or less trustworthy. Further, it is not that non-black respondents find bandana and cloth masks problematic in general. In fact, the white model in our study is perceived more positively when he is wearing all types of face coverings. Although mandated mask wearing is an ostensibly race-neutral policy, our findings demonstrate the potential implications are not.

The Effects of Polygraph Evidence and Eyewitness Testimony on the Beliefs and Decisions of Mock Jurors

1992 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 103-113 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas P. Spanos ◽  
Bryan Myers ◽  
Susan C. Dubreuil ◽  
Anne E. Pawlak
Keyword(s):  
Small Groups ◽  
Eyewitness Testimony ◽  
Mock Jurors ◽  
Two Factors ◽  
Murder Trial

Mock jurors heard one of four versions of a murder trial and then deliberated in small groups to a verdict. Half the juries heard a trial in which an eyewitness identified the defendant as the murderer and half heard a trial in which a polygraph expert testified that the defendant responded deceptively when denying the crime. These two factors were completely crossed in a 2 × 2 (eyewitness/no eyewitness x polygraph/no polygraph) design. Jurors exposed to the eyewitness testimony believed more strongly in the defendant's guilt and voted guilty more frequently than did those not exposed to eyewitness testimony. Eyewitness testimony also enhanced the degree to which jurors believed that other pieces of evidence indicated that the defendant was guilty. Polygraph evidence exerted no significant effects either on jurors' beliefs or on their verdicts.

scholarly journals Theoretical Applications of the MODE Model to Law Enforcement Training and Interventions

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 604-611
Author(s):  
Keith L. Zabel ◽  
Kevin L. Zabel ◽  
Michael A. Olson ◽  
Jessica H. Carlson
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Mental Disorders ◽  
Effective Treatment ◽  
Police Officer ◽  
Interpersonal Relationships ◽  
Racial Bias ◽  
Implicit Bias ◽  
Racial Prejudice ◽  
Law Enforcement Training ◽  
Media Messages

As discussed in the focal article, numerous research studies have supported the existence of automatic or implicit racial bias (Ruggs et al., 2016). In this commentary, we argue that examining implicit bias through the perspective of the motivation and opportunity as determinants (MODE) model (see Fazio & Olson, 2014, for a review) offers a framework for industrial–organizational (I-O) psychologists to design and implement strategies that reduce the number of violent interactions between police and communities. The MODE model has been applied to areas such as interpersonal relationships (McNulty, Olson, Meltzer, & Shaffer, 2013), effective treatment of mental disorders (Vasey, Harbaugh, Buffington, Jones, & Fazio, 2012), and crafting of media messages (Ewoldsen, Rhodes, & Fazio, 2015), as well as racial prejudice (Olson & Fazio, 2004). Below, we elaborate on how the I-O-related strategies and interventions described in the focal article can be captured by the components of the MODE model and highlight which interventions may be most efficacious in reducing discriminatory police officer behavior.

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