The current research examined whether mock jurors make differential assessments of guilt of defendants based on inclusion or exclusion of confession evidence and type of coercion to determine if jurors' behavioral reactions to confession evidence could be predicted. Hypotheses addressed effects of various factors on jurors' decisions of verdicts regarding defendants' guilt or innocence and their certainty of these verdicts: inclusion of confession evidence, type of coercion used in obtaining confessions, admissible or inadmissible presentation of confession evidence, and influence of potential predictor variables. Predictor variables assessed included participants' Belief in a Just World, Spheres of Control, New Authoritarianism, and Belief in False Confession Evidence. No main effects were found for participants' first or second verdicts or certainty assessments.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:unf.edu/oai:digitalcommons.unf.edu:etd-1203 |
| Date | 01 January 2001 |
| Creators | Coffman, Kimberly Anne Jenkins |
| Publisher | UNF Digital Commons |
| Source Sets | University of North Florida |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | UNF Theses and Dissertations |
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