Dissertation
Educating jurors about the phenomenon of false confessions with juveniles
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Drexel University
Jun 2021
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17918/00000761
Abstract
Expert witnesses may be used at trial to educate jurors about information beyond their typical scope of knowledge or to help them understand evidence. Previous research on expert witness testimony regarding false confessions is mixed, and no published studies to date have examined expert testimony specifically as it relates to juvenile false confessions. Given expert testimony on false confessions is occasionally prohibited at trial, other means of educating the public are also warranted. The present study investigated jury-eligible citizens' knowledge of false confessions and whether education, via an expert witness testimony video or a false confession TED Talk, improved the accuracy of, relative to a control video, jurors' knowledge and decision making regarding a vignette-based juvenile defendant who falsely confessed. Results revealed the 284 participants, recruited from Amazon Mechanical Turk and social media sites, had substantial knowledge of false confessions. Nonetheless, results of a 2x3 mixed factorial ANOVA indicated that, compared to the control video, both expert witness testimony and the TED Talk significantly improved jurors' knowledge. Although condition did not impact the verdict assigned to the juvenile defendant, the TED Talk led a greater proportion of participants to report it very likely the defendant falsely confessed, whereas the expert witness video led participants to have greater confidence in their confession decisions, compared to the control video. Along with study limitations, policy and practice implications on the use of expert witness testimony and ways of educating jury-eligible citizens about false confessions are discussed.
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Details
- Title
- Educating jurors about the phenomenon of false confessions with juveniles
- Creators
- Stephanie C. Burke
- Contributors
- Naomi E. Goldstein (Advisor)
- Awarding Institution
- Drexel University
- Degree Awarded
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Publisher
- Drexel University; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Number of pages
- 92 pages
- Resource Type
- Dissertation
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Psychological and Brain Sciences (Psychology); College of Arts and Sciences; Drexel University
- Other Identifier
- 991015104648604721