Citation

Worthington DL. Behav. Sci. Law 2004; 22(5): 715-730.

Affiliation

Department of Communication and Journalism, Auburn University, AL 36489, USA. worthdl@auburn.edu

Copyright

(Copyright © 2004, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1002/bsl.611

PMID

15378597

Abstract

Social scientific and legal scholars have examined the potential of a variety of case-relevant biases to distort juror decision-making (inter alia, death penalty attitudes, attitudes toward corporations, attitudes toward physicians, etc.). However, previous research has yet to address empirically the impact of attitudes toward suicide on juror decision-making. This study sought to examine the impact of mock juror's attitudes toward, and experiences with, suicide on assignment of negligence and damages in a civil suit. While results suggest that mock juror attitudes toward suicide do not directly affect a juror's assignment of negligence or damage awards, they do suggest that jurors may be susceptible to a reactance effect. As a result, attorneys should exercise caution when considering whether to directly address issues of possible plaintiff suicide.

Language: en