EVIDENTIAL AND EXTRALEGAL FACTORS IN JUROR DECISIONS - PRESENTATION MODE, RETENTION, AND LEVEL OF EMOTIONALITY

Examined whether video scene re-creations affect juror decisions by as sessing factual retention, emotional state, liability assessments, and damage awards. 102 mock jurors reviewed case materials from a wrongfu l death suit in 1 of 3 formats: print (transcripts), videotaped testim ony or videotaped testimony plus video re-creation. Pre- to posttest d ifferences in emotionality were assessed with the Profile of Mood Stat es questionnaire. Retention levels were measured by multiple choice qu estionnaire. Jurors in the videotaped testimony conditions experienced greater emotional reactions than those who read transcripts. Mood cha nges were inversely related to liability assessments on the plaintiff but no differences in damage awards were noted. This suggests that per ceptions of levels of defendant liability are influenced by emotions, but damage awards appear to be based more on factual evidence. Video s cene re-creations may thus be more effective in inducing out-of-court settlements than in actually swaying jurors' decisions.