Bright David A, Goodman-Delahunty Jane
School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, 2052, Australia.
Law Hum Behav. 2006 Apr;30(2):183-202. doi: 10.1007/s10979-006-9027-y.
Judges assume that gruesome evidence can influence juror verdicts, but little is known about the manner in which the influence is manifested. In a 2 x 3 study that varied the gruesome content of photographic and verbal evidence, gruesome verbal evidence did not influence mock juror emotional states, and had no impact on the conviction rate. Mock jurors who saw gruesome photographs, compared with those who saw no photographs, reported experiencing significantly more intense emotional responses, including greater anger at the defendant. The conviction rate when visual evidence in the form of gruesome or neutral photographs was included was significantly higher than the conviction rate without photographic evidence. Mean ratings of the inculpatory weight of prosecution evidence by mock jurors presented with gruesome photographs were significantly higher than those by mock jurors who did not view any photographs. Further analyses revealed that mock juror anger toward the defendant mediated the influence of the gruesome photographs in enhancing the weight of inculpatory evidence.
法官们认为，令人毛骨悚然的证据会影响陪审员的裁决，但对于这种影响的表现方式却知之甚少。在一项2×3的研究中，研究人员改变了照片和文字证据的恐怖程度，结果发现，令人毛骨悚然的文字证据并未影响模拟陪审员的情绪状态，也未对定罪率产生影响。与未看过照片的模拟陪审员相比，看过令人毛骨悚然照片的模拟陪审员报告称，他们经历了更强烈的情绪反应，包括对被告更大的愤怒。当包含恐怖或中性照片形式的视觉证据时，定罪率显著高于没有照片证据时的定罪率。看过令人毛骨悚然照片的模拟陪审员对控方证据有罪分量的平均评分显著高于未看过任何照片的模拟陪审员。进一步的分析表明，模拟陪审员对被告的愤怒介导了恐怖照片在增强有罪证据分量方面的影响。
