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JURORS, EXPERT TESTIMONY, & INFORMATION PROCESSING:
In my undergraduate and Master’s theses I tested the legal system’s assumptions that jurors can differentiate between good scientific evidence and junk science presented by experts in the courtroom and whether legal safeguards (i.e., cross-examination of experts, jury deliberation) improve this ability. I also investigated whether individuals’ intrinsic enjoyment of processing information thoroughly (i.e., need for cognition, NFC) moderated the helpfulness of these safeguards. Further, I investigated psychological mechanisms through which cross-examination and NFC improve jurors’ ability to detect junk science. I am interested in the role of deliberation in these processes and whether deliberation amplifies the helpfulness of cross-examination through informational or normative processes. I am also involved in The Jury Project at Northwestern with Dr. Shari S. Diamond, in which we are coding real jurors' dicussions of expert witnesses to investigate how they process this information. ATTITUDES TOWARD ADOLESCENT SEXUALITY SEX OFFENDER REGISTRY LAWS:
I have been investigating the public's attitudes toward adolescent sexuality and how it relates to support for the extension of sex offender registry laws to juvenile sex offenders. Even though empirical research has shown that (a) juvenile sex offenders have lower recidivism than adult sex offenders, (b) these laws do not decrease sexual offenses, and (c) these laws negatively influence offenders’ lives in ways that might increase recidivism, perceived public support for these laws might deter politicians and policy makers from reconsidering them. We are thus testing the boundaries of public support for these laws for juveniles. Because suggesting that sex offender laws be limited is not a popular message., it is an example of public policy decisions that need to be formed by psychological theory and research to ensure that a vulnerable population does not suffer because our legal system makes decisions based on untested assumptions. I am currently investigating whether support for registry laws evince a bias toward vulnerable populations, such as homosexual adolescents engaging in consensual sexual activity. JURORS & EMOTIONALLY-CHARGED EVIDENCE:
 I have recently become interested in the effect of jurors’ emotions on punitiveness. I am interested in the impact of emotionally-charged evidence (i.e., gruesome autopsy photographs, victim impact statements) on jurors' punitiveness and case judgments and interactions with their co-jurors during deliberation. I am intersted in understanding the role emotion plays in processing of case evidence, and ultimately moral and legal judgments. |