Reducing the hindsight bias utilizing attorney closing arguments.
In the legal system, jurors are asked to render a decision after the event in question has already occurred and the final outcome, typically negative, is known. This "after-the-fact" structure of the legal system makes jurors susceptible to a human judgment phenomenon known as hindsight bias. This study focused on reducing hindsight bias in a courtroom context by incorporating a debiasing strategy within the defense's closing argument. Subjects viewed one of three videotaped versions of plaintiff and defense closing arguments in a commercial litigation case (i.e., foresight condition, hindsight condition, and hindsight debiasing condition). Results indicate that the hindsight debiasing strategy was effective in reducing subject-juror hindsight bias.
Stallard
M J
MJ
Center for Trial Insights, Overland Park, KS, USA.
Worthington
D L
DL
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003657:Decision Making; D004493:Education / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007600:Judgment; D007603:Jurisprudence; D008257:Machiavellianism; D008297:Male; D010379:Peer Group; D011287:Prejudice; D014743:Videotape Recording