Effects of an Alibi Witness's Relationship to the Defendant on Mock Jurors' Judgments

Two studies tested the impact of an alibi witness's relationship to a defendant on the perceived credibility of that witness. In the first study, 291 mock jurors estimated the frequency with which individuals would invent alibis, the frequency they themselves would do so, and the frequency of i...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Law and human behavior 2011-04, Vol.35 (2), p.127-142
Main Authors: Hosch, Harmon M, Culhane, Scott E, Jolly, Kevin W, Chavez, Rosa M, Shaw, Leslie H
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Alibi
Alibi witness testimony
Alibis
Altruism
Analysis
Behavior
Behavioral Science and Psychology
Biological altruism
Community and Environmental Psychology
Contact
Cousins
Credibility
Crime - legislation & jurisprudence
Criminal sentencing
Criminology and Criminal Justice
Deception
Defendants
Design
Family
Female
Friends
Genes
Human
Human behavior
Humans
Interpersonal Relations
Judgment
Judgments
Jurors
Kinship
Law
Law and Psychology
Legal Testimony
Linear Models
Male
Mental Recall
Middle Aged
Original Article
Personality and Social Psychology
Psychology
Reciprocal altruism
Skepticism
Social behavior
Sociometric Techniques
Studies
Taxonomy
Testimony
Texas
Trials
Witnesses
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Description
Summary:Two studies tested the impact of an alibi witness's relationship to a defendant on the perceived credibility of that witness. In the first study, 291 mock jurors estimated the frequency with which individuals would invent alibis, the frequency they themselves would do so, and the frequency of interpersonal contact among individuals of varying relationships. The degree of relationship between an alibi witness and a defendant remained a predictor of witness credibility when contact frequency was controlled. In the second study, 512 mock jurors were randomly assigned to case scenarios. Skepticism toward witnesses who are biologically or affinally related to a defendant was greater than skepticism toward a socially linked witness. Both studies supported predications from kinship theory and reciprocal altruism.
ISSN:0147-7307
1573-661X
DOI:10.1007/s10979-010-9225-5