Deck 18: Application Module- Social Psychology and the Law

Question 1

The social psychologist Tom Tyler identified three factors that shape our sense of procedural justice. Which of the following is NOT one of those three factors?

A) the neutrality of the authority figure
B) trust in the system
C) being treated with respect
D) the magnitude of the punishment

Answer 1

the magnitude of the punishment

Question 2

Research conducted by Hastie, Penrod, and Pennington tested whether juries deliberated cases differently based on whether they had to reach a unanimous decision or a majority decision. What did this research show?

A) There were no differences in how juries deliberated, whether they had to reach unanimity or not.
B) Juries who had to reach a unanimous decision deliberated longer than those who had to reach only a majority decision.
C) Juries who had to reach a majority decision deliberated longer than those who had to reach a unanimous decision.
D) Juries who had to reach a majority decision were unable to reach a final verdict.

Answer 2

Juries who had to reach a unanimous decision deliberated longer than those who had to reach only a majority decision.

Question 3

Loftus and Pickrell persuaded the family members of college students to tell stories about when their student relative was five years old, including one "story" that was actually fake and never really happened. How did the students respond?

A) All the students were able to distinguish between the true stories and the fake one.
B) About 25 percent of the students "recalled" the fake event.
C) Students who were more suggestible "recalled" the fake event.
D) About 90 percent of the students "recalled" the fake event.

Answer 3

About 25 percent of the students "recalled" the fake event.

Question 4

Research has shown that merely hearing the questions typically asked in the death-qualification part of jury selection tends to bias potential jurors toward conviction, because

A) those jurors are already biased toward conviction before they begin the death-qualification process.
B) the death-qualification questions contain misleading information about the suspect, which changes jurors' opinions.
C) the death-qualification questions contain an implication of guilt, so the jurors are biased into thinking of the suspects as guilty.
D) the death-qualification questions weed out jurors who can be fair, leaving only biased jurors.

Question 5

African Americans and Latinos are more likely to be stopped by police officers and receive harsher sentences. This bias in the criminal justice system is largely due to the

A) use of cultural stereotypes.
B) frequency of their criminal activity.
C) need for procedural justice.
D) desire for retribution.

Question 6

Alan is on the jury for a theft-related crime. After hearing the evidence, Alan feels anger toward the defendant and a general sense of outrage. What types of attributions has Alan likely made about the defendant?

A) The defendant did not intend to commit the crime and the crime reflects a stable part of the defendant's character.
B) The defendant did not intend to commit the crime and the defendant's past history contributed to the crime.
C) The defendant intended to commit the crime and the defendant's past history contributed to the crime.
D) The defendant intended to commit the crime and the crime reflects a stable part of the defendant's character.

Question 7

Tina is a defense attorney working on a grand larceny (i.e., stealing a large amount of money) case. Given what you know about jury selection concerns, who does Tina NOT want to be placed on the jury?

A) Laura, a mother of three
B) Dung, a social worker
C) Marco, a physical therapist
D) Lyn, a wealthy executive

Question 8

We should be careful about trusting eyewitness accounts, because memory is

A) an active, constructive process that can be affected by all kinds of information.
B) often incorrect, particularly in children.
C) a registry of the information that a person has encountered.
D) usually reliable, except in people with mental illness.

Question 9

Daniel is a district judge driven by the deterrence motive. What type of punishment is Daniel likely to favor in sentencing a defendant for a drug-related crime?

A) incarcerating the defendant to avenge his immoral behavior
B) placing the defendant in a rehabilitation program so he does not commit the crime again
C) fining the defendant an amount commensurate with the crime
D) letting the defendant off easy so he will have favorable feelings toward the justice system

Question 10

Based on your reading, who is likely to receive the harshest sentence for drug possession?

A) Tom, a white teacher from Los Angeles
B) Maria, an eastern European chemist living in Atlanta
C) Charles, an African American marketer from Philadelphia
D) Tara, an Asian American speech pathologist from Seattle

Question 11

All of the following are true of death-qualified jurors EXCEPT they are more

A) concerned about crime.
B) skeptical of civil liberties that protect the rights of the accused.
C) likely to convict the suspect.
D) distrusting of police.

Question 12

Travis is part of a six-person jury on a money laundering case. Although the majority of jury members believe that the defendant is guilty, Travis believes that she did not do it. He tries to convince the others of his perspective. Why might Travis be more successful in making his case if he was part of a typical twelve-person jury, rather than this six-person jury?

A) Travis is more likely to try harder if he has to convince eleven other people.
B) Travis is more likely to have an ally in a twelve-person jury.
C) By law, twelve-person juries have to deliberate longer.
D) Twelve-person juries have access to more evidence.

Question 13

The textbook describes research conducted by Loftus and colleagues in which participants were shown pictures of an automobile accident and were asked questions about the pictures. Some participants were asked questions that were consistent with what they actually saw, but some participants were asked misleading questions. Which of the following best describes the results of this research?

A) Most participants correctly remembered the pictures, no matter what kinds of questions they were asked.
B) All participants had difficulty correctly remembering the pictures, no matter what kinds of questions they were asked.
C) The misleading questions impaired participants' abilities to recall the pictures correctly.
D) The misleading questions affected memory only in participants younger than ten years of age.

Question 14

The goal of the ________ motive is to punish the deed that was committed; the goal of the ________ motive is to prevent future crimes.

A) deterrence; just desserts
B) attribution; deterrence
C) just desserts; deterrence
D) just desserts; compensatory

Question 15

In cases in which defendants are convicted and later proved innocent by DNA tests, as many as ________ had falsely confessed to the crime.

A) one-half
B) one-quarter
C) three-fourths
D) one-fifth

Question 16

Sheila, an attorney, worries that she will be unable to pick good jurors. Instead, she hires a specialist to conduct surveys and compile statistics on what demographic qualities of jurors might predict support for her client. Sheila is using ________ to pick her jury.

A) scientific jury selection
B) peremptory challenges
C) logic
D) partiality testing

Question 17

Vanessa is part of a jury that has to make a unanimous decision to convict the defendant. Yemaya is part of a jury that can convict the defendant with a two-thirds majority rule. What is likely to differ across Vanessa's and Yemaya's juries?

A) Yemaya's jury is likely to arrive at its verdict faster.
B) Vanessa's jury is likely to arrive at its verdict faster.
C) Vanessa's jury is more likely to convict the defendant.
D) Yemaya's jury is more likely to convict the defendant.

Question 18

People's assessments of the fairness of processes leading to legal outcomes is called

A) retribution perceptions.
B) procedural justice.
C) legal justice.
D) bias perceptions.

Question 19

Social scientists have differentiated two motives that determine preferences for different kinds of punishment. These motives are

A) just desserts and deterrence.
B) deterrence and punitive.
C) compensatory and punitive.
D) just desserts and eye-for-an-eye.

Question 20

Eyewitness errors have been found to be involved in more than ________ percent of cases of wrongful convictions.

A) 50
B) 25
C) 75
D) 90

Question 21

Explain how stereotypes can lead to biases in our criminal justice system.

Question 22

Describe the three components that contribute to one's sense of procedural justice and provide an example of each.

Question 23

Challenge the idea that eyewitness testimony is accurate and reliable. Describe two research findings that support your argument.

Question 24

Are there problems with the procedures used by police interrogators to obtain confessions, and if so, how might these problems negatively impact defendants?

Question 25

Compare the just desserts and deterrence motives for punishment. In addition, explain how these motives are related to cultural variations in punishment.