Numeracy in the Jury Box: Numerical Ability, Meaningful Anchors, and Damage Award Decision Making
Helm, R; Hans, V; Reyna, V; et al.Reed, K
Date: 24 December 2019
Journal
Applied Cognitive Psychology
Publisher
Wiley for Society for Applied Research in Memory and Cognition
Publisher DOI
Abstract
This project employs an experimental design to test theoretical predictions regarding how
numeracy can assist jurors in determining damage awards to compensate a plaintiff for pain and
suffering, and how the use of meaningful numerical anchors may produce similar benefits. Mock
jurors (N=345) reviewed a legal case and were asked to ...
This project employs an experimental design to test theoretical predictions regarding how
numeracy can assist jurors in determining damage awards to compensate a plaintiff for pain and
suffering, and how the use of meaningful numerical anchors may produce similar benefits. Mock
jurors (N=345) reviewed a legal case and were asked to give a dollar award to compensate the
plaintiff for pain and suffering. The presence and nature of a numerical anchor and the duration
of pain and suffering were manipulated. Participants’ numeracy was measured. Results provided
support for predictions. Jurors higher in numeracy gave awards that more appropriately reflected
the duration of pain and suffering, and showed less variability in awards. Similar benefits were
obtained by exposing jurors to meaningful numerical anchors to help them contextualize dollar
amounts. Thus, introducing meaningful anchors to jurors may provide similar benefits to
numeracy, without the drawbacks associated with selecting only numerate jurors.
Law School
Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences
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