What determines how juries decide?

A hanging jury is not just more likely to hang, it's more likely to convict, suggests Brian Bornstein, assistant professor of psychology, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge. "Research also shows that jurors who are `death qualified'--that is, willing to consider the death penalty--are more likely to convict in cases where the death penalty is not a factor."

As a cognitive psychologist, Bornstein studies how people acquire and use knowledge. His interest in the decision-making process led him to study juries, because, unlike decisions made in day-to-day life, the law sets a limit on the number of variables that go into jury decisions. He found that, in cases where the jury was asked to award compensation for an injury, there seemingly was no limit.

"We used a real case, but manipulated the amount the woman asked for. The amounts we used were, $100; $20,000; $5,000,000; and $1,000,000,000. We chose $1,000,000,000 because we thought it was such an outlandish amount that it would have a negative impact on the jury." The results? The more she asked for, the more she got. "The subjects didn't think the people who asked for more had suffered more or incurred greater expenses. In fact, they thought of them as more selfish and less generous. It seems that they granted a greater compensation because the amount requested influenced the jurors' perceptions of the details of the case." One unexpected find was that those who asked for more money were more likely to win their cases.

A problem associated with compensation is determining the dollar value of intangibles, such as pain and suffering. Bornstein's evaluation of a jury's decision-making...