Simulated Jury Decisions: The Influence of Jury-Defendant Attitude Similarity-Dissimilarity

Subjects were exposed to a standard videotape account of a crime of negligent automobile homicide. With the criminal evidence held constant, the similarity of the defendant's attitudes to those of simulated jury members was varied. Subjects exposed to a defendant with attitudes dissimilar to their own rated the defendant as more guilty, sentenced him to a greater number of years of imprisonment, recommended lengthier terms of imprisonment prior to parole eligibility, and evaluated him less positively on measures of attraction and other evaluative dimensions, than did subjects exposed to a defendant with attitudes similar to their own. The results are discussed with respect to evaluative response processes and judicial impartiality.