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Article
Trial by Tabloid: Can Implicit Bias Education Reduce Pretrial Publicity Bias?
Criminal Justice and Behavior
  • Angela M. Jones, Texas State University
  • Kimberly A. Wong
  • Courtney N. Meyers, Texas State University
  • Christine Ruva, University of South Florida
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-1-2022
Keywords
  • juror decision-making,
  • pretrial publicity,
  • bias,
  • debiasing strategies
Abstract

The Western District of Washington recently developed an educational video to reduce jurors’ implicit biases. Little is known regarding the effectiveness of this proposed remedy to address a range of implicit biases. This study tested whether this educational video reduces pretrial publicity (PTP) bias. A total of 330 undergraduate participants were randomly assigned to read PTP or unrelated articles. An average of 9 days later, they were randomly assigned to watch the educational video prior to viewing a murder trial. Those exposed to PTP were more likely to convict and found the defendant more culpable and less credible. The educational video did not reduce PTP bias. A more tailored debiasing strategy may be needed to overcome the biasing effects of PTP. Differences in legal decisions also emerged depending on whether participants completed the second phase in-person or online, which has implications for future data collection modes.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.1177/00938548211026956
Citation / Publisher Attribution

Criminal Justice and Behavior, v. 49, issue 2, p. 259-278

Citation Information
Angela M. Jones, Kimberly A. Wong, Courtney N. Meyers and Christine Ruva. "Trial by Tabloid: Can Implicit Bias Education Reduce Pretrial Publicity Bias?" Criminal Justice and Behavior Vol. 49 Iss. 2 (2022) p. 259 - 278
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/christine-ruva/15/