Biases in Jury Decision-Making: Autism versus Down Syndrome

Jyachosky, Nathan

Biases in Jury Decision-Making: Autism versus Down Syndrome

Persistent URL

https://hdl.handle.net/10456/59143

Author(s)

Jyachosky, Nathan

Date Issued

March 31, 2025

Abstract

This research aimed to look at people's perception of individuals with intellectual disabilities in order to see if that perception had any impact on how they rendered a verdict when it comes to a defendant with a disability (autism or Down Syndrome). The data was also used to see if someone’s perception of the disabled community was any kind of predictor for how they may have rendered that verdict. I decided to conduct this research because there was no previous research looking directly at this topic. There was minimal research that had been done looking at one type of disability and how perception affected a juror's verdict, but nothing directly comparing the two. Thinking about past research that had been done comparing the verdicts and sentencing of African-Americans versus white citizens, this was kind of the same idea, just on a different level; this was important for the same reasons, and that was because, at the end of the day, everyone deserves a fair trial no matter the defendant's circumstance; whatever they may be. In this study, participants completed a three-part survey consisting of a disability perception survey, the reading of a trail summary, and finally, they answered a question about the trial they read. The first hypothesis that was being tested was that a more guilty verdict will be rendered from those who read the case on autism versus Down Syndrome, and the second hypothesis being tested is that perception may predict how someone will render their verdict.

Major

Psychology

First Reader(s)

Normile, Christopher