Engaging the CSI effect The influences of experience-taking, type of evidence, and viewing frequency on juror decision-making.pdfVIP

Journal of Criminal Justice 49 (2017) 45–52 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Criminal Justice Engaging the CSI effect: The in?uences of experience-taking, type of evidence, and viewing frequency on juror decision-making Ian Hawkins a,?, Kyle Scherr b a Department of Communication Studies, University of Michigan, 105 S. State St., Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States b Department of Psychology, Central Michigan University, Sloan Hall 101, Mount Pleasant, MI 48859, United States article info Article history: Received 8 January 2017 Received in revised form 26 February 2017 Accepted 26 February 2017 Available online xxxx Keywords: CSI Experience-taking Viewer engagement Evidentiary threshold abstract Crime dramas have become a popular part of media culture, but research examining their in?uence on juror decision-making is in its infancy. This research examined the in?uences of crime drama viewing frequency, individuals degree of engagement (engaged or non-engaged) with a crime drama, and type of evidence (forensic, eyewitness, or both) on mock jurors verdicts. Results indicated that, among engaged participants who were presented with forensic or eyewitness only evidence, frequent crime drama viewers offered more con?dent not guilty verdicts compared to infrequent viewers. However, this evidentiary skepticism between frequent and infrequent viewers vanished when participants engaged with the show and were presented with both types of evidence. Among participants not induced to engage with the crime drama, these patterns were very different—non-engaged participants who were presented with eyewitness only or both types of evidence offered more con?dent not guilty verdicts the more frequently they watched crime dramas. Yet, non-engaged viewers presented with forensic only evidence rendered similar levels of guilt verdicts regardless of their crime drama viewing frequency. Implications for juror decision-making research and applied implications for the leg