Investigating Prosecutorial Tunnel Vision: an Examination of Confirmation Bias in Prosecutors' Evaluations of Criminal Case Evidence

Simple item page
dc.contributorHart, William
dc.contributorPardo, Michael
dc.contributor.advisorCox, Jennifer
dc.contributor.authorLind, Hannah
dc.contributor.otherUniversity of Alabama Tuscaloosa
dc.date.accessioned2022-02-04T20:16:53Z
dc.date.available2022-02-04T20:16:53Z
dc.date.issued2021
dc.descriptionElectronic Thesis or Dissertationen_US
dc.description.abstractProsecutorial “tunnel vision” is an area of interest in the U.S. criminal justice system that is gaining increased attention as more and more wrongful convictions are brought to light. Legal scholars have raised concerns regarding the possibility that prosecutors are failing to recognize and/or disclose to the defense any knowledge of evidence that may exonerate the defendant, a requirement established by U.S. Supreme Court case Brady v. Maryland. This tunnel vision is considered to be due in part to the manifestation of confirmation bias, a well-documented phenomenon regarding the search for and interpretation of information. The current study investigates whether and to what extent prosecutors demonstrate confirmation bias in their review of evidence in a hypothetical homicide case. Active prosecutors were recruited via email and exposed to a fictional arrest report. After reporting their initial impressions of suspect guilt, participants were randomly assigned to three groups, manipulating exposure to new evidence by valence (inculpatory, exculpatory, and ambiguous). Participants evaluated the evidence in terms of credibility and degree of incrimination. Convergent with prior literature, it was hypothesized that initial ratings of guilt would predict case processing decisions and final impressions of guilt, but that this relationship would be mediated by evaluations of evidence credibility/incriminating power, evaluations which in turn would be moderated by evidence valence. Data from the study did not support the hypothesized moderated mediation model. Results indicated that prosecutors make case processing decisions based on appraisals of evidence that stand independent of initial impressions of suspect guilt. Implications regarding prosecutors’ objectivity, cognitive flexibility, and adherence to Brady are discussed.en_US
dc.format.mediumelectronic
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdf
dc.identifier.otherhttp://purl.lib.ua.edu/181762
dc.identifier.otheru0015_0000001_0004052
dc.identifier.otherLind_alatus_0004M_14634
dc.identifier.urihttp://ir.ua.edu/handle/123456789/8327
dc.languageEnglish
dc.language.isoen_US
dc.publisherUniversity of Alabama Libraries
dc.relation.hasversionborn digital
dc.relation.ispartofThe University of Alabama Electronic Theses and Dissertations
dc.relation.ispartofThe University of Alabama Libraries Digital Collections
dc.rightsAll rights reserved by the author unless otherwise indicated.en_US
dc.subjectConfirmation bias
dc.subjectProsecutorial decision-making
dc.titleInvestigating Prosecutorial Tunnel Vision: an Examination of Confirmation Bias in Prosecutors' Evaluations of Criminal Case Evidenceen_US
dc.typethesis
dc.typetext
etdms.degree.departmentUniversity of Alabama. Department of Psychology
etdms.degree.disciplineCognitive psychology
etdms.degree.grantorThe University of Alabama
etdms.degree.levelmaster's
etdms.degree.nameM.A.

Files

Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
u0015_0000001_0004052.pdf
Size:
802.09 KB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Download

Collections

Theses and Dissertations
Theses and Dissertations - Department of Psychology