The Devil Made Me Do It: The Effects of Focus of Concern and Level of Authority on Perceptions of Domination in Death Penalty Cases.

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Abstract

The Devil Made Me Do It: The Effects of Focus of Concern and Level of Authority on Perceptions of Domination in Death Penalty Cases.

Alexa Bejinariu

Suparna Malempati
Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School

Joel D. Lieberman
University of Nevada, Las Vegas


The research reports the effects of different factors influencing jurors’ perceptions of a “domination” mitigating factor. More specifically, we manipulated the focus of mental duress that a defendant experienced and the strength of the authority figure exerting domination over the defendant. A sample of mock jurors was presented with a capital case in which a defendant was found guilty. Participants were randomly assigned to groups that received mitigating factors in which the independent variables were manipulated. More specifically, they were told that the homicide was committed because the defendant was afraid that harm would come to either himself or others he was close to, if he did not commit the crime. In addition, the threatening agent exerting domination was identified as being either a low or high authority figure. The relationship between these contextual factors and relevant personality dimensions, including locus of control and authoritarianism, are explored.

Authors

• Elena Alexandra Bejinariu, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

• Suparna Malempati, Atlanta's John Marshall Law School

• Joel D. Lieberman, University of Nevada, Las Vegas