The CSI Effect: Initial Evidence and Implications for the Jury Box

• In Event: Experimental Investigations of Media Effects

Abstract

The “CSI Effect” refers to the alleged impact of television programs that emphasize the role of forensic evidence in criminal proceedings. Presumably, the view that these programs convey could influence the way viewers think about trial evidence and could predispose them to either acquit or convict a defendant if they served on a jury. Results from a questionnaire are consistent with this presumption and point to the need for more systematic research on this phenomenon.

Authors

• Susan Sarapin, Purdue University

• Glenn Sparks, Purdue University