TO PREPARE
Review the Learning Resources for this week and consider how the causes of a person’s behavior may be explained by situational factors.
Consider the following scenario for this Assignment:
Imagine that you have been summoned for jury duty in the United States. If you are selected to be on the jury, you will be hearing a rape case where a 23-year-old female alleges sexual assault. In order to select the jury (a process known by the Latin term voir dire), both the prosecutor and defense attorney question the jury pool to identify and dismiss for cause people who have strong opinions about the subject matter, who already know about the case, or who may be biased for or against either party to the trial. Attorneys may also dismiss members of the jury pool who they think will not be favorable to their case. These types of dismissals are called peremptory challenges and the attorneys have a limited number of them. During the process of jury selection, you notice the prosecutors are using their limited peremptory challenges to dismiss most of the young women from the jury pool. You find this peculiar, given that young women would seem to be most favorable to the prosecution’s case.
ASSIGNMENT:
Submit 1–2 pages, not including title page and reference page:
-Informed by social psychology theory, explain why the prosecutor was reluctant to seat young women on the jury. Please provide a detailed explanation for this seemingly odd behavior.
-In addition to the Learning Resources, search the Walden Library and/or Internet for peer-reviewed articles to support your Assignment. Use proper APA format and citations, including those in the Learning Resources.
Resources:
Aronson, E., Wilson, T. D., Akert, R. M., & Sommers, S. R. (Eds.). (2019). Social psychology (10th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.
Chapter 4, “Social Perception: How We Come to Understand Other People”
Note: Viewing media and interactives embedded in the electronic version of this course text is not required for this course.
Dexter, H. R., Penrod, S., Linz, D., & Saunders, D. (2006). Attributing responsibility to female victims after exposure to sexually violent films. Journal of Applied Social Psychology Download Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 27(24), 2149–2171.
Attributing responsibility to female victims after exposure to sexually violent films by Dexter, H. R., Penrod, S., Linz, D., & Saunders, D., in Journal of Applied Social Psychology, Vol. 27/Issue 24. Copyright 2006 by Blackwell Publishing Inc. Reprinted by permission of Blackwell Publishing Inc. via the Copyright Clearance Center.
Sirin, C. V., & Villalobos, J. D. (2011). Where does the buck stop? Applying attribution theory to examine public appraisals of the president. Presidential Studies QuarterlyLinks to an external site., 41(2), 334–357.
Moskowitz, G. B., & Carter, D. (2018). Confirmation bias and the stereotype of the black athlete. Psychology of Sport & ExerciseLinks to an external site., 36, 139–146.doi:10.1016/j.psychsport.2018.02.010
Tausch, N., & Hewstone, M. (2010). Social dominance orientation attenuates stereotype change in the face of disconfirming information. Social PsychologyLinks to an external site., 41(3), 169–176. doi:10.1027/1864-9335/a000024
