By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: With the coronavirus pandemic infections and deaths once again surging back to peak levels, it is an odd juxtaposition that people seem to be getting out and about at increasing rates. Still, I’ve often heard after someone has traveled or been at a large or inter-household gathering, “I felt safe.” […]
Account for the Optimism Bias Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Many Republicans believe that President Trump lost the election only due to widespread and systemic voter fraud. When Georgia’s Republican Secretary of State, Brad Raffensperger, a Trump voter and donor, says that Democrat Joe Biden won on a legitimate count (and recount) of the votes, he is part of the
Watch Out for Self-Sealing Belief Systems Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: It is becoming axiomatic that you can’t talk people out of hardened views. Particularly on political subjects; the common view is that we are in a “post-persuasion” era. Perhaps that depressing assumption explains why I was hopefully drawn toward a recent headline in The Atlantic magazine, “How We Got Trump Voters to
Take Some Lessons from “Deep Canvassing” Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: The 2020 election seems to be nearing the end of the vote-counting phase, with the final ballots in Nevada, Arizona, and Pennsylvania being tallied as I write. But one clear loser is already evident: the preelection polls. Public opinion estimates that showed Joe Biden with a commanding lead, even in
Don’t (Fully) Trust Public Opinion Polls Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: It has been a tough year for science. On the social-science front, it seems that we have entered a phase where no one believes the polls. To conservative Trump supporters, the consensus of data showing the President well behind his Democratic challenger, even in Trump’s must-win swing states, just reflects
Address Science Denialism Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Ms. Gray, if you were selected for this jury, do you believe that your experiences or views would bias you in any way against my client? There is a predictable answer from Ms. Gray: No, I would not be biased, or I feel that I would be able to set aside that bias
Assume Your Potential Jurors Won’t Call Their Bias a “Bias” Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Recently, I heard about an in-person mock trial during the pandemic conducted by another consultant outside our group. At the beginning of the day, this consultant said, the jurors and the attorneys attending were all pretty diligent about wearing their masks. By the end of the day, however, most had
Comfortably Numb: Account for Desensitization Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: We tend to think of “bias” as it applies to juries, but courts can have their own deep-seated practices. For example, judges will often prefer voir dire questions that focus on the juror’s own assessment of the influence of a given attitude or experience, not on the actual attitude or
Voir Dire on Content, Not Effect: Lessons from the Tsarnaev Appeal Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: In courtrooms making tentative steps toward reopening to in-person jury trials, some of the parties have called for increased use of juror questionnaires, ideally filled out ahead of time either by mail or online. This makes a great deal of sense in, at least, reducing the time spent during voir dire,
Juror Questionnaires: Expect Some Deception Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: As a twice-weekly blog writer focusing on the social science of legal persuasion, I am thankful that during this medical emergency, the research has kept coming. Even as restaurants, bars, beaches, and schools have been shut down, the researchers have continued to turn in their research. In some ways, it
Scientific Testimony: Don’t Rely on Shortcuts Read More »