Diez, C: Guilty or Not Guilty?

How do jurors arrive to verdicts when the available evidence is weak? A study was conducted to test the hypothesis that in trials where the strength of evidence is weak, verdict outcomes are significantly affected by the individuals need for cognitive closure (NFC), in conjunction with their ideology. 167 jury-eligible participants read a narrative describing a trial where the defendant was charged with murdering an abortion practitioner. Participants reached a verdict, completed the NFC scale and reported other demographic and dispositional items. Results confirmed that, in this specific scenario, high-NFC liberals were more conviction-prone than high-NFC conservatives. No differences were found among low- NFC individuals. There was no direct effect of NFC on verdicts. Correlations between NFC, ideology, attribution to internal dispositions and attitudes toward abortion were also found.