A team of experts at the University of Colorado have released in Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience their investigation of social cognitive processes in biased juries.
The study investigated processes such as cultural bias and racial stereotyping, considering the brain activity assocaited with it among those tasked with jury duty against defendants of accused crimes.
According to researchers: “To identify the mechanism underlying crime-type bias, we collected functional magnetic resonance imaging patterns of brain activation from mock jurors reading criminal scenarios.”
“Brain patterns from crime-type bias were most similar to those associated with social cognition (mentalizing and racial bias) but not affect or moral judgment,” the study’s authors explained.
“Our results support a central role for social cognition in juror decisions and suggest that crime-type bias and cultural bias may arise from similar mechanisms.”
