System Justification and Normative Influence: Jury Decision-Making in a Police Shooting Trial

This study investigated whether normative influence (i.e., arguments to conform to the group) was related to jurors' system justification (SJS) beliefs (i.e., beliefs that justify a racially disparaging societal status quo) and time during the deliberation of a mock trial. Given the traumatic colonial context that exists between Indigenous communities in Canada and the criminal justice system, jurors with lower SJS may use normative influence to persuade other jurors to conform to their verdict preference. Further, research has found a relation between time pressure and normative influence. Lower SJS and time pressure were hypothesized to be related to greater normative discussion content. Deliberations were transcribed, coded, and analyzed for 11 mock juries (N = 83 jurors) in a simulated first-degree murder trial. Findings did not support a relationship between normative influence and either SJS or time. This research has implications for understanding jury decision-making processes and how to instruct jurors.