1. The Effect of Race on Police Punishment: A Matter of Loyalty or Threat?
Evan Murphy1 & Samantha Schmidt2
New College of Florida1, Valparaiso University2
Introduction
Results
Conclusions
White jurors were less likely to view police altercation as misconduct and punished this particular officer less than non-white jurors
Threat explained/mediated the relationship between race and punishment
We can conclude that non-white jurors felt more threat from police, and therefore punished this particular officer more than white jurors
Does race matter in juries?
White and nonwhite jurors follow different punishment patterns (Devine et al., 2001; Lynch & Haney, 2001)
Does race affect perceptions of police?
White individuals are less likely to see police as a threat (Weitzer & Tuch, 2004;Weitzer, Tuch, & Skogan, 2008)
Non-white individuals perceive higher rates of police misconduct (Weitzer & Tuch, 2004)
Loyalty and threat in juror decision making
Higher loyalty  More leniency in verdicts and sentencing for own group members (Mitchell et al., 2005; Wright, Dinsmore, & Kellaris, 2013)
Higher perceptions of threat are correlated with increased severity of punishment responses (Gordon & Arian, 2001)
Research questions
Does juror race predict punishment of police?
What motivates cross-race differences in police punishment?
Implications
Growing number/awareness of police misconduct cases
Offer a better understanding of race and jury decision making
Evidence for the need of racially diverse juries in police misconduct cases
Future Directions
Increase sampling of different races and ethnicities
Further investigate potential mediating and moderating factors
Personal experience with police
Geographic location (rural vs. urban)
Further explore development of feelings of threat in regards to police
Method
Race Differences in Punishment of Police
Nonwhite jurors (M= 4.40, SD=1.59), punished this particular police officer more more than white jurors ( M= 3.87, SD=1.38), in our possible case of police misconduct
Participants
186 individuals participated in this study (79 males, 105 females; 92 white, 95 non-white; Ages 18-73, MAge= 28.04)
Materials & Procedure
Participants were recruited and surveyed in New York City parks
The survey was comprised of two parts:
Participants’ feelings toward police
Participants as a juror
Measuring Loyalty
Four question loyalty scale on 5-point Likert scale
Ex: “I am loyal to police officers.” and “It is important to show respect for the police badge.”
Measuring Threat
5 pictures of police aggression on 5-point Likert scale
Asked: “How representative is this photograph of police officers in general?”
Asked to serve as a juror in the trial of a police officer
Presented a short vignette depicting an ambiguous altercation between a police officer and citizen in which the officer’s physical aggression is in question
Asked four questions on a 7-point Likert scale regarding punishment of police officer
How likely to require punishment of police officer?
How likely to require officer pay a fine?
How likely to require that officer serve jail time?
How likely to require officer to be put on probation?
References
Devine, D. J., Clayton, L. D., Dunford, B. B., Seying, R., & Pryce, J. (2001). Jury decision making: 45 years of empirical research on deliberating groups. Psychology, public policy, and law, 7(3), 622.
Gordon, C., & Arian, A. (2001). Threat and decision making. Journal of Conflict Resolution, 45(2),
Lynch, M., & Haney, C. (2001). Impelling/Impeding the Momentum Toward Death: An Analysis of Attorneys' Final Arguments in California Capital Penalty Phase Trials. Typescript. LynchImpelling/Impeding the Momentum Toward Death: An Analysis of Attorneys' Final Arguments in California Capital Penalty Phase Trials2001.
Mitchell, T. L., Haw, R. M., Pfeifer, J. E., & Meissner, C. A. (2005). Racial bias in mock juror decision-making: a meta-analytic review of defendant treatment. Law and human behavior, 29(6), 621.
Weitzer, R., & Tuch, S. A. (2004). Race and perceptions of police misconduct. Social problems, 51(3),
Weitzer, R., Tuch, S. A., & Skogan, W. G. (2008). Police–community relations in a majority-Black city. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency.
Wright, S. A., Dinsmore, J. B., & Kellaris, J. J. (2013). How group loyalties shape ethical judgment and punishment preferences. Psychology & Marketing, 30(3),
Acknowledgments
I would like to thank Samantha Schmidt for her valuable help on this project as well as Yael Granot for her assistance throughout the project. Special thanks to Emily Balcetis and Tessa West for their guidance in their lab and REU program, in which this research was conducted. Finally, thank you to New York University, New College of Florida, and the National Science Foundation for making this all possible.
Simultaneous Mediation Model
Juror race predicted punishment of police officer
We tested these two potential mechanisms in simultaneous mediation model, and found that threat, but not loyalty, uniquely explained the relationship between race and punishment.