Five characteristic ways people approach facts and information (from  the ‘eager and willing’ to ‘the wary’)

May 1st, 2018|

The Pew Research Center published an article on their new typology of how people approach facts and information in late 2017 (information on their methodology here). It’s an interesting typology (one of those—“there are 5 kinds of people” theories) and may be useful in assessing how open your jurors will be to new information relevant to your case facts. Or, it might give you ideas about how to frame a narrative so that more people embrace it. As you might expect, people approach new information differently. We’ve all seen this and some of us approach new information in different ways

American perspectives on federal agencies: Thumbs up or thumbs  down?

April 24th, 2018|

If you only listen to some news channels, you would think that US citizens have very negative perspectives on federal agencies—especially the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI). You would however, be incorrect according to the latest Pew Research survey. In the face of increased media noise, it is important to maintain awareness of what the data says and not what we hear repeatedly is true. We hope you will review the entire survey report (which is only 4 pages long) but we are only covering some of their findings here.  Here are a few of the report highlights:   USPS

Looking [in the Netherlands and in Wisconsin] for core characteristics of the psychopath 

April 19th, 2018|

The mental image many of us have of psychopaths is similar to the graphic illustrating this post. They are terrifying. “Terrifying” however is pretty vague and we need a more precise vocabulary to discuss what you see in a psychopath—that is, their core characteristics. Apparently, the more research that has been done on the psychopath, the more disagreement there is about which characteristics are “core to” or “define” the psychopath. Here’s a study that helps to identify what the core characteristics are of the psychopath by comparing similarities and differences between psychopaths in the US and the Netherlands. In an

Views on scientists and tips to counter “fake news??? and  “alternative facts??? 

April 17th, 2018|

This blog is about the intersection of social science and litigation advocacy. One of the central dilemmas litigators frequently face is how to deal with complex ideas to those who are uncomfortable with the ‘science-y’ parts of a case. Whether it is about how quickly a car decelerates, the ways in which a drug affects behavior, or the differences between two inventions—the challenge for jurors is to understand what is being asserted. And of course, that is the responsibility of the trial team and their witnesses. We’ve all read the mass media stories saying that Americans do not trust scientists—but

Been buying different products lately? Maybe you are witnessing too much immoral behavior 

March 1st, 2018|

Seriously. Kellogg Northwestern has just examined a number of research studies showing that seeing or hearing about too many scandals may result in purchase decisions made in seemingly unrelated areas. Here’s how their review starts: You’re at the grocery store, scanning your phone while walking through the aisles. An article pops up about a CEO caught embezzling millions from the employee pension fund. You shake your head in disgust, then turn your attention to which ketchup to buy. And while it seems entirely unrelated, the condiment you choose could be impacted by the news you just read. As you may

We are all stressed in the USA and it looks like politics[and the media] is to blame 

February 27th, 2018|

If you knew this already, congratulations. Your ability to perceive reality is intact. Your wisdom has been affirmed by the data. We wanted you to see some of the results from the new Stress in America survey published recently by the American Psychological Association. What is particularly of interest is that this annual survey is usually released in February of each year. When the APA saw how the results of the survey mirrored our current sociopolitical climate in the US—they released the study results early. Here are just a few of the media reactions to the report (which shows American

An update on the religious practices of African Americans 

February 22nd, 2018|

The Pew Research Center has just released a new report on the religious lives of African-Americans. Here are five facts Pew highlights in their report (which is released in celebration of Black History Month). We encourage you to read the entire report for more understanding of the differences in religious practice and affiliation between African-Americans and other ethnic groups in the United States. 79% of African-Americans self-identify as Christian. This is in comparison to 70% of Whites and 77% of Latinos in this country (as of 2014). The first predominantly Black denominations in the US were founded in the late

The Category Cluster Recall Technique: Increasing eyewitness recall

February 20th, 2018|

We hear a lot about the inaccuracy of eyewitness recall but here’s another strategy to increase eye-witness recall. An Australian researcher wanted to compare the common police interview strategy of “free recall” with a more structured interview technique that places story elements in a specific order (i.e., the Category Cluster Recall Technique). He wondered which strategy would be of more benefit in increasing accuracy and detailed information. So he showed 200 volunteers a video of a woman being mugged and then tested their memory and recall using these two different strategies. In the standard “free recall” technique, witnesses are asked

The Sapiosexual Scale: Another emerging demographic subgroup? 

February 15th, 2018|

The last time we talked about an emerging demographic group, it was the lumbersexual [usually urban-dwelling bearded men who wear flannel but are unlikely to have ever chopped wood]. And as good social scientists we of course realize that by now you are longing for another social identifier. This time our emerging demographic could be either male or female and they call themselves sapiosexuals. So what is a sapiosexual? According to the Urban Dictionary (knowledge cornerstone for all things hipster) a sapiosexual is: “One who finds the content’s of someone else’s mind to be their most attractive attribute, above and

DNA, insanity, brain imaging—an  update on all things neuroscience

February 13th, 2018|

It’s been a while since we updated the neurolaw area of the blog so we’re doing a combination post to alert you to a number of things we’ve seen coming across our desks. Think of these as things you can use to show colleagues how incredibly well-read and erudite you are while simultaneously dazzling them with your brilliance. Did your brain make you do it? Originally, this area of inquiry was frightening as some wondered if the new neuroscience defenses would dazzle jurors into excusing bad behavior because the defendant’s brain “made him do it”. As excitement over the pretty