Category Archives: Reaching a Verdict

Nemeth and Wachtler (1974) – Minority Influence

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Nemeth, C. and Wachtler, J. (1974) ‘Creating the perceptions of consistency and confidence: a necessary condition for minority influence.’ Sociometry, 37, 529-540

Background

This is the third study we will be looking at from the ‘reaching a verdict’ section of ‘reaching a verdict’, as part of your OCR A2 Forensic Psychology course. It is further categorised into ‘Minority Influence‘

To further your learning, it is highly recommended that you read: Under the Influence: The Destructive Effects of Group Dynamics which will give you a broader understanding of group dynamics.

Recall the last study we looked at? Asch (1955) considered the impact of the majority on the minority in a group. Nemeth and Wachtler consider the opposite: the influence of the minority on the majority.

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Asch (1955) – Opinions and Social Pressure – Conformity Experiment

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Asch, S. E. (1955) ‘Opinions and Social Pressure’, Scientific American 193 (5), 31-5.

Background

This is the second study we will be looking at from the ‘reaching a verdict’ section of ‘reaching a verdict’, as part of your OCR A2 Forensic Psychology course. It is further categorised into ‘Majority Influence‘

In this classic social psychology experiment Solomon Asch looked at conformity: particularly the influence of the majority on the minority.

This is one of the most influential and well-known studies in Psychology. It looks at conformity, which of course means that this study was conducted from a Social Psychological perspective. However, as this is from the Forensic Section of your OCR A2 Psychology exam, then we need to consider it from a forensic perspective. In this case how to do juries come to either a unanimous or majority decision.

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Hastie, R., Penrod, S.D. and Pennington, N. (1983) – Stages in Decision Making

Forensic Psychology, OCR A2 Psychology, Reaching a Verdict, Reaching a Verdict, , ,

Hastie, R., Penrod, S.D. and Pennington, N. (1983) Inside the Jury. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press

Background

This is the first study we will be looking at from the ‘reaching a verdict’ section of ‘reaching a verdict’, as part of your OCR A2 Forensic Psychology course. It is further categorised into ‘Stages in decision making.’

To make this study easier to remember, you can simple refer to it as ‘Hastie et al., 1983′

In this study we will consider how the jury reaches their verdict, specifically how the stages in the decision making process.

It is important to note that this is not a study, but it is a theory.

Continue reading Hastie, R., Penrod, S.D. and Pennington, N. (1983) – Stages in Decision Making →