1. The Jury Perspective:
The Psychology of Race and
Gender in Discrimination
Cases.

2. Who are our jurors?

3. Pennsylvania
Population: 12,281,054
Race: Education Level:
White: 84%
Less than High School: 18%
African American: 11%
High School or GED: 38%
Asian: 3%
Some College: 15%
Hispanic: 3%
Associates Degree: 6%
Bachelors Degree: 14%
Income:
Graduate Degree: 8%
Less than 25,000: 28%
25,000 – 75,000: 46%
Over 75,000: 26%

4. Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania
Population: 1,448,394
Race:
Education Level:
White: 42%
African American: 44%
Less than High School: 22%
Asian: 5%
High School or GED: 38%
Hispanic: 11%
Some College: 15%
Other race: 7%
Associates Degree: 5%
Income: Bachelors Degree: 2%
Graduate Degree: 9%
Less than 25,000: 40%
25,000 – 75,000: 42%
Over 75,000: 19%

5. Preconceptions Influence Perceptions

6. In a trial, it is most important for a
jury to make a decision that…
…follows
the rules set
by the judge
38%
…the jury
believes is
fair
62%
N=413

7. The Psychological Research on
Culture and Race
Social Perceptions
Person Schemas
Attitudes
Behaviors
Cognitions

8. Social Identity Theory

9. Social Identity Theory
Categorize
Identify
Compare
(Tajfel & Turner, 1986)

10. Similarity-Leniency
Hypotheses that
people tend to favor
others seen as similar
to themselves
Alternatively, the
Black Sheep Effect

11. Review of the Research:
It Starts Young
Children as young as 3 identify with social
categories and express preferences (Aboud &
Amato, 2001)
Negative inter-group gender attitudes emerge
between 4 and 5 years old (Bigler, 1995)
Minority children show varied responses from
out-group favoritism to in-group bias (Brown,
1995)

12. Review of the Research
Individuals who belong to socially
advantaged groups typically exhibit more
implicit preference for their in-groups and
bias against out-groups than do members
of socially disadvantaged groups
(Dasgupta, 2004)

13. Majority Group Preferences?
Minority preference
toward group
“valued” by
mainstream?
The Implicit
Association Test
implicit.harvard.edu

14. “Implicit biases exhibited by individuals
who belong to socially disadvantaged
groups toward their own group may have
unintended behavioral consequences that
are harmful to their in-group and
themselves”
(Dasgupta, 2004)

15. Impact?
Intra-race discrimination between African
Americans based on skin tone
Too black or not black enough?
Intra-gender stereotyping of women
based on perceptions of femininity.
Too feminine or not feminine enough

16. Gender vs. Race :
The Tale of Two Thomases

17. White men are more likely to discriminate
based on race and gender than any other
group
Non-White,
37%
Race
White, 18%
Female, 29%
Gender
Male, 28%
All
29%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
N=49
*Data indicate percentage of respondents who agreed with the statement

18. Gender discrimination is a serious
problem in today’s workplace
Non-White
74%
Race
White 45%
Female 54%
Gender
Male 68%
Total
61%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
N=49
*Data indicate percentage of respondents who agreed with the statement

19. Gender discrimination committed by
women is a serious problem in today’s
workplace
Non-White,
41%
Race
White, 18%
Female, 33%
Gender
Male, 28%
All
31%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
N=49
*Data indicate percentage of respondents who agreed with the statement

20. Opinions by Gender
33%
Females
54%
28%
Males
68%
31%
All
61%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Gender discrimination committed by women is a serious problem...
Gender discrimination is a serious problem...
N=49
*Data indicate percentage of respondents who agreed with the statement

21. Race Discrimination is a serious
problem in today’s workplace
Non-White,
63%
Race
White, 36%
Female, 42%
Gender
Male, 60%
All
51%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
N=49
*Data indicate percentage of respondents who agreed with the statement

22. Race Discrimination committed by
people of a minority race is a serious
problem in today’s workplace
Non-White,
67%
Race
White, 46%
Female, 50%
Gender
Male, 64%
All
57%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
N=49
*Data indicate percentage of respondents who agreed with the statement

23. Opinions by Race/Ethnicity
67%
Non-White
63%
46%
White
36%
57%
All
51%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Race discrimination committed by people of a minority race...
Race discrimination is a serious problem...
N=49
*Data indicate percentage of respondents who agreed with the statement

24. I would be skeptical of an accusation that…
43% All
…a minority committed race 52%
discrimination against a member 33%
Male
46%
of his own race
41%
Female
31%
…a woman committed gender 36% White
discrimination against another 25%
32%
woman Non-
30%
White
35%
48%
…a man was sexually harrassed
21%
by a woman
32%
37%
0% 20% 40% 60%

25. What does it all mean?
In general, people understand that discrimination can be
committed by anyone, but may be skeptical of specific
accusations that don’t make intuitive sense to them.
People who are racial and ethnic minorities are more
sensitive to discrimination issues, regarding race and
gender discrimination, than white people
Males perceive more problems with discrimination, but
are more skeptical about accusations that
minorities/women committed discrimination, especially
accusations within a demographic group

26. The Trial Team Should be the Team that is
Best for the Job, Regardless of Demographic

27. What do the people in this audience believe?
Agree
40%
Disagree
60%
White men are more likely to discriminate based on race
and gender than any other group.
N=25

28. What do the people in this audience believe?
Gender
discrimination
committed by
32%
women is a
serious
problem…
Gender
discrimination
64%
is a serious
problem...
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
N=25

29. What do the people in this audience believe?
Race discrimination committed
by people of a minority race is a 48%
serious problem…
Race discrimination is a serious
68%
problem...
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
N=25

30. What do the people in this audience believe?
I would be skeptical of an accusation that…
…a woman committed gender
discrimination against another 20%
woman
…a man was sexually harrassed
36%
by a woman
…a minority committed race
discrimination against a member 28%
of his own race
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
N=25