You Understand, So I Understand: How A "Community of Knowledge" Shapes Trust in Expert Evidence

abstract: This experiment uses the Community of Knowledge framework to better understand how jurors interpret new information (Sloman & Rabb, 2016). Participants learned of an ostensibly new scientific finding that was claimed to either be well-understood or not understood by experts. Despite in...

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Bibliographic Details
Other Authors: Jones, Ashley C. T. (Author)
Format: Dissertation
Language:English
Published: 2018
Subjects:
Law
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/2286/R.I.50550
Description
Summary:abstract: This experiment uses the Community of Knowledge framework to better understand how jurors interpret new information (Sloman & Rabb, 2016). Participants learned of an ostensibly new scientific finding that was claimed to either be well-understood or not understood by experts. Despite including no additional information, expert understanding led participants to believe that they personally understood the phenomenon, with expert understanding acting as a cue for trustworthiness and believability. This effect was particularly pronounced with low-quality sources. These results are discussed in the context of how information is used by jurors in court, and the implications of the “Community of Knowledge” effect being used by expert witnesses. === Dissertation/Thesis === Masters Thesis Psychology 2018