Accounting for Awards: An Examination of Juror Reasoning behind Pain and Suffering Damage Award Decisions

What do civil jurors think about when they are asked to make damage award decisions? Given the secrecy of the jury deliberation process, often we are unaware of jurors\u27 thought processes. This Article presents the results from three studies in which mock jurors explained the reasoning behind their damage awards for pain and suffering. We highlight the most common explanations and distinguish between reasons justifying high and low pain and suffering awards. We conclude with a discussion for what this means for attorneys during trial

Gist and Verbatim in Narrative Memory

A major concern regarding the study of narratives regards how they are indexed and retrieved. This is a question which touches on the structure of human memory in general. Indeed, if narratives capture the substance of human thought, then data that we have already collected regarding human memory is of central importance to the computational study of narrative. Fuzzy Trace Theory assumes that memory for narrative is simultaneously stored at multiple levels of abstraction and, whenever possible, decision-makers interpret a stimulus qualitatively and therefore operate on a simple - typically categorical - "gist" representation. Here, we present a computational model of Fuzzy Trace Theory applied to explain the impact of changes in a narrative upon risky-choice framing effects. Overall, our theory predicts the outcome of 20 experimental effects using only three basic assumptions: 1) preference for lowest level of gist, that is, categorical processing; 2) decision options that fall within the same categorical description are then interpreted using finer-grained (ordinal or verbatim) distinctions; and 3) once the options are mentally represented, decision preferences are generated on the basis of simple positive vs. negative valences stored in long-term memory (e.g., positive value for human lives). A fourth assumption - that negatively-valenced decision options are preferentially converted to positive decision options - is used when categories are not otherwise comparable

Process Modeling of Qualitative Decision Under Uncertainty

Fuzzy-trace theory assumes that decision-makers processqualitative “gist” representations and quantitative “verbatim”representations in parallel. Here, we develop a formal modelof fuzzy-trace theory that explains both processes. The modelalso integrates effects of individual differences in numeracy,metacognitive monitoring and editing, and sensation seeking.Parameters of the model varied in theoretically meaningfulways with differences in numeracy, monitoring, and sensationseeking, accounting for risk preferences at multiple levels.Relations to current theories and potential extensions arediscussed

Using fuzzy-trace theory to understand and improve health judgments, decisions, and behaviors: A literature review.

Fuzzy-trace theory is a dual-process model of memory, reasoning, judgment, and decision making that contrasts with traditional expectancy-value approaches. We review the literature applying fuzzy-trace theory to health with three aims: evaluating whether the theory’s basic distinctions have been validated empirically in the domain of health; determining whether these distinctions are useful in assessing, explaining, and predicting health-related psychological processes; and determining whether the theory can be used to improve health judgments, decisions, or behaviors, especially in comparison to other approaches

Beyond Stereotypes of Adolescent Risk Taking: Placing the Adolescent Brain in Developmental Context

Recent neuroscience models of adolescent brain development attribute the morbidity and mortality of this period to structural and functional imbalances between more fully developed limbic regions that subserve reward and emotion as opposed to those that enable cognitive control. We challenge this interpretation of adolescent development by distinguishing risk-taking that peaks during adolescence (sensation seeking and impulsive action) from risk taking that declines monotonically from childhood to adulthood (impulsive choice and other decisions under known risk). Sensation seeking is primarily motivated by exploration of the environment under ambiguous risk contexts, while impulsive action, which is likely to be maladaptive, is more characteristic of a subset of youth with weak control over limbic motivation. Risk taking that declines monotonically from childhood to adulthood occurs primarily under conditions of known risks and reflects increases in executive function as well as aversion to risk based on increases in gist-based reasoning. We propose an alternative Lifespan Wisdom Model that highlights the importance of experience gained through exploration during adolescence. We propose, therefore, that brain models that recognize the adaptive roles that cognition and experience play during adolescence provide a more complete and helpful picture of this period of development

Decision Making

Choice is ubiquitous, from small decisions such as whether to bring an umbrella to life-changing choices such as whether to get married. Making good decisions is a lifelong challenge. Psychologists have long been fascinated by the mechanisms that underlie human decision making. Why do different people make different decisions when offered the same choices? What are common decision making errors? Which choice option is the “best” and why? These questions are addressed in this chapter. We first outline models and theories of decision making, defining key concepts and terms. We then describe the psychological processes of decision makers and how these approaches can sometimes lead to systematic biases and fallacies. We touch on the related subject of judgment because of the close relationship with decision making in the literature.https://digitalcommons.law.uw.edu/faculty-chapters/1050/thumbnail.jp

Reported Experiences with Plea Bargaining: A Theoretical Analysis of the Legal Standard

Although the majority of criminal cases in the United States are settled with plea bargains, very little empirical evidence exists to explain how defendants make life-altering plea bargain decisions. This Article first discusses the psychologicalfactors involved in plea bargaining decisions. Next, this Article empirically examines the factors involved in plea decisions of real-life defendants within the legal and psychological contexts. Finally, this Article highlights the psychological issues that need to be further examined in pleabargaining literature

Gist and verbatim communication concerning medication risks/benefits

To describe the information about medication risks/benefits that rheumatologists provide during patient office visits, the gist that patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) extract from the information provided, and the relationship between communication and medication satisfaction