Emotion and Legal Judgment

When trials include emotionally evocative evidence such as gruesome photographs and victim impact statements, maintaining the balance between probative value and prejudicial effects can be difficult. Such evidence can rouse jurors’ anger, disgust, outrage, or empathy. In turn, experienced emotions can, directly or indirectly, within or outside awareness, motivate decision makers to blame, punish, or forgive. These psychological processes can bias guilt or liability verdicts, where visceral reactions influence how jurors interpret facts or even motivate them to bypass careful consideration of these facts. Further, emotional displays from defendants (e.g., remorse) and victims (e.g., distress) influence judgments of credibility and legal decisions via cognitive (expectancy violation) or emotional (empathy) processes. The chapter describes the most recent scientific research on these topics, integrating work from social, cognitive, and legal psychology. The chapter concludes with recommendations for future research on emotion and prejudice, group processes, and emotion regulation in legal settings.