LEGAL JUDGMENTS LAB
Dr. Hannah Phalen | University of Wyoming

LEGAL JUDGMENTS LAB
About Us
Welcome to the Legal Judgments Lab! We conduct research at the intersection of psychology and law. Specifically, our research applies basic psychological principles to the legal system in order to understand how legal actors make decisions. Look below for a broad description of our current areas of study.
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Current Areas of Study

We investigate investigates how legal actors’ judgments are biased by the race and gender of various legal actors, such as jurors, victims, and attorneys
Click on each area to learn more!

We examine the biasing effects of emotion, not only on a legal actor's ultimate decision but also on the way that legal actors process the evidence

We research how visual evidence both improves legal decision-making by increasing juror comprehension and biases legal decision-making by rousing jurors' emotions

We conduct research into how jurors make decisions in both in real civil trials and in mock juror studies with a specific focus on how jurors think about and award damages.
Interesting in becoming a Research Assistant?
Interesting in working with Dr. Phalen?
Unfortunately, Dr. Phalen is not accepting students for the 2025-2026 year.
But, use the link below for more information about how to apply to our PhD program!
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