LEGAL JUDGMENTS LAB
Dr. Hannah Phalen | University of Wyoming
RESEARCH PROJECTS
Current Areas of Study
Race and Gender
We have several ongoing projects examining how race and gender impact legal decisions including:
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Examining how a plaintiff's race and gender influences the way in which jurors evaluate their pain and suffering
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Investigating whether high regional implicit bias limits the opportunities available to female attorneys and attorneys of color
Emotion
We investigate how both expressed and experienced emotion influence legal decisions. Some example projects include:
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An analysis of how naturally-occurring emotional expression predicts a juror's level of influence
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An investigation of the ways in which various emotions (e.g., empathy, sympathy, anger, and disgust) impact legal judgments differently
Visual Evidence
We examine the ways in which different types of visual evidence impact juror decision. Ongoing projects are exploring:
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What types of visual evidence are most effective for educating jurors
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How visual evidence influence jurors' decisions through their emotions
Civil Trials
Many projects in our lab examine how jurors make decisions in civil cases specifically. Our research in this area focuses on:
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The relationship between compensatory and punitive damages
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How jurors evaluate claims of emotional pain