Who is afraid of the pink elephant?: evidence on (not) ignoring inadmissible evidence and debiasing interventions
People are often unable or unwilling to ignore thoughts they should disregard. This issue is particularly problematic in legal contexts, where defendants should be judged on the merits of the case, not on prejudice, rumors, or evidence obtained through questionable methods. This is why criminal law...
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| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article (Journal) |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
January 2026
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| In: |
Journal of behavioral decision making
Year: 2026, Volume: 39, Issue: 1, Pages: 1-12 |
| ISSN: | 1099-0771 |
| DOI: | 10.1002/bdm.70064 |
| Online Access: | Verlag, kostenfrei, Volltext: https://doi.org/10.1002/bdm.70064 Verlag, kostenfrei, Volltext: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/bdm.70064 
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| Author Notes: | Christoph Engel, Jasmin Golder, Rima-Maria Rahal |
| Summary: | People are often unable or unwilling to ignore thoughts they should disregard. This issue is particularly problematic in legal contexts, where defendants should be judged on the merits of the case, not on prejudice, rumors, or evidence obtained through questionable methods. This is why criminal law of procedure regulates which information can be introduced in a trial. In a series of online vignette experiments involving 1432 US participants, we examine the biasing impact of two types of inadmissible evidence: prior convictions (character evidence) and wiretap confessions. We failed to show that character evidence biases jurors' judgments of the defendant's guilt, whereas wiretap evidence had a strong effect. We also assess the effectiveness of four debiasing interventions aimed at helping jurors ignore inadmissible evidence. While these interventions reduced bias, they did not fully eliminate it. These results provide nuance in the debate about information in the courtroom that should be suppressed. |
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| Item Description: | Zuerst veröffentlicht: 08. Januar 2026 Gesehen am 10.03.2026 |
| Physical Description: | Online Resource |
| ISSN: | 1099-0771 |
| DOI: | 10.1002/bdm.70064 |