Jurors' reactions to different disorders and stereotype consistent versus inconsistent information in a sexually violent trial

Under Sexually Violent Predator (SVP) civil commitment laws, convicted criminals can be involuntarily confined for an indeterminate period of time even after they have served their prison sentence. In states that allow for jury trials, jurors render civil commitment decisions. Jurors must consider relevant evidence to determine if: (1) the respondent suffers from a mental disorder and (2) will be a danger in the future. However, jurors' preconceptions about the alleged SVP's mental disorder may play a significant role in their decision-making. Furthermore, jurors may selectively search for information that confirms their prior beliefs. The present study examined gender differences and whether different types of mental disorders (Psychopathy vs. Paraphilia), and consistency of mental health expert's testimony with that mental disorder influenced jurors' decisions. We hypothesized that (1) respondent labeled "Psychopathy" would be more likely to be civilly committed than respondent "labeled Paraphilia"; (2) women would be more likely to recommend for civil commitment than men; and (3) participants presented with consistent information with the respondent's mental disorder would be more likely to recommend for civil commitment especially for the Psychopathy condition compared to Paraphilia condition.;A total of 181 participants rendered civil commitment decisions at three different times. After reading a brief case summary, 54.7% of participants favored civil commitment. After discovering the type of mental disorder the respondent was suffering from, the percentage of participants in favor of civil commitment increased to 72.9%. Women were significantly more likely to recommend for civil commitment compared to men. However at this time, the type of mental disorder did not predict participants' verdict. After reading the entire transcript, participants rendered their final verdicts. A majority of participants, 87.3%, believed that the respondent should be civilly committed. When additional information was presented by the expert concerning the respondent's mental disorder, the type of mental disorder and gender influenced jurors' decision-making. More specifically, women in the Psychopathy condition were more likely to recommend civil commitment when they were presented with consistent information than women who read inconsistent information or men who read consistent information. However, no differences were found for the Paraphilia condition.