title: The detrimental effect of hindsight, culpable causation, and gender biases on jury decisions in secondary liability cases

authors: Dixon, Sophie

abstract: Recent jury trials in the United States have tested the public’s willingness to hold parents criminally responsible for their children’s actions in mass shootings. However, due to the legal requirements of negligence, assigning secondary liability in such cases may be influenced by cognitive and social biases, potentially compromising fair decision-making. This study examines how hindsight bias, culpable causation bias, and gender bias affect jury decisions in secondary liability cases. Across three experiments, we manipulated factors that could elicit these biases. Experiment 1 tested the role of hindsight bias, predicting that jurors informed of a crime’s outcome would perceive it as more foreseeable and less able to accurately determine negligence. Experiment 2 examined culpability bias, hypothesising that—due to the stigma of illegal behaviour—a drug dealer who owns a gun would be judged more harshly than a hunter who owns a gun for the same negligent behaviour. Experiment 3 investigated gender bias, predicting that mothers—especially those violating caregiving and feminine norms—would be judged more harshly than fathers for the same negligent actions. Results revealed that hindsight bias influenced probability estimates as predicted but did not affect perceptions of negligence and culpability (Experiment 1). Consistent with predictions, however, participants assigned harsher punishments to defendants in stigmatised professions and to mothers who engaged in socially disapproved behaviours. These findings highlight the potential for bias in jury decision-making and underscore the need for legal safeguards to ensure more equitable outcomes in secondary liability cases.

text: The detrimental effect of hindsight, culpable causation, and gender biases on jury decisions in secondary liability cases Recent jury trials in the United States have tested the public’s willingness to hold parents criminally responsible for their children’s actions in mass shootings. However, due to the legal requirements of negligence, assigning secondary liability in such cases may be influenced by cognitive and social biases, potentially compromising fair decision-making. This study examines how hindsight bias, culpable causation bias, and gender bias affect jury decisions in secondary liability cases. Across three experiments, we manipulated factors that could elicit these biases. Experiment 1 tested the role of hindsight bias, predicting that jurors informed of a crime’s outcome would perceive it as more foreseeable and less able to accurately determine negligence. Experiment 2 examined culpability bias, hypothesising that—due to the stigma of illegal behaviour—a drug dealer who owns a gun would be judged more harshly than a hunter who owns a gun for the same negligent behaviour. Experiment 3 investigated gender bias, predicting that mothers—especially those violating caregiving and feminine norms—would be judged more harshly than fathers for the same negligent actions. Results revealed that hindsight bias influenced probability estimates as predicted but did not affect perceptions of negligence and culpability (Experiment 1). Consistent with predictions, however, participants assigned harsher punishments to defendants in stigmatised professions and to mothers who engaged in socially disapproved behaviours. These findings highlight the potential for bias in jury decision-making and underscore the need for legal safeguards to ensure more equitable outcomes in secondary liability cases.

year: 2025

title: Review of “New Zealand Soil Classification” by A.E. Hewitt

authors: Lowe, David J.

abstract: This articles reviews the "New Zealand Classification" by A.E. Hewitt.

text: Review of “New Zealand Soil Classification” by A.E. Hewitt This articles reviews the "New Zealand Classification" by A.E. Hewitt.

year: 1992

title: Talking together: The effects of traditional Māori Pedagogy on children’s early literacy development

authors: Derby, Melissa

abstract: This article presents findings from a project that sought to determine the effects of a home-based literacy intervention on bilingual (English and Te Reo Māori) preschool children’s early literacy skills. The culturally responsive intervention, which was adapted from Tender Shoots, incorporated traditional Māori teaching and learning approaches, such as the use of storytelling, songs, games, and reminiscing about the past, as practices for supporting key cognitive skills crucial to foundational literacy, specifically phonological awareness and vocabulary knowledge. Over a 12-week period, during which the intervention was conducted, data were gathered from eight Māori preschool children and their families. The study utilised a crossover design. Four children and their families participated in the Rich Reading and Reminiscing (RRR) component of the intervention, which ran for six weeks, followed by the Strengthening Sound Sensitivity (SSS) portion of the intervention. The remaining four children completed the intervention in the reverse order of delivery. The crossover approach established a control in the study and allowed the effects of each part of the intervention on the aforementioned cognitive skills to be more clearly revealed. Overall, the data indicate that traditional Māori pedagogical practices helped to strengthen the early literacy skills of the children participating in the study.

text: Talking together: The effects of traditional Māori Pedagogy on children’s early literacy development This article presents findings from a project that sought to determine the effects of a home-based literacy intervention on bilingual (English and Te Reo Māori) preschool children’s early literacy skills. The culturally responsive intervention, which was adapted from Tender Shoots, incorporated traditional Māori teaching and learning approaches, such as the use of storytelling, songs, games, and reminiscing about the past, as practices for supporting key cognitive skills crucial to foundational literacy, specifically phonological awareness and vocabulary knowledge. Over a 12-week period, during which the intervention was conducted, data were gathered from eight Māori preschool children and their families. The study utilised a crossover design. Four children and their families participated in the Rich Reading and Reminiscing (RRR) component of the intervention, which ran for six weeks, followed by the Strengthening Sound Sensitivity (SSS) portion of the intervention. The remaining four children completed the intervention in the reverse order of delivery. The crossover approach established a control in the study and allowed the effects of each part of the intervention on the aforementioned cognitive skills to be more clearly revealed. Overall, the data indicate that traditional Māori pedagogical practices helped to strengthen the early literacy skills of the children participating in the study.

year: 2023-02