ABSTRACT

Most group decision studies have required both discussion and consensus, perhaps because most analogs in society at large are groups of this general character. Evidence has only gradually accumulated on how group tasks may determine the kind of process which is relevant to producing a social decision. The effects of a sentencing expectation on mock jury verdicts was assesssed by comparing juries receiving such instructions with those not so instructed. The most prominent class of such events might be those associated with discussion of the defendant's guilt, which is after all the organizing purpose of the group's existence. There was no clear theoretical prediction about how a subsequent sentencing responsibility might influence the verdict itself. However, sequential decisions offer the possibility of 'balancing' outcomes, although ostensibly the two actions are to be independent in the present role. Convenient verbal summaries of 'majority rule', like any other historical convention may not serve to capture the social complexity actually present.