The Effects of Task Type and Magnitude on Probability Discounting of Plea Bargains: A Comparison of Students versus Adults
Location
Session 2 (Room 1302)
Session Format
Oral Presentation
Your Campus
Statesboro Campus- Henderson Library, April 20th
Academic Unit
Department of Psychology
Research Area Topic:
Humanities & Social Sciences - Psychology, Sociology & Political Science
Co-Presenters and Faculty Mentors or Advisors
Main Presenter: Megan L. Small, B.S.
Co-Presenters: Sofia Perez, B.S. and Shakeia Salem, B.S.
Faculty Advisor: Jonathan E. Friedel, Ph.D.
Abstract
Decision-making is studied in various aspects of life and can be especially important in the context of the criminal justice system, such as plea bargains. We used probability discounting to study the choice between accepting a plea bargain for a shorter incarceration or risking a jury trial with a longer incarceration. The study compares willingness to accept a plea bargain when faced with three different potential maximum prison sentences (25 years, 5 years, 1 year) at five different likelihoods of being convicted (99%, 90%, 50%, 10%, 1%). A survey containing two different behavioral economics tasks, a fill-in-the-blank task and an adjusting amount task, was administered to participants. Sixty-five undergraduate students were sampled via SONA and 190 adult Americans were sampled via Qualtrics. Comparisons are made between the two tasks, as well as between the two samples.
Program Description
A comparison of decision-making between undergraduate students and random adults in willingness to accept a plea bargain via two different behavioral economics tasks.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Presentation Type and Release Option
Presentation (Open Access)
Start Date
4-20-2022 1:00 PM
End Date
4-20-2022 2:00 PM
Recommended Citation
Small, Megan L.; Perez, Sofia; Salem, Shakeia; and Friedel, Jonathan E., "The Effects of Task Type and Magnitude on Probability Discounting of Plea Bargains: A Comparison of Students versus Adults" (2022). GS4 Georgia Southern Student Scholars Symposium. 60.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/research_symposium/2022/2022/60
The Effects of Task Type and Magnitude on Probability Discounting of Plea Bargains: A Comparison of Students versus Adults
Session 2 (Room 1302)
Decision-making is studied in various aspects of life and can be especially important in the context of the criminal justice system, such as plea bargains. We used probability discounting to study the choice between accepting a plea bargain for a shorter incarceration or risking a jury trial with a longer incarceration. The study compares willingness to accept a plea bargain when faced with three different potential maximum prison sentences (25 years, 5 years, 1 year) at five different likelihoods of being convicted (99%, 90%, 50%, 10%, 1%). A survey containing two different behavioral economics tasks, a fill-in-the-blank task and an adjusting amount task, was administered to participants. Sixty-five undergraduate students were sampled via SONA and 190 adult Americans were sampled via Qualtrics. Comparisons are made between the two tasks, as well as between the two samples.
