Improving comprehension of jury instructions with audio‐visual presentation

Abstract

This study examined whether mock-jurors' comprehension of judicial self-defence instructions improved when an audio-visual instructional format involving computer animations and a flow chart was used. In a mock-juror paradigm, 90 law students (experts) and 90 legally untrained adults (novices) were randomly allocated to one of three instructional conditions (audio, audio-elaborated, audio-visual). Dependent measures of self-defence comprehension included verdict delivery, multiple-choice (recognition), paraphrasing (recall) and novel scenarios (transfer). Law students performed better on self-defence comprehension tests than novices in the audio-only conditions. The audio-visual format significantly enhanced novices' comprehension, with their comprehension scores matching those of law students.

Do People Comprehend Legal Language in Wills?

“…One possibility is that, in their discussions with clients, lawyers consider conveying the information in multiple ways. Some research suggests that comprehension of jury instructions is enhanced in legal neophytes by the use of audiovisual formats involving computer animations and flowcharts (Brewer, Harvey, & Semmler, 2004). Applying these concepts to hypothetical vignettes may also be a useful strategy.…”

Advances in Psychology and Law

“…Other novel approaches involve incorporating visual stimuli to jury instructions to improve comprehension. These visual stimuli include fl owcharts (Semmler & Brewer, 2002 ), illustrations (Dattu, 1998 ), or computer-generated animations (Brewer, Harvey, & Semmler, 2004 ).…”

Elder research: filling an important gap in psychology and law

“…Specifically, there may be a need for large-print instructions of any written evidence that is taken into the jury room. The relatively new movement to bring visual technologies in the courtroom (Brewer, Harvey, & Semmler, 2004;Feigenson & Dunn, 2003) might be used to address elder issues. Similarly, considerations should be made for the large percentage of elders who are hearing impaired but do not wear a hearing aid because of a reluctance to admit the impairment (Popelka et al, 1998).…”