PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Caroline T. Parrott
AU  - Tess M. S. Neal
AU  - Jennifer K. Wilson
AU  - Stanley L. Brodsky
TI  - Differences in Expert Witness Knowledge: Do Mock Jurors Notice and Does It Matter?
DP  - 2015 Mar 01
TA  - Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law Online
PG  - 69--81
VI  - 43
IP  - 1
4099  - http://jaapl.org/content/43/1/69.short
4100  - http://jaapl.org/content/43/1/69.full
SO  - J Am Acad Psychiatry Law2015 Mar 01; 43
AB  - The knowledge of experts presumably affects their credibility and the degree to which the trier of fact agrees with them. However, specific effects of demonstrated knowledge are largely unknown. In this experiment, we manipulated a forensic expert's level of knowledge in a mock-trial paradigm. We tested the influence of low versus high expert knowledge on mock juror perceptions of expert credibility, on agreement with the expert, and on sentencing. We also tested expert gender as a potential moderator. Knowledge effects were statistically significant; however, these differences carried little practical utility in predicting mock jurors' ultimate decisions. Contrary to the hypotheses that high knowledge would yield increased credibility and agreement, knowledge manipulations influenced only perceived expert likeability. The low-knowledge expert was perceived as more likeable than the high-knowledge counterpart, a paradoxical finding. No significant differences across expert gender were found. Implications for conceptualizing expert witness knowledge and credibility and their potential effects on juror decision-making are discussed.