Expert Witness Training History and Professional Experience Exert Separable Impacts on Expert Credibility Perceptions

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study experimentally tested jurors’ claims that their expert credibility perceptions are independently influenced by expert training and experience, with the latter exerting greater influence. To our knowledge, only the combined impact of these variables had been previously examined. Mock jurors (N = 553) read a trial summary containing testimony from a forensic expert with high or low training and with high or low experience. They then rendered verdicts and rated the expert’s credibility. Results mainly showed that expert training and experience independently influenced expert credibility, although the latter exerted only a slightly greater impact. Practical implications and future directions are discussed.