Observer bias in perceptions of responsibility.

Abstract

At the end of his article Crowd Psychology in South African Murder Trials (October 1991), Colman stated, can be difficult . . . to maintain . . . detached neutrality . . . in the South African trials described (p. 1078). It can also be difficult to maintain detached neutrality in reading (or writing) articles such as Colman's. We each found ourselves initially applauding the acceptance by the courts of the mitigating psychological factors. However, after reading the article we asked ourselves how we would feel if the person on trial was White (say, a police officer) involved in the brutal murder of, say, a Black protester, an event not unknown in South Africa. To this issue we had a different set of responses. Reflection brought mixed feelings about the inconsistency. On the one hand, we each approve of our sense of moral indignation on behalf of the weak rather than the strong. On the other hand, it is untenable to consider mitigating circumstances for some kinds of offenders and not for others. Clearly, the question of the admissibility of mitigating psychological factors should be decided with reference to settings that are less emotionally charged than those Colman described.