Story Model for Juror Decision Making

To better explain how jurors make decisions in trial, psychologists have proposed a variety of decision-making models. Some research has examined the decisionmaking process at the jury level, but the majority of research has examined juror decision-making processes at the individual level. These models are typically grouped into two categories: explanation-based models and mathematical models. The story model is the most popular explanation-based model and was developed by Nancy Pennington and Reid Hastie. The story model rests on the assumption that jurors organize evidence they hear during trial in a narrative, storylike format. According to the story model, the process of decision making takes place in three steps: story construction, learning verdict alternatives, and rendering a verdict. The story model not only describes the process ...