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2025 Jury Expert [1] (2025)

handle is hein.journals/jurexp32 and id is 1 raw text is: Understanding Family-Oriented Jurors Through Locus of Control: How Social Media Insights Can Shape Trial Strategy Modern jurors are impacted by a bevy of attitudes, experiences and biases which affect their decision-making in the courtroom. One such worldview that influences juror perspectives is locus of control (LOC). LOC describes an individual's perception about the causation of events in their lives. Jurors can generally fall into two categories: those with an internal locus of control and those with an external locus of control. Attorneys and trial consultants who recognize these traits are better equipped to tailor their case presentations effectively. Increasingly, social media serves as a goldmine for assessing these psychological nuances. The Basics of Locus of Control: Internal vs. External Individuals who exhibit an internal locus of control fundamentally believe their successes and failures result from personal effort, choices, and discipline. Such jurors are likely to scrutinize the specific decisions made by plaintiffs and defendants carefully, emphasizing personal responsibility and individual accountability. They may critically evaluate whether parties involved acted responsibly, negligently, or recklessly. Alternatively, jurors with an external locus of control perceive outcomes as shaped primarily by forces outside their personal influence such as fate, luck, systemic biases, or environmental circumstances. These jurors often focus less on individual choice and more on context, societal forces, or external pressures influencing actions. They might sympathize with parties who appear disadvantaged by systemic issues, chance, or uncontrollable events. By accurately identifying a juror's LOC, attorneys gain a strategic advantage in aligning their narratives with the psychological predispositions of jurors. Doing so often involves delving into their social media presence, where several indicators can help identify whether a given juror has an internal or external locus of control. Social Media: The New Frontier in Juror Profiling Social media has dramatically altered jury selection dynamics by providing unique insights into jurors' psychological tendencies and decision-making styles, including LOC. The content jurors share publicly on social media, whether it be personal experiences, opinions, or reactions to news and events, can reveal crucial information about their LOC. However, not all social media content is equally revealing. Effective profiling hinges on pinpointing specific indicators rather than generalizing from ambiguous or superficial content. When examining social media content to discern locus of control, precision matters. A broad overview, such as noting a juror's frequent posting about family activities, does not necessarily illuminate their internal or external locus clearly. Rather, specific posts reflecting attitudes about responsibility, personal effort, external influence, or systemic fairness provide the most actionable insights.