Hellmann and Memon (2016) explores the biases based on eyewitnesses’ memory and how it influences sentencing decisions. The article examines how people explain their own and others’ behavior, and what they use to make casual ascription in the event of a crime. It also looks into the relationship between attribution of crime motives and sentencing. The research also shows the frequency of memory distortion and the neglect of the effects of eyewitnesses’ attributions concerning a perpetrator’s prime motives. Misinformation also plays a role in the subject; if a correspondence gives a false word, it is often accepted as true. Therefore, some sentences are rendered without justice.
The study’s findings were based on two experiments using 209 subjects. The eyewitnesses were given a lead to conclude that the offender’s intentions were either situational or dispositional. It was found that inconsistent information was subjected to reject while misinformation with eyewitnesses’ attribution of crime was deemed correct even if they were false. The findings have a significant implication concerning an understanding of the world.
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"Attribution of Crime Motivates Biases Eyewitness".
A fundamental attribution error (FAE) distorts an observer’s judgment while failing to provide enough responsibility to the particular situation. FAE affects one’s decision on people’s behavior and intelligence (Meyers, 2010). Committing FAE may have consequences for oppression, victimization, peer stress and the making of moral judgments. Further studies have attempted to explain how we judge situations. People tend to observe, identify and characterize a certain behavior rather than simultaneously weighing the action and context.
A relationship between comfort and attribution exists. Gilovich, Keltner, Chen and Nisbett (2013) found that a high level of support was reported when attributing an offender’s behavior to their character traits rather than situational influences. The Judiciary risks spoiling its reputation, apart from losing the public trust. There is a need for a different approach to understating the FAE.
