Structured side-swapping deliberation breaks jury deadlocks better than argument

Evidence

It had been the judge’s standard instructions to the jury, and the news of Vogel’s operation, that had broken the deadlock. On Friday morning, Vogel had taken charge. He’d drawn up two charts, one for Grace and one for Beatrice. With the help of the others, he had listed all the evidence for and against each company. The judge had said, “Don’t hesitate to change your views,” and Vogel had asked his fellow jurors to change their views, if only for the moment, and try to see the opposite side. — , Harr Jonathan - A Civil Action, 2395

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the group-decision and confirmation-bias material in ‘Trust: Making and Breaking Cooperative Relations’ — Vogel’s charts are a practical antidote to the inertia that keeps lay theorists from seeking disconfirming evidence.