Cultural Cognition and Law
In a liberal society, the state is forbidden to “pick sides” between citizens who subscribe to different visions of the best way of life and must confine legal obligations to ones consistent with interests shared by all citizens. But is this basic constitutional principle psychologically realistic? This project investigates how cultural cognition influences jurors’ determination of facts, judges’ interpretations of law, and citizens’ perceptions of the neutrality of the outcomes in cases suffused with cultural conflict.