Project description

In our daily decision-making processes attitudes play an important role. An attitude is an evaluative judgement of a person, object or an issue on a scale of favorability. A large amount of research has been done on the role of attitudes in our daily decision-making processes. There is, however, an empirical knowledge gap when it concerns the role of attitudes in the professional judicial decision-making process. It has been accepted that the professional judicial decision-making process has an subjective element, but the subjective element remains unexplained. Attitudes are inherently personal and subjective, and they can make our decision-making process easier. They can, however, also be the basis for biases and prejudices. Here lies a potential risk, especially in the professional judicial decision-making process. If attitudes play a role in the decision-making process of judges there is a possibility that impartiality, one of the judiciary’s core professional values, might be difficult to obtain.

This project examines if attitudes play a role in the professional judicial decision-making process. It does so by studying how judges reflect about the impact of attitudes in their work. The project also studies how attitudes impact the decisions of judges.