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Context-Dependence in Legal Decision Making

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  • Kelman, Mark
  • Rottenstreich, Yuval
  • Tversky, Amos

Abstract

Classical theories of choice associate with each option a unique value such that, given an offered set, the decision maker chooses the option of highest value. An immediate consequence is context-independence: the relative ranking of any two options should not vary with the presence or absence of other options. Five experiments reveal two systematic violations of context-independence in legal decision making: the same option is evaluated more favorably when it is intermediate rather than extreme in the offered set (compromise), and the same option is evaluated more favorably in the presence of a similar option that is clearly inferior to it (contrast). Prescriptive implications of context-dependence in legal decision making are discussed. Copyright 1996 by the University of Chicago.

Suggested Citation

  • Kelman, Mark & Rottenstreich, Yuval & Tversky, Amos, 1996. "Context-Dependence in Legal Decision Making," The Journal of Legal Studies, University of Chicago Press, vol. 25(2), pages 287-318, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:ucp:jlstud:v:25:y:1996:i:2:p:287-318
    DOI: 10.1086/467979
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    Cited by:

    1. Raphael Thomadsen & Robert P. Rooderkerk & On Amir & Neeraj Arora & Bryan Bollinger & Karsten Hansen & Leslie John & Wendy Liu & Aner Sela & Vishal Singh & K. Sudhir & Wendy Wood, 2018. "How Context Affects Choice," Customer Needs and Solutions, Springer;Institute for Sustainable Innovation and Growth (iSIG), vol. 5(1), pages 3-14, March.
    2. repec:cup:judgdm:v:15:y:2020:i:5:p:704-726 is not listed on IDEAS
    3. Victor Ginsburgh & Juan D. Moreno-Ternero, 2023. "The Eurovision Song Contest: voting rules, biases and rationality," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 47(2), pages 247-277, June.
    4. Pedro Bordalo & Nicola Gennaioli & Andrei Shleifer, 2015. "Salience Theory of Judicial Decisions," The Journal of Legal Studies, University of Chicago Press, vol. 44(S1), pages 7-33.
    5. Doron Teichman & Eyal Zamir & Ilana Ritov, 2023. "Biases in legal decision‐making: Comparing prosecutors, defense attorneys, law students, and laypersons," Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 20(4), pages 852-894, December.
    6. Cass R. Sunstein, 2018. "On preferring A to B, while also preferring B to A," Rationality and Society, , vol. 30(3), pages 305-331, August.
    7. Benno Torgler, 2022. "The power of public choice in law and economics," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(5), pages 1410-1453, December.
    8. Benno Torgler, 2021. "The Power of Public Choice in Law and Economics," CREMA Working Paper Series 2021-04, Center for Research in Economics, Management and the Arts (CREMA).
    9. Sürücü, Oktay & Djawadi, Behnud Mir & Recker, Sonja, 2019. "The asymmetric dominance effect: Reexamination and extension in risky choice – An experimental study," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 102-122.
    10. Rose McDermott, 2001. "The Psychological Ideas of Amos Tversky and Their Relevance for Political Science," Journal of Theoretical Politics, , vol. 13(1), pages 5-33, January.
    11. Hsiung Bingyuan, 2009. "Benchmarks and Economic Analysis," Review of Law & Economics, De Gruyter, vol. 5(1), pages 75-99, March.
    12. Marco Marini & Alessandro Ansani & Fabio Paglieri, 2020. "Attraction comes from many sources: Attentional and comparative processes in decoy effects," Judgment and Decision Making, Society for Judgment and Decision Making, vol. 15(5), pages 704-726, September.
    13. Christoph Engel, 2022. "Judicial Decision-Making. A Survey of the Experimental Evidence," Discussion Paper Series of the Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods 2022_06, Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods.
    14. Lewisch, Peter, 2003. "A theory of identification," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 23(4), pages 439-451, December.

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