How Judges Use Weapons of Influence: The Social Psychology of Courts
46 Israel Law Review 7 (2013)
19 Pages Posted: 7 Feb 2015
Date Written: September 1, 2012
Abstract
Research on compliance has shown that people can be induced to comply with various requests, by using techniques that capitalize on the human tendencies to act consistently and to reciprocate. Thus far this line of research has been applied to interactions between individuals, not to relations between institutions. We argue, however, that similar techniques are applied by courts vis-à-vis the government, the legislature and the public at large, when courts try to secure legitimacy and acceptance of their decisions. We discuss a number of known influence techniques, including ‘foot in the door’, ‘low-balling’, ‘giving a reputation to uphold’ and ‘door in the face’, and provide examples from the Israeli case-law for the use of such techniques by courts. This analysis offers new insights that can further the understanding of judicial decision-making processes.
Keywords: influence techniques, judicial decision-making, strategic decisions, foot in the door, door in the face
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