(credit: Paweł Zdziarski )
From the pull of a trigger to the swing of a fist, a lot can happen in a fraction of a second. And gauging what’s going through the minds of those involved during such dramatic slivers of time can be incredibly difficult, if not impossible. That’s why law enforcement agents and prosecutors are increasingly turning to video. Those digital records don’t just replay quick, life-altering events—they can be slowed down so that the slightest movements can be dissected. This, the logic goes, clarifies not just what happened, but helps explain what an alleged criminal intended to happen. But, according to a new study, slow motion might actually muddle our view.
Viewers who watch videos in slow motion—as opposed to regular speed—are more likely to feel that the people filmed act with a willful, deliberate, and premeditated intention, researchers report. The elongation of events, it turns out, gives viewers the impression that people in video clips have more time to think over and plan out what they are doing. The findings, published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggest that jurors who view slow motion footage of an alleged crime may assign more responsibility to the accused than they would have otherwise.
“In legal proceedings, these judgments of intent can mean the difference between life and death,” the authors conclude. “Thus, any benefits of video replay should be weighed against its potentially biasing effects.”
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Source: Ars Technica – Jurors perceive more intent when they watch videos in slow motion