12 Angry Men

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The classic 1957 film, 12 Angry Men directed by Sidney Lumet examines the validity of the jury system while 12 men, brought together by chance, determine if the defendant is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. The film depicts the importance and eminent effect of perception on our attitudes and behavior. It demonstrates the possibility of a near guilty verdict in one moment with a vote of 11 to 1, and in the next, transforming into a majority not-guilty verdict. With the life of a young 18 year old boy in the hands of 12 jurors, we see the unfolding of their automatic judgments, processing and arguments and the way in which those who oppose undermine and influence the change of attitudes. Not only do we also observe the errors of their preconceptions, …show more content…
The attribution theory focuses on "how people explain the causes of their own and other people's behavior" (Aronson et al., 2013, p. 89). The theory directly relates to the understanding of how the many attributions made towards the convicted became consequent in the film 12 Angry Men. At the beginning of the film, it is agreed upon that each juror will take their turn, around the table, to present the reasons why they believe the convicted 18 year old boy is guilty of murdering his father. It was observed that the men made one of two attributions to make sense of why the boy committed murder. Predominantly, the men made internal attributions, deducing that the boy's actions are due to his own disposition. In other words, "knowing what he is" (12 Angry Men, 1957) corresponds with his behaviors and this causes the jurors to question why they're "supposed to believe this kid." Prejudice is one factor that seems to create internal attributions. For example, with the knowledge that the boy "was born in a slum", in …show more content…
It is suggested that because "he threw a rock at a teacher", "stole a car", has "been arrested for mugging" and because "they say he's real handy with a knife" that, the boy ultimately murdered his father. Not only is it that the negatives of the boy's past are associated with his actions and therefore, the guilty verdict, but the positives are not incorporated in the discussion to make an equitable decision. The fundamental attribution error proposes that we tend "to overestimate the extent to which people's behavior is due to personality traits and to underestimate the role of situational factors" (Aronson et al., 2013, p. 93). There is a tendency that situational factors are overlooked to a greater extent and in some cases, people are unaware of situational information. However, after sufficient time, motivation and an availability of all resources, we can then make a correction for situational influences. For example, when the jurors had a set amount of ample time dedicated for discussion, their stress and concern about making the "8pm ball game" decreased and they had time to discuss. Furthermore, their motivation increased as they became more and more convinced of the possibility that there could be reasonable doubt and moreover,
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