Justice is Served, But More So After Lunch
Justice is Served, But More So After Lunch
April 14, 2011
Researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev have found truth to the saying that justice is “what the judge ate for breakfast.”
The study involved over 1,000 parole board hearings in Israeli prisons, over a 10-month period. It was found that judges were most likely to grant a prisoner parole after their morning snack break (aruchat eser is a 10:00 a.m. snack break in Israeli culture) and after lunch.
Interestingly, when BGU’s Dr. Shai Danziger of the Guilford Glazer Faculty of Business and Management asked the judges if they had considered how food-breaks could impact their decisions, they said they wouldn’t have expected this effect.
Danziger thinks that the judges’ behavior can be easily explained. All repetitive decision-making tasks drain our mental resources. We start suffering from “choice overload” and we start opting for the easiest choice.
For example, shoppers who have already made several decisions are more likely to go for the default offer, whether they’re buying a suit or a car.
And when it comes to parole hearings, the default choice is to deny the prisoner’s request. The more decisions judges have made, the more drained they are, and the more likely they are to make the default choice. Taking a break replenishes them.
Read the full article on Discover Magazine’s Web site>>
ABOUT AMERICANS FOR BEN-GURION UNIVERSITY
By supporting a world-class academic institution that not only nurtures the Negev, but also shares its expertise locally and globally, Americans for Ben-Gurion University engages a community of Americans who are committed to improving the world. David Ben-Gurion envisioned that Israel’s future would be forged in the Negev. The cutting-edge research carried out at Ben-Gurion University drives that vision by sustaining a desert Silicon Valley, with the “Stanford of the Negev” at its center. The Americans for Ben-Gurion University movement supports a 21st century unifying vision for Israel by rallying around BGU’s remarkable work and role as an apolitical beacon of light in the Negev desert.
About Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev embraces the endless potential we have as individuals and as a commonality to adapt and to thrive in changing environments. Inspired by our location in the desert, we aim to discover, to create, and to develop solutions to dynamic challenges, to pose questions that have yet to be asked, and to push beyond the boundaries of the commonly accepted and possible.
We are proud to be a central force for inclusion, diversity and innovation in Israel, and we strive to extend the Negev’s potential and our entrepreneurial spirit throughout the world. For example, the multi-disciplinary School for Sustainability and Climate Change at BGU leverages over 50 years of expertise on living and thriving in the desert into scalable solutions for people everywhere.
BGU at a glance:
20,000 students | 800 senior faculty | 3 campuses | 6 faculties: humanities & social sciences, health sciences, engineering sciences, natural sciences, business & management, and desert research.
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