Supplemental Materials

First-Person Scenario Material

You are on a hunting trip with friends deep in the woods, and you are told that no one else should be in this general area of the forest. In the afternoon, you decide to take a hike by yourself while your friends stay in the cabin.

You are lost for a while, but you regain your direction and find yourself quite some distance away from the cabin, so you make your way back. As you walk in the woods, the sun begins to set, and it’s getting darker. Suddenly, you hear a ruffling sound, and you see a menacing looking man ahead, walking towards you. He is holding a hunting rifle / He is holding a big hunting knife / [N/A].

The cabin is still far away, and there is no one else in earshot distance. Since there shouldn’t be anyone in this part of the woods except your hunting friends, you ask the man - “Who are you?” He does not answer as he continues to approach you. You let out a verbal warning, but he still walks straight at you.

Note. Underlined portions are presented depending on the conditions that respondents were assigned to.

Case Brief Material

A criminal case is brought to court because a man, ROBERT, was physically harmed by a woman, AMY / was physically harmed by another man, ADAM.

The incident happened one evening near a campground in the woods, when AMY/ADAM shot ROBERT with a small pistol / slashed ROBERT with a knife / punched ROBERT hard in the face. ROBERT’s injury required medical attention, but no permanent damage was done.

ROBERT was in possession of a hunting rifle during the incident / ROBERT was in possession of a big hunting knife during the incident / [N/A].

ROBERT’s testimony:

I like to hunt alone during my free time, so I recently bought a cabin in the woods. One weekend afternoon while I was there, I decided to take a hike in the woods nearby.

While I walked around, I put in my earphones to listen to music. The sun began to set and it was getting dark in the woods. Suddenly, I saw a person walking towards me.

I didn’t think much and continued walking. But as we got closer, this person shot me in the leg / swung a knife at me / punched me square in the face!

All I’m asking for is justice, for the harm that’s done to me.

AMY’s/ADAM’s testimony:

I was on a hunting trip with friends deep in the woods, and I was told that no one else should be in this general area of the forest. In the afternoon, I decided to take a walk by myself while my friends stayed in the cabin.

It was getting darker, so I started to head back. On my way, I heard a ruffling sound, and saw a menacing looking man ahead, walking towards me; I could see that he was holding a hunting rifle / I could see that he was holding a big hunting knife / [N/A].

The cabin was still far away, and there was no one else in earshot distance. Since there shouldn’t be anyone in this part of the woods except my hunting friends, I asked the man – “Who are you?” He did not answer as he continued to approach me. I let out a verbal warning, but he still walked straight at me.

As the man got closer and closer, I remembered that I had a small pistol with me. I held it up, but he showed no signs of stopping – so I shot him / I remembered that I had a survival knife with me. I held it up, but he showed no signs of stopping - so I swung it at him / he showed no signs of stopping – so I punched him.

I didn’t mean to hurt anyone I swear, I was just scared and concerned for my own safety.

Note. Underlined portions are presented depending on the conditions that respondents were assigned to.