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27 Jury Expert 7 (2015)
Does Deposition Video Camera Angle Affect Witness Credibility

handle is hein.journals/jurexp27 and id is 41 raw text is: Does Deposition Video Camera Angle Affect Witness Credibility: by Chris Dominic, Jeffrey W. Jarman, Ph.D., Jonathan M. Lytle, Ph.D. Introduction OME TIME AGO, we (a group of jury consultants) were de- bating whether or not it increased a witness's credibility to have the video camera used in the deposition aimed directly at the witness or to the side at an angle. After all, this was a question we got from clients from time to time. The argument for putting the camera directly on the witness was that the viewer got direct eye contact and the look and feel was similar to something you would see on a television news program. Newscasters look straight ahead and speak to their audience by looking directly at the camera. The concern about this strategy was that it seemed too intentional. The witness would appear to be an advocate, thus decreasing their cred- ibility. The argument for putting the camera off to the side was that it appeared more natural, and thus, it would bolster the witness's credibility. Unfortunately, the diagonal angle did not have the benefit of the perceived eye contact between the witness and the viewer. This left us wondering, where should the camera be positioned to maximize witness credibility in a videotaped deposition? The importance of speaker credibility to the process of persua- sion has been documented as far back as the ancient Greeks. As Aristotle noted, credibility may almost be called the most effective means of persuasion (1941, p. 1329). While scholars differ on the precise dimensions of credibility (elements such expertise, charisma, and trustworthiness), decades of research has confirmed its importance for persuasion. Historically, cred- ibility was conceptualized as a source characteristic-an indi- vidual speaker had varying degrees of credibility based on their qualities. Recent efforts have shifted away from a source-based view of credibility and focused instead on a receiver-based view of credibility. There is now strong support for the idea that credibility is a perception held by the receiver (Stiff, 2003, p. 107). An important aspect of the perception of credibility relates to the eye contact of the speaker. A long line of research has estab- lished the importance of eye contact for the perception of cred- ibility. Beebe (1974) documented increasing amounts of eye contact resulted in increasing amounts of credibility. Similarly, Burgoon, Coker and Coker (1986) found gaze aversion car- ries generally negative relational connotations (p. 518). The link between eye contact and credibility has a direct effect on May 2015 - Volume 27, Issue 2 thejuryex(pert.com 7

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