Enhancing Practitioner Persuasion through the Equation of Emotion: A Cognitive, Affective Model of Judicial Decision-Making
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: This Article enhances legal reasoning through an interdisciplinary approach rooted in cognitive psychology, behavioral neuroscience, doctrinal analysis and insights from the selfhelp genre. Building on Sean Webb's Equation of Emotion (EoE), a work that combines selfhelp accessibility with rigorous cognitive-emotional modeling, it applies the EoE's preference-perception dynamic to judicial decision-making. The resulting Jurisprudential Alignment Model (JAM) explains how a judge's Jurisprudential Preferences and/or Expectations (JPEs) interact with Interpretive or Factual Legal Perceptions (IFLPs) to shape decision outputs (DOs).Twelve JPE indicators, ranging from interpretive methodology and rhetorical cues to cognitive dissonance, are defined and applied to the full body of opinions authored by the current Indiana Tax Court judge between December 2023 and August 2025, producing a jurisprudential self-map.This self-map shows how advocates can extend the traditional IRAC method by tailoring arguments to a decision-maker's interpretive tendencies, thereby reducing dissonance and increasing persuasive impact.Beyond its use for advocates, the Article introduces a new doctrinal framework for courts themselves: the Judicial Coherence Test (JCT).The JCT transforms JAM's underlying Judicial Coherence Equation (JCE) into a three-step test that requires judges to (1) identify their jurisprudential preferences, (2) clearly state their interpretive or factual perceptions and (3) reconcile the two transparently when producing a decision.Similar to existing judicial multi-factor balancing tests, the JCT formalizes what is often an implicit process, making reasoning structures explicit and reviewable.When applied to the Indiana Tax Court's statutory interpretation in one of its recent cases, the JCT demonstrates how judicial meta-awareness can be converted into a principled, repeatable and legally cognizable method that refines doctrine, reduces hidden dissonance and enhances the legitimacy of judicial outcomes. AnnotasiyaBu Məqalə koqnitiv psixologiya, davranış neyroelmi, doktrinal analiz və şəxsi inkişaf janrından əldə edilən fikirlərə əsaslanan fənlərarası yanaşma vasitəsilə hüquqi əsaslandırmanı təkmilləşdirir.Şəxsi inkişafın əlçatanlığı ilə ciddi koqnitiv-emosional modelləşdirməni birləşdirən bir əsər olan Şon Vebbin "Emosiya Tənliyi"nə (EoE) əsaslanaraq, EoE-nin üstünlük-qavrayış dinamikasını məhkəmə qərarlarının qəbulu prosesinə tətbiq edir.Nəticədə ortaya çıxan "Hüquqi Uyğunlaşdırma Modeli" (JAM), hakimin "Hüquqi Üstünlük və/yaxud Gözləntilərinin" (JPE-lər) qərar nəticələrini (DOlar) formalaşdırmaq üçün "Şərhedici və ya Faktiki Hüquqi Qavrayışlarla" (IFLP-lər) necə qarşılıqlı əlaqədə olduğunu izah edir.Şərhedici
Source: Baku State University Law Review
Author: Andrew W. Swain*
Institution: Indiana University South Bend
Language: English
Subfield: Law
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W7225384788