Diversity, consensus, and decision making: evidence from the U.S. Courts of Appeals

In this article, we identify key theoretical perspectives from the literature in social and organizational psychology on diversity and workgroups and apply these concepts to an analysis of decision making in the U.S. Courts of Appeals. Using data from twelve circuits over two decades, we leverage the diversification of the federal appellate bench to investigate the nature of the relationship between changes to a court's gender and racial composition and levels of consensus. The results suggest that the impact of a diversified court depends on the size of the court.