Julie Longua Peterson joins ‘Maine Calling’ for discussion on Brett Kavanaugh nomination

Maine Public recently delved into the unfolding accusations of sexual misconduct against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh on its program “Maine Calling”.

Kavanaugh is now facing allegations from three women, Christine Blasey Ford, Deborah Ramirez and Julie Swetnick. 

Julie Longua Peterson, Ph.D., associate professor of psychology and program director, Women's and Gender Studies, joined host Jennifer Rooks and two other panelists for the discussion.

One of the major questions surrounding the allegations is whether or not the FBI should be called in to investigate.

Peterson says another question is whether the Senate Judiciary Committee is the appropriate body to ascertain the truth.

“Members may not be going into this with an eye for truth, but rather with an eye for confirming their existing biases,” she said. “We know very well through psychology literature that people search for, recall better, interpret and favor information that's consistent with their preexisting beliefs.”

Some members of the committee have already publicly revealed their decision on the Kavanaugh nomination.

“Senators who have made evident what their preexisting beliefs are might not be equipped to accurately determine what the truth is here,” Peterson explained.

A hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee was held on September 27.