Crim Psych Topic 4: Psychology and the courtroom

Question 1

Key Research - Dixon et al

Answer 1

Aim:
to test the hypothesis that a Brummie accented suspect would receive a higher rating of guilt than a suspect with standard English

Sample:
119 white undergraduate, people grew up in Birmingham were excluded. 24 males/95 females, mean age of 25.2

Procedure:
participants listened to a 2 minute recorded conversation based on a transcript of an interview. A standard accent student played the role of a police inspector. Role of suspect was played by a student who was a ‘natural code switcher’ meaning able to speak in either Brummie accent or the tapes or the tape police was interrogating the suspect who was pleading innocence of the crime he was accused. After listening to their versions of the tape, participants completed a rating scale where they rated the suspect on a 7-point bipolar scale from innocent to guilty

Results:
analysis showed a significant effect of the suspects accent on attribution of guilt by the participants with the Brummie accented suspect being rated higher on guilt than the standard accented suspect

Question 2

Penrod and Cutler - witness confidence

Answer 2

• it used the mock trial method where a man was suspended of robbery. Jurors were made up of students and experienced jurors
• jurors watched a witness give evidence
• depending on each condition; she either said she was 80% confident or 100% confident she could identify the suspect

Results:
- 80% confidence gained 60% guilty verdict
- 100% confidence gained 67% guilty verdict

Question 3

Signal and Ostrove - attractiveness of the defendant

Answer 3

Halo Effect = people who are more attractive have other positive qualities just because they are attractive.

• it investigated whether the attractiveness of a defendant affects judgements made about them
• lab experiment - 120 college students (60 male, 60 females)
• male/female participants were randomly assigned so there was 10 male/female in each attractiveness condition. After reading an account of the crime, which suggested strongly she was guilty, participants were asked to recommend a punishment from 1-15 yrs in jail
• longest mean sentence was given in the attractive/swindling condition and shortest sentence in the attractive burglary condition

Question 4

Pennington and Hastie - story order

Answer 4

Primacy Effect = remembering the first part of information better
Recency Effect = remembering the last part of information better

Group A: story order (defence), story order (prosecution).
Group B: witness order (defence), witness order (prosecution)
Group C: story order (defence), witness order (prosecution)
Group D: witness order (defence), story order (prosecution)

Aim:
to test hypothesis that jurors are more easily persuaded by ‘story order’ than witness order

Method:
participants were asked to be jurors in a mock murder trial. lawyers representing both defence and prosecutions varied the order in which evidence was presented

Results:
Group A = 59% guilty verdict
Group B = 63% guilty verdict
Group C = 31% guilty verdict
Group D = 78% guilty verdict