Crime Topic 4-Psychology and the courtroom Flashcards
What is meant by the halo effect?
One positive attribute will cause us to attribute other positive qualities to an individual.
What was the hypothesis for Stewart (1985) research about attractiveness?
That there would be a negative correlation between the attractiveness of the defendant and the severity of the punishment.
What was the RM for Stewart (1985) research about attractiveness?
observation
What was the conclusions for Stewart (1985) research about attractiveness?
No correlation between race and attractiveness. the attractiveness scores were negatively correlated with punishment. posture also showed a negative correlation.
What did Seggie (1983) find?
Study into the perceptions of 3 accents-British EP, broad Australian and Asian. He found that accents did influence the responses but this was dependent on the crime. More guilt was attributed to the broad Australian when suspect of assault. and more guilt for the British PR accent when the suspect was accused of theft.
What is a blue collar crime?
Result of an emotional outburst e.g. burglary, theft, sex crimes and assault.
What are white collar crimes?
Committed in the business setting and generally non violent e.g. fraud, forgery and embezzlement.
What did lakoff (1975) find?
Looks at the perception of witnesses who use hedges while talking or rise in intonation at the end of sentences: both male and female witnesses who used this type of language or speech were perceived as less intelligent, less competent, less likable and less believable.
What was the aim of the key research by Dixon et al (2002)
To see whether the Brummie accent suspect will elicit stronger attributions of guilt than a ‘standard’ accented suspect. Also to check whether race and type of crime play a role in ratings of guilt.
What was the sample in the key research by Dixon et al (2002)
119 white undergraduates from Worcester Uni (24m, 95f); mean age 25.2. Ps from Birmingham excluded.
What was the RM in the key research by Dixon et al (2002)
Lab experiment: IV race (black/white), type of crime (blue collar/white collar), Accent (Brummie/standard). DV: attributions of guilt on a 7 point scale.
What was the procedure in the key research by Dixon et al (2002)
Ps listened to a two minute recorded conversation that was based on a transcript of real police interview. crime type was manipulated by having the suspect accused of either armed robbery or check fraud. the race of the suspect was manipulated by varying the racial cues provided to respondents. First, they rated the suspects guilt on a 7 point scale and then dynamism, attractiveness and superiority in speech evaluation instrument.
What were the findings of the key research by Dixon et al (2002)?
Brummie suspect rated guiltier (mean 4.27) than standard accent suspect (mean 3.65). black suspect with brummie accent were the most likely to be found guilty of blue-collar crime, which shows that juries are easily persuaded by particular characteristics. brummie accent was rated less superior than PR accent, therefore superiority and attractiveness predicted guilt.
What are 2 applications for crime topic 4?
story order and expert witness
What is meant by the application story order?
Nancy Pennington and Reid Hastile suggested that council for the prosecution and council for the defence should present evidence items in a coherent chronological order. this is so jurors can develop a coherent tory to match to possible verdicts.
