criminal key practical

Question 1

research method

Answer 1

field experiment

• natural setting
• but task is not natural

Question 2

aim

Answer 2

identify if the attractiveness of a defendant will affect the decision of sentence time made by jurors

Question 3

IV

Answer 3

the attractiveness of the defendant shown by the description of them within the story

Question 4

DV

Answer 4

number of years sentenced to prison by participants

Question 5

null hypotheses

Answer 5

no sig difference in the number of years the p’s state that the attractive or unattractive defendants get, any difference is due to chance

Question 6

alternative hypotheses

Answer 6

there will be a sig difference in the number of years the p’s state that the attractive or unattractive defendants get, with the attractive defendant getting a shorter sentence.

Question 7

sample

Answer 7

16-18 year olds at college

Question 8

strengths and weaknesses of opportunity sampling

Answer 8

+ less time consuming in terms of planning and don’t need sophisticated method
+ quick and convenient
- biased sample as only certain types of people will participate
- same locality so have similar characteristics
- bias when choosing p’s

Question 9

replicability

Answer 9

standardised procedure
same 2 stories
data is collected in a consistent way

Question 10

validity

Answer 10

internal - not measuring what we set out to as simply stating that one is more attractive will not exaggerate the difference of looks
ecological - testing how the study is realistic. can be argued to be realistic as it is a field experiment however there is a lack of mundane realism

Question 11

consent

Answer 11

explain the reasons why the study is taking place but don’t give away the full aim as then they will show demand characteristics
get informed consent and right to withdraw

Question 12

deception

Answer 12

try not to deceive too much if you have to it must be justified

Question 13

withdrawal

Answer 13

ensure they know they are allowed to withdraw at any time

Question 14

confidentiality

Answer 14

keep identity anonymous by not allowing the names of people on the table

Question 15

protection

Answer 15

ensure that p’s are under no stress within the experiment

Question 16

results

Answer 16

critical value - 19
observed value - 15.5
so our results were significant and support our alternative hypothesis

Question 17

strengths

Answer 17

• Supports the results found by Sigall and Ostrove as they showed the attractiveness-leniency effect in that attractive defendants were treated more leniently.
• Field experiment therefore it can be applied to real life more than a lab study as participants were found in their natural environment so are less likely to be affected by demand characteristics
• Opportunity sample used which saves time.
• Quantitative data collected which is objective and can not be interpreted differently by different researchers, can also be graphically displayed.
• Results can be applied to real life as they show how the attractiveness of someone can affect the decisions made by juries, can influence the judicial system
• Has a standardised procedure so can be replicated.
• Only the variable of attractiveness was changed – so can come to cause and effect conclusions.
• The attractiveness description was detailed so it would activate the schema of the participant

Question 18

weaknesses

Answer 18

• Only used 16-18-year-old students all from the same college therefore the study cannot be generalised to the target or general population
• Lacks mundane realism as the task they had to do was read a story about two cases – this would not happen in real life. No real consequences came from them predicting the years they would give.
• The story will not be seen in the same way by every member of public if you were to conduct it again.
• The story will not be seen in the same way by every member of the public. Older people may become upset by the story implying that only 23 year olds are attractive and people in their 20s may be offended by the story implying that only people that young will get arrested. This could be upsetting/distressing for the p’s .

Question 19

improvements

Answer 19

• The crime could be varied, burglary instead, to see if the crime will affect the sentence given.
• Use gender as a variable to see if females are more lenient with the sentencing
• Age group could be a variable, or the actual age given in the story
• Age of the offender should be taken out as different age groups react differently to the age
• Test the level of education of the participant to see if this is a factor that would affect the result that they gave (predicted that higher education would show less variation in results of the two stories, less education would show more)