Criminal - Psychology and the Courtroom

Question 1

Halo Effect (Background)

Answer 1

Making the assumption that ‘what is beautiful is good’ and assuming that if a person displays one good characteristic, then they will have other positive characterstics

Question 2

Castello (1990) - Attractiveness (Background)

Answer 2

• Ps were asked whether they believed a particular defendant was guilty or not (from pictures)
• Pictures were previously categorised by a panel of individuals as either attractive or unattractive
• Condition attractive defendant, unattractive victim: 56% guilty verdicts
• Condition unattractive defendant, attractive victim: 77% guilty verdicts
• Research supported by Sigall and Ostrove (1995) who found that shorter sentences were given to those who were deemed more physically attractive

Question 3

Ogloff - Race (Background)

Answer 3

• White university students rated black defendants as more likely to be guilty than white defendants, and this effect was even stronger when the victim was described as white
• In real trials it was found that black defendants are more likely to receive prison sentences when found guilty of similar crimes
• In America, offenders found guilty of murdering a white victim are much more likely to receive the death penalty compared to offenders murdering a black victim

Question 4

Lakoff - Language use (Background)

Answer 4

• Studied the effect of using frequent ‘hedges’ while talking
• Both male and female witnesses who used this type of language or speech pattern were perceived as less intelligent, less competent, less likeable and less believable than those who did not
• Supported by O’Barr & Atkins where witnesses who used hedges were more likely to be viewed as less powerful

Question 5

Inadmissible evidence -

Answer 5

• This is evidence that may not be introduced to a factfinder (usually judge or jury) to prove a party’s claim
• This could be used as an underhand strategy to influence jury decision as while they can’t take this piece of evidence into account as concrete, jury members cannot forget what they have heard/seen

Question 6

Expert Testimonies (Background)

Answer 6

Experts are viewed as more trustworthy and therefore everything they say is usually taken at face value

Question 7

Dixon et al. - Aims

Answer 7

• It was predicted that a ‘Brummie’ suspect would elicit stronger attributions of guilt than a standard accented suspect
• The study also looked at the influence of the race of the suspect and type of crime committed

Question 8

Dixon et al. - Method

Answer 8

• Lab experiment
• IVs: accent (Brummie/RP), race (black/white), type of crime (blue collar/white collar)
• DVs: ps’ attributions of guilt and scores on speech evaluation questionnaire

Question 9

Dixon et al. - Sample

Answer 9

• 119 white undergrad psychology students from Uni of Worcester
• All had to complete as part of a course module
• Ps who grew up in Birmingham were excluded

Question 10

Dixon et al. - Procedure

Answer 10

• Ps listened to a 2 minute recorded transcript
• Both conditions were performed by a code switching actor
• Race manipulated by contextual cues in the transcript; two rating scales
• Suspect’s level of guilt from ‘innocent’ to ‘guilty’ measured on a 7-point rating scale
• Speech evaluation questionnaire measured ps views towards the superiority, attractiveness and dynamism of accent

Question 11

Dixon et al. - Results

Answer 11

• Statistical analysis showed Brummie accent was rated lower in superiority than RP
• Brummie suspect rated as guiltier than RP (4.27 vs 3.65)
• Brummie accented black suspect accused of a blue-collar crime had significantly higher guilt ratings than other conditions
• Superiority and attractiveness of accent were statistically significant predictors of guilt

Question 12

Dixon et al. - Conclusions

Answer 12

• Attributions of guilt may be affected by accent: non-standard English speakers are perceived as guilty of an offence compared to the standard accent suspects
• Blue-collar crime suspects who are black with a Brummie accent are also likely to be perceived as guilty, while a suspect’s perceived superiority and attractiveness may also predict guilt

Question 13

The CSI Effect (Application)

Answer 13

• Schweitzer and Saks (2007) - people who watch crime shows believe forensic evidence is the be all and end all, ‘high-tech magic’
• Make jury members aware that watching shows such as these may influence their perceptions of forensic evidence

Question 14

Practical steps to influence jury decision making (Application)

Answer 14

• Present order of events in chronological order - easier to follow and make sense of
• Restrict jury members’ use of social media or the public
• Wear smart clothes and look as attractive as possible
• Accent training
• Inadmissible evidence
• Run through a mock trial so jury members know what sorts of things to do in the real trial

Question 15

Expert Witnesses (Application)

Answer 15

• Must be confident and assured; use facts and subject specific terminology (but easy enough for a layperson to understand)
• Expert witness prepares evidence for court
• Any conclusions must be backed up by notes
• Accuracy of work is vital; must be checked by peer reviewer - in Scotland there is a 2 pathologist rule for this

Question 16

Evaluation - Ethnocentrism

Answer 16

• Ogoloff - could be considered ethnocentric due to not investigating biases influencing other minority ethnic groups other than black people and also does not look at how minority ethnics perceive white defendants
• Dixon et al - only conducted on British students with British accents; different people may perceive more regional accents as more prestigeous (e.g. foreigners like British accents)
• Dixon et al - however, university students may be international so variety of cultures may be represented
• CSI effect can be considered as not ethnocentric as all cultures have some form of crime TV that someone can interact with
• Likewise, people are affected by the halo effect regardless of culture