Dixon Et Al - Accents Of Guilt Flashcards
Which accent is rated more positively? According to Kalin, 1982
Standard accents compared to non standard accents
What did Levi-ari propose?
Foreign accents undermine ones credibility. It’s harder to understand such accents so it’s harder to judge the individual truthful
What did Seggie find?
Social stereotypes affect decisions in court
What did Giles find?
Brummie accents are perceived more negatively than British accents
What did Stewart find?
Actual trials in the USA resulted in black defendants receiving longer sentences than white defendants for the same crime
What was the aim?
To investigate the effects of regional accents, race and crime type on attributions of guilt
What was the main hypothesis?
A brimming suspect would elicit stronger attributions of guilt than a standard accented suspect
Research method and design
Laboratory with independent measures design
3 IVs
1) Accent ( Brummie/ standard)
2) Race ( Black/ white)
3) Type of crime ( Blue collar/ white collar) … assault/ cheque fraud
DV
Suspects attribution of guilt
Sample number and qualities
119 white undergraduate psychology students from the University of Worcester. 24 males , 95 females, mean age of 25.2 years
Sampling method
Opportunity
Who was the 2 minute recorded transcript between?
A middle aged male officer and a young male suspect
How was the accent variable differed?
Matched guide procedure
How was race manipulated?
Contextual cues in the transcript (physical description)
What was the 7 point scale measuring?
Suspects level of guilt from ‘innocent’ to ‘guilty’
What does SEI stand for and what does it measure?
Speech Evaluation Instrument that measures superiority, attractiveness and dynamism
Was the Brummie accent rates lower of higher on superiority?
Lower
Was the hypothesis correct?
Yes, the Brummie accent was rated more guilty
What was the strongest interaction between the IVs?
Brummie, black and blue collar crime
How could the rating of guilt be predicted?
Through higher ratings of superiority and attractiveness
Conclusion 1
A range of social physiological factors can affect the perception of suspects guilt including accent, race and type of crime
Conclusion 2
Non- standard English speakers are perceived as more guilty
Conclusion 3
A suspects perceived superiority and attractiveness may predict whether they are guilty or not
