Sigall and Ostrove

Question 1

Aim

Answer 1

• Whether attractiveness affected jury decision-making

- Whether there is a relationship between attractiveness and the type of crime committed.

Question 2

Procedure

Answer 2

• Participants were given a card with a crime of fraud or burglary and a picture of a woman - Barbara Helms
• Split into 6 groups. Each group saw either an attractive or an unattractive picture and read about a crime she committed.
• First, all participants were asked to rate how attractive Barbara was to make sure they all agreed which pictures showed Barbara attractive or unattractive.
• Then asked jurors in each group to give a sentence ranging from 1-15

Question 3

Results

Answer 3

• Similar length of sentence was awarded for both crimes, with a unattractive and picture and no photograph
• With the attractive photograph of Barbara, the jurors thought she should spend longer in prison for fraud and less in for burglary.
• This could be because attractive people are associated with fraud as they use their attractiveness to lure money out of others. In contrast, we do not associate attractive people with burglary as we do not believe they are capable of breaking in

Question 4

Conclusion

Answer 4

• The experiment tells us the importance of attractiveness on jury decision-making.
• Attractive people do get away with some crimes but if they use their looks to turn to crimes they have a heavier sentence

Question 5

Strengths (5)

Answer 5

1) Used good controls. Participants were all given the same instructions, similar cases and a sentence to decide. = There are fewer extraneous variables that could have affected their decisions. Thus making the findings reliable and repeated the same way
2) The study can be applied in real life to inform jurors not to base their decision on the looks of a defendant. They should only use the evidence and testimony given in the courtroom

Question 6

Weakness (2)

Answer 6

1) Not a realistic experiment as the study is not something the jurors would experience. A jury member would see the defendant in real life, listen to the given evidence and testimony and decide as a group. Using a photograph and giving brief details of the case is not realistic
2) Juries only decide whether a defendant is guilty or not. It is the judge who gives the sentence. Therefore, the study is not realistic