Attractiveness and Respectability of the Offender as Factors in the Evaluation of Criminal Cases (From Criminal Behavior and the Justice System: Psychological Perspectives, P 193-207, 1989, Hermann Wegener, et al, eds. -- See NCJ-116624)

• NCJ Number: 116636
• Author(s): H W Bierhoff; E Buck; R Klein
• Date Published: 1989
• Length: 15 pages
• Sale Source: Springer-Verlag
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This analysis of sentencing factors uses a two-stage model that focuses on the role of extralegal factors like the offender's respectability and attractiveness and the influence of causal attributions.

Abstract

Empirical evidence from several studies indicates that people with high social attractiveness will be more easily discharged and receive more lenient punishment than a person with low social attractiveness, as long as the crime is perceived to be independent of the attractiveness. A further study indicated that the general influence of the defendant's respectability varies according to gender and the conservative or liberal attitudes of the person assigning the punishment. Additional evidence indicates that the punishment is also influenced by whether the event involved is explained by situational or personal factors. Tables and 37 references.