Determinants of Mock Jurors Verdicts in a Rape Case

• NCJ Number: 129514
• Journal: Journal of Applied Social Psychology Volume: 20 Issue: 11 Dated: (1990) Pages: 901-919
• Author(s): J A Weir; L S Wrightsman
• Date Published: 1990
• Length: 19 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

The determinants of verdicts in a rape case were examined. Pretrial attitudes (rape empathy, juror bias, belief in a just world, and authoritarianism) were measured in 277 general psychology students to ascertain both the intercorrelations among the attitudes and their predictive value of verdicts.

Abstract

The eye contact (staring, avoiding, or random) of the alleged rape victim with the defendant was examined. Rape empathy was predictive of verdict. The eye contact of the alleged victim with the defendant affected verdicts of female mock jurors. When eye contact was avoided, more guilty verdicts were rendered. Interpretation of eye contact was found to be a function of mock jurors' reported rape empathy. Subjects who reported empathy with the victim tended to interpret the victim's behavior as consistent with being raped. Differences were found between high and low empathizers for the rape victim in those aspects of the trial important to mock jurors' decisions. 8 tables and 36 references (Author abstract modified)