background- how juries can be persuaded by the characteristics of witnesses and defendants.
method- lab experiment. IVs were accent (brummie/standard), race and type of crime. DV was participants attributions of guilt
sample- 119 white undergraduate psychology students from university of worcester. 24 males and 95 females with a mean age of 25.2 years
procedure- participants listened to a 2 min recorded transcript. in all conditions the conversation was between a middle aged male police inspector and a young male suspect. matched guise procedure to manipulate accent. race manipulated by contextual cues in the transcript. suspects level of guilt from innocent to guilty on a 7 point scale. speech evaluation instrument measuring superiority, attractiveness and dynamism.
results- the brummies suspect rated lower on superioirty and rated as more guilty. condition with brummie accent, black and blue collar crime had a significantly higher guilt rating than any other condition
conclusions- a range of social psychological factors can influence perception of a suspects guilt including accent, race and type of crime.
Comments
No comments have yet been made