Witness Appeal - Attractiveness of Defendant, Castellow - Flashcards in A Level and IB Psychology

Created by: sali97
Created on: 25-05-16 06:44

Aim

To test the hypothesis that an attractive defendant is less likely to be seen as guilty and the more attractive the victim the more likely the guilty verdict.

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Participants

71 male and 74 female American Psychology students who particiapted for extra credits.

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Procedure

P's read a sexual harassment case, with photos of victims and defendants. The photos were previously rated for attractiveness by an independent panel on a scale of 1-9.Then asked if the defendant was guilty and to rate them on several bipolar scale.

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Results

Physically attractive defendants and victims were rated positively for other personality variables. A guilty verdict was more likely when the victim was attractive and the defendant was unattractive. Unattractive defendants - 76%, attractive - 56%

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Conclusion

they concluded that appearance does have a powerful effect on jury decision. this why lawyers advise their clients to dress smart for their day in court.

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Previous research

Previous Research have shown that attractiveness does matter. According to Dion et al, physically attractive people are assumed to have other attractive properties. This is known as the Halo Effect.

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Halo Effect

Is a cognitive bias where how we perceive one trait is influenced by previous traits.

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Implicit Personality Theory

Making a general assumption about someone's personality based on the first trait.

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Other cards in this set

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Front

Participants

Back

71 male and 74 female American Psychology students who particiapted for extra credits.

Card 3

Front

Procedure

Back

Card 4

Front

Results

Back

Card 5

Front

Conclusion

Back

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Witness Appeal - Attractiveness of Defendant, Castellow