Defendant stereotypicality moderates the effect of confession evidence on judgments of guilt. 2018

Laura Smalarz, and Stephanie Madon, and Anna Turosak
Department of Psychology.

This research examined whether criminal stereotypes-i.e., beliefs about the typical characteristics of crime perpetrators-influence mock jurors' judgments of guilt in cases involving confession evidence. Mock jurors (N = 450) read a trial transcript that manipulated whether a defendant's ethnicity was stereotypic or counterstereotypic of a crime, and whether the defendant had confessed to the crime or not. When a confession was present, the transcript varied whether the confession had been obtained using high-pressure or low-pressure interrogation tactics. Consistent with the hypothesis, the presence of a confession (relative to no confession) increased perceptions of the defendant's guilt when the defendant was stereotypic of the crime, regardless of the interrogation tactics that had been used to obtain it. When the defendant was counterstereotypic of the crime, however, the presence of a confession did not significantly increase perceptions of guilt, even when the confession was obtained using low-pressure interrogation tactics. These findings demonstrate the potentially powerful effects of criminal stereotypes on legal judgments and suggest that individuals who fit a criminal stereotype may be disadvantaged over the course of the criminal justice process. (PsycINFO Database Record

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D007600 Judgment The process of discovering or asserting an objective or intrinsic relation between two objects or concepts; a faculty or power that enables a person to make judgments; the process of bringing to light and asserting the implicit meaning of a concept; a critical evaluation of a person or situation. Judgement,Judgements,Judgments
D008297 Male Males
D003415 Crime A violation of the criminal law, i.e., a breach of the conduct code specifically sanctioned by the state, which through its administrative agencies prosecutes offenders and imposes and administers punishments. The concept includes unacceptable actions whether prosecuted or going unpunished. Kidnapping,Poaching,Crimes,Kidnappings
D003416 Criminal Law A branch of law that defines criminal offenses, regulates the apprehension, charging and trial of suspected persons, and fixes the penalties and modes of treatment applicable to convicted offenders. Criminal Justice,Criminal Laws,Justice, Criminal,Law, Criminal,Laws, Criminal
D005104 Expert Testimony Presentation of pertinent data by one with special skill or knowledge representing mastery of a particular subject. Expert Opinion,Expert Witness,Expert Opinions,Expert Testimonies,Expert Witnesses,Opinion, Expert,Testimony, Expert,Witness, Expert,Witnesses, Expert
D005260 Female Females
D006167 Guilt Subjective feeling of having committed an error, offense or sin; unpleasant feeling of self-criticism. These result from acts, impulses, or thoughts contrary to one's personal conscience. Guilts
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D012938 Social Perception The perceiving of attributes, characteristics, and behaviors of one's associates or social groups. Perception, Social,Perceptions, Social,Social Perceptions
D014342 Truth Disclosure Truthful revelation of information, specifically when the information disclosed is likely to be psychologically painful ("bad news") to the recipient (e.g., revelation to a patient or a patient's family of the patient's DIAGNOSIS or PROGNOSIS) or embarrassing to the teller (e.g., revelation of medical errors). Disclosure, Truth,Disclosure, Error,Disclosures, Error,Disclosures, Truth,Error Disclosure,Error Disclosures,Truth Disclosures

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