Effects of pretrial publicity on male and female jurors and judges in a mock rape trial. 1993

R G Riedel
Colorado State University.

A study explored influence of pretrial publicity and gender identity on verdicts and severity of sentence in a mock rape trial. Mock jurors and judges were exposed to four pretrial publicity conditions before watching a simulated rape trial. After viewing the trial, jurors rendered a verdict (guilty or not guilty) and judges prescribed a sentence. The Bem Sex-role Inventory was used to analyze gender identity and its relation to verdict and sentencing. Verdicts were not influenced by pretrial publicity, but sentencing was more severe following exposure of mock judges to pretrial publicity about a mistaken acquittal and less severe following exposure of these judges to pretrial publicity about a mistaken conviction. Subjects classified by the Bem inventory as feminine or androgynous rendered a verdict of "guilty" more often than subjects classified as masculine or undifferentiated. Men who rendered verdicts of "guilty" had less confidence in their judgments than men who found the defendant "not guilty." Conversely, women who found the defendant "not guilty" expressed less confidence than women who found the defendant "guilty." The findings are compared and contrasted with similar studies and discussed in regards to gender identity, subjects' characteristics, and mode of presentation.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D008297 Male Males
D011902 Rape Sexual intercourse without consent of the victim.
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
D003657 Decision Making The process of making a selective intellectual judgment when presented with several complex alternatives consisting of several variables, and usually defining a course of action or an idea. Credit Assignment,Assignment, Credit,Assignments, Credit,Credit Assignments
D005260 Female Females
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000293 Adolescent A person 13 to 18 years of age. Adolescence,Youth,Adolescents,Adolescents, Female,Adolescents, Male,Teenagers,Teens,Adolescent, Female,Adolescent, Male,Female Adolescent,Female Adolescents,Male Adolescent,Male Adolescents,Teen,Teenager,Youths
D000328 Adult A person having attained full growth or maturity. Adults are of 19 through 44 years of age. For a person between 19 and 24 years of age, YOUNG ADULT is available. Adults
D012737 Sex Factors Maleness or femaleness as a constituent element or influence contributing to the production of a result. It may be applicable to the cause or effect of a circumstance. It is used with human or animal concepts but should be differentiated from SEX CHARACTERISTICS, anatomical or physiological manifestations of sex, and from SEX DISTRIBUTION, the number of males and females in given circumstances. Factor, Sex,Factors, Sex,Sex Factor

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