Criminal Flashcards
(136 cards)
1
Q
Loftus and Palmer (1974) - aims
A
To investigate whether memory could be affected by post-event information, specifically leading questions
2
Q
Loftus and Palmer (1974) - first experiment - procedure
A
Opportunity sample of 45 students were shown traffic accident footage (from safety films for drivers) that ranged from 5-30 seconds long. Participants were divided into five groups and asked the critical question ‘about how fast were the cars going when they - into each other’ with the gap being filled by one of five verbs (smashed, collided, bumped, hit and contacted). Mean speed estimates were then measured
3
Q
Loftus and Palmer (1974) - first experiment - findings
A
Smashed had the highest mean speed at 40.5 mph, 9.7mph than contacted which had the lowest
4
Q
Loftus and Palmer (1974) - first experiment - conclusion
A
That post-event information can influence the recall of that event, however a question remained over whether it actually changed the memory or just biased the response. This led to the second experiment
5
Q
Loftus and Palmer (1974) - second experiment - procedure
A
150 participants were shown a one minute film, which included a short scene of a car accident. Three groups, one asked how fast when the cars ‘smashed’, another ‘hit’ and the other was not asked to estimate speed. A week later the participants were asked back and given questions about their recall of the clip, including ‘did you see any broken glass?’
6
Q
Loftus and Palmer (1974) - second experiment - findings
A
The participants in the ‘smashed’ condition gave the highest estimates of speed and were most likely to report broken glass (there was none). 16 reported it in the ‘smashed’, 7 in the ‘hit’ and 6 in the control
7
Q
Loftus and Palmer (1974) - second experiment - conclusion
A
The findings suggested that post-event information did not simply elicit a response bias but actually changed the memory of the event.
8
Q
Loftus and Palmer (1974) - strengths
A
Well controlled procedure - lab study, only thing changed was critical question, same questionnaire and video
Application to changes in the legal system - the Devlin report was introduced to reccommend that EWT was not solely used to convict
9
Q
Loftus and Palmer (1974) - strengths
A
Well controlled procedure - only change the participants experienced was the wording of he critical question. High internal validity as extraneous variables are reduced.
Application to changes in the legal system - Devlin report was published in 1976, recommending that juries should not convict solely from an eye witness testimony
10
Q
Loftus and Palmer (1974) - weaknesses
A
Low ecological validity - watching a video of a car crash is very different from actually seeing one (paying full attention, less emotional response)
Sampling issues - all were college students, level of education may affect results, also all young so may not have experience driving.
Contradictory evidence - Yuille and Cutshall (1986)
11
Q
Yuille and Cutshall (1986)
A
Interviewed witnesses to a real life shooting in Canada, thirteen witnesses were reinterviewed by the researchers four to five months later. They gave accurate accounts of the event even though the researchers deliberately included two leading questions
12
Q
Social explanations for crime and anti-social behaviour
A
Labelling
Self-fulfilling prophecy
Social learning
13
Q
Social explanations for crime and anti-social behaviour - social learning
A
Criminal behaviour is learnt through the observation and imitation of others. To learn the behaviour it must be attended to, recalled and the would be offender must have the skill to perform it successfully. They must also be motivated to reproduce the behaviour, this could be due to vicarious reinforcement
14
Q
Social explanations for crime and anti-social behaviour - social learning - strengths
A
Anderson and Gill (2000)
Harris and Klebold (1999)
15
Q
Anderson and Gill (2000)
A
Participants who played violent video games were more likely to administer a loud and prolonged blast of noise to an opponent than those that played non-violent video games
16
Q
Harris and Klebold (1999)
A
There is evidence to suggest that the people responsible for the Columbine high school massacre were influenced by violent films and video games (natural born killers)
17
Q
Social explanations for crime and ant-social behaviour - weaknesses
A
Hard to test as it is unethical to make people commit crimes, therefore most research is due to case studies or generalised.
18
Q
Social explanations for crime and anti-social behaviour - self-fulfilling prophecy
A
The idea that labels influence future behaviour. Labels would change the way that others treat an individual, leading to that individual internalising the label, eventually becoming ‘real’ as it influences the way that they act. This can be applied to the criminal label ‘deviant’, as they are treated differently and isolated from society, they would socialise more with deviant groups that feel the same way, confirming their label.
19
Q
Social explanations for crime and anti-social behaviour - self-fulfilling prophecy - strengths
A
Jahoda (1954)
Rosenthal and Jacobsen (1968)
20
Q
Jahoda (1954)
A
Studied the Ashanti of Ghana where they boys are named after the day that they are born. Monday boys (Kwadwo) were thought to be more even tempered than the Wednesday boys (Kwadku). Jahoda observed that the Kwadku were over three times more likely to be involved in violent crime than the Kwadwo over a five year period
21
Q
Rosenthal and Jacobsen (1968)
A
Teachers at a primary school were told that a group of children were ‘spurters’ and were about to ‘bloom’ (they were chosen at random). At the end of the school year those children showed significant improvements in IQ than the children labelled as ‘standard’
22
Q
Social explanations for crime and anti-social behaviour - self-fulfilling prophecy - weaknesses
A
Zebrowitz et al (1998)
There is not much evidence applying directly to crime, most of it is generalised. It is only assumed that it will work
23
Q
Zebrowitz et al (1998)
A
Boys with a ‘baby face’ were more likely to be involved in crime, suggesting that they were overcompensating for appearing ‘weak’ or ‘childlike’ rather than living up to that label
24
Q
Social explanations for crime and anti-social behaviour - labelling
A
A theory of how we classify ourselves and others using labels, which then define that person. For example, if a person is labelled deviant, it would come to define them affecting how people behave towards them.
Becker (1963)
25
Becker (1963)
Interested in how and why some actions become labelled as criminal. He believes that powerful groups in society create deviance by making up rules and applying them to people they see as outsiders. Crime is a social construct (no behaviour is inherently criminal)
26
Social explanations for crime and anti-social behaviour - labelling - strengths
Application to reintegrative shaming - Braithwaite (1989)
Rosenthal and Jacobsen (1968)
27
Social explanations for crime and anti-social behaviour - weaknesses
Partial explanation of offending - the theory suggests that without labelling crime would not exist, and people that have not been labelled are not criminals. Most people would argue that murderers are criminals whether labelled or not
Evidence is generalised - it is not known whether labelling works directly with crime as most studies are undertaken in educational settings and generalised to crime
28
Braithwaite (1989)
Societies have lower crime and reoffending rates if they communicate shame about crime effectively. If the offender receives support and is helped back into society with the guidance of family and friends, they are less likely to reoffend
29
Biological explanations for crime and anti-social behaviour
Brain injury
Amygdala
XYY syndrome
30
Biological explanations for crime and anti-social behaviour - brain injury
Williams et al (2010)
There are two types of brain injury acquired brain injuries (ABIs that are damage to a developing brain causing it to misfire) and traumatic brain injuries (TBIs which directly cause brain damage). The pre-frontal cortex does not fully develop until 25 and is an area that could easily be damaged when falling. Therefore they may not be able to move beyond the reckless and risk taking behaviour that is associated with childhood, making offending more likely.
31
Williams et al (2010)
Analysed data from 196 inmates from a single UK prison. 60% recalled a history of childhood head injuries, this group tended to be younger at the time of their first offence and recorded higher rates of reoffending
32
Biological explanations for crime and anti-social behaviour - brain injuries - strengths
Raine et al (1997)
Williams et al (2010)
Fazel et al (2011)
33
Fazel et al (2011)
Analysed data from the Swedish population register from 1979 to 2009. They examined he association between traumatic brain injury and convictions for violent crime. Of those with an ABI 8.8% had committed a violent crime compared to 3% in a matched control group of similar size
34
Biological explanations for crime and anti-social behaviour - brain injury - weaknesses
Low generalisability of Williams et al (2010) - all males, only one prison
Fazel et al (2011) - correlational study, people with brain injuries may be predisposed to other factors that lead to crime
Raine - less activity does not necessarily mean that that area is damaged
35
Biological explanations for crime and anti-social behaviour - amygdala
The amygdala controls our emotional response to a stimulus (right excitatory, left inhibitory)
Part of the limbic system, it is key in fear conditioning and learning and normal function involves a balanced emotional response
Increased activity in the right amygdala will lead to increased impulsive violent behaviour
Damage or poor development can lead to issues with fear conditioning, children may fail to learn negative consequences of criminal behaviour
36
Biological explanations for crime and anti-social behaviour - amygdala - strengths
Charles Whitman
Raine et al (1997)
Pardini et al (2014)
37
Charles Whitman
Had a tumour on his amygdala, leading to a noticeable change in behaviour with him becoming more aggressive and shooting people
38
Pardini et al (2014)
Conducted neuro imagery scanning on a group of 26 year old men. The men were divided based on the size of their amygdala (normal or reduced). When the researchers returned to them three years later the reduced group were three times more likely to be aggressive, violent or show psychopathic traits.
39
Biological explanations for crime and anti-social behaviour - amygdala - weaknesses
Complex relationship between the amygdala and crime - other brain areas, such as the orbito frontal cortex, involved. It is thought to regulate self-control, reducing aggression
40
Biological explanations for crime and anti-social behaviour - XYY
Around one in a thousand males are born with an extra Y chromosome, leading to them generally being taller, having lower intelligence and being more impulsive. Some studies show a link between XYY and crime.
41
Biological explanations for crime and anti-social behaviour - XYY - strengths
Jacobs et al (1965)
42
Jacobs et al (1965)
Conducted a chromosome survey of males at a state hospital in Lanarkshire. Finding that men with XYY were overrepresented in the prison with 9/315.
43
Biological explanations for crime and anti-social behaviour - XYY - weaknesses
Re and Birkhoff (2015)
44
Re and Birkhoff (2015)
A meta-analysis looking at 50 years of evidence and concluding that there is no link between XYY and crime. Larger numbers of XYY in prisons may be better explained through social factors
45
Personality explantions for crime and anti-social behaviour
Eysenck's theory of criminal personality
46
Eysenck's theory of criminal personality
Eysenck's theory was that it is possible to measure personality along two dimensions
Extraversion - Introversion - extraverts crave excitement and stimulation, therefore they are more likely to engage in risk taking and dangerous behaviour, as well as tending not to condition easily
Neuroticism - Stability - neurotic individuals are nervy and anxious, their general instability makes them difficult to predict
Eysenck thinks that the criminal personality it Extrovert, Neurotic
47
Eysenck's theory of criminal personality - biological basis
Personality traits that we develop are explained by the type of nervous system that we inherit. The constant need for excitement can be attributed to an underactive nervous system that requires high levels of arousal.
48
Eysenck's theory of criminal personality - the third dimension
In later writings Eysenck added psychoticism as a new dimension, being seen in individuals that are self-centred, cold and lack empathy for others. A criminal personality would have a high psychoticism score
49
Eysenck's theory of criminal personality - the socialisation process
Despite being biological in nature, in most people socialisation as a child will determine whether they become law-abiding or not. However, the fact that extraverts are less receptive to operant conditioning and therefore less affected by punishment can have an affect.
50
Personality explanations for crime and anti-social behaviour - strengths
Boduszek et al (2013)
Raine et al (1990)
Application to early crime prevention - if criminal tendencies can be identified early in childhood, intervention can be used to modify the socialisation experiences of high risk offenders.
51
Personality explanations for crime and anti-social behaviour - weaknesses
Farrington et al (1982)
Not a single personality type that is criminal - Digman (1990)
52
Boduszek et al (2013)
Investigated the prevalence of Eysenck's personality traits in repeat offenders (133 violent, 179 non-violent male prisoners). Suggested that the criminal personality had high levels of psychoticism, extraversion and neuroticism.
53
Raine et al (1990)
Took psychological measures from participants aged 15 years old and related these to later criminal status. Those with a criminal record 24 years later had recorded more signs of under-arousal in the nervous system than non-criminals. This suggests a link between biological factors and offending
54
Farrington et al (1982)
Found very little evidence that Eysenck's questionnaire was an adequate measure for predicting offending in juveniles or adults. Suggests that Eysenck's theory may lack validity
55
Digman (1990)
The newer five factor model accepts Eysenck's concepts of extraversion and introversion but also adds openness, conscientiousness and agreeableness. Of these low levels of agreeableness and conscientiousness are related to offending
56
Cognitive interviewing
Developed by Fisher and Geiselman (1992) it was developed to address issues with EWT by improving recall based on memory research
Four main stages - report everything, reinstate the context (both about gathering more information), reverse the order and change perspective (to reduce schemas)
57
Cognitive interviewing - report everything
Asking the witness to report everything that they can remember about the incident, even if it may seem unimportant or irrelevant.
58
Cognitive interviewing - reinstate the context
The witness is asked to imagine all aspects of the day, such as the weather, time of day and how they felt during the event. It is hoped that they will trigger better recall (higher recall when in similar emotional state)
59
Cognitive interviewing - reverse the order
The witness describes what they saw in a different chronological order, such as back to front. Evidence suggests that witnesses are more likely to give a truer account rather than relying on their expectations.
60
Cognitive interviewing - change perspective
Asking the witness to describe the event from a different person's perspective.
61
Cognitive interviewing - enhanced
Fisher et al (1987) - developments of the original technique to pay more attention to the interaction between the interviewer and interviewee. The response may differ dependent on the interviewer (would not give prejudiced views on a race to a person of that race).
Improving EWT - maintaining eye contact, reducing distractions, asking open-ended questions and getting witnesses to speak slowly
62
Cognitive interviewing - strengths
Geiselman et al (1985)
Application to EWT - Milne and Bull (2002)
63
Milne and Bull (2002)
Observed that individual elements of CI in isolation tended to be more effective than standard interview techniques. This allows the time consuming process of CI to be reduced so that it could be more widely used
64
Geiselman et al (1985)
Showed participants a film of a violent crime and later interviewed them using either CI or standard interviewing or hypnosis. The average number of facts correctly recalled was 41.2 for the CI, 29.4 for standard interview and 38 for hypnosis.
65
Cognitive interviewing - weaknesses
Kohnken et al (1999)
66
Kohnken et al (1999)
Recorded an 81% increase in correct information using CI but also a 61% increase in incorrect information compared to standard interviewing methods. This suggests that although more information is produced, some of it may be inaccurate.
67
Ethical interviewing
A report by the royal commission on criminal justice in 1991 concluded that many false confessions and miscarriages of justice were the result of police using unethical interviewing techniques. This has lead to the development of the PEACE model of ethical interviewing
68
Ethical interviewing - PEACE model
Based on the idea that suspects are more likely to give a true confession when they feel relaxed, secure and non-threatened. There are five key principles -
Preparation and planning - identifying the key objectives of the interview
Engage and explain - active listening to promote rapport
Account, clarification and challenge - using open-ended questions to elicit information
Closure - giving the suspect a chance to ask any questions
Evaluate - reflecting on the interviewer's performance
69
Ethical interviewing - strengths
Kebbel
Walsh and Milne (2010)
70
Kebbel
Gave 45 sex offenders a questionnaire about different interviewing strategies, including ethical interviewing, evidence presenting and displays of humanity. They found that these three were the most likely to elicit a confession
71
Walsh and Milne (2010)
They looked at the effects of training using the PEACE model by analysing 99 audiotapes of interviews and comparing the performance on 50 behaviours. Found that the trained interviewers were better at open questions, getting more data, however there was no evidence of planning
72
Ethical interviewing - weaknesses
It takes a long time to train interviewers
Gudjonsson (1992)
73
Gudjonsson (1992)
Argues that some EI techniques are naive and that the 'social skills' approach should not entirely replace the persuasive one
74
Psychological formulation
A form of diagnosis that aims to explain the causes of a person's difficulties by constructing an individual summary, which is jointly constructed by the person and their therapist. It is done to help create a treatment plan for the person, as well as predicting reoffending. There are three main stages - offence analysis, understanding the function of offending and application to treatment
75
Psychological formulation - offence analysis
Done using casefiles and clinical interviews. The offences are analysed to gain an insight into the offenders motivations, potentially involving looking at other similar cases for general factors as motivations may be complex. Identifying reasons why the offence happened allows the forensic psychologist to assess the risk of reoffending and what possible causes can be removed or changed.
76
Psychological formulation - understanding the function of offending
Offence analysis shows the purpose of the function of offending to the individual, this may be similar to an addiction (fulfilling cravings) (Hodge et al 2011). For example, a rapist may compensate for their own feelings of worthlessness by exercising power over their victims, the psychological theory would be behaviourist and the psychodynamic would be childhood issues
77
Psychological formulation - application to treatment
Establishes forms of intervention for the offender based on the conclusions drawn, this should reflect how the offending started, the risk of reoffending and their level of motivation. The psychological formulation is a 'work in progress' and will be reassessed and adapted based on the success of the treatment
78
Psychological formulation - the case study of mr C
A 28 year old New Zealand Maori, heavily tattooed with images depicting his allegiance to a gang and a long criminal history. He was not convicted but in interview admitted to a pattern of serial rapes. He was brought up in a context of family violence and sexual abuse (led to core beliefs). Given 100 intensive hours of CBT and had to attend a ten week violence prevention programme.
79
Psychological formulation - strengths
Useful for complex cases - brings together the work of many agencies in the criminal justice system. Pooling expertise in this way is helpful when deciding the best way forward for the offender.
Application to reducing reoffending - likely to lead to lower reoffending rates (currently at 70%, an all time high)
80
Psychological formulation - weaknesses
Sources of bias - information related to offence analysis and the function of offending is collected in clinical interviews with the offender. Therefore, any recall of events may be unreliable and flawed. Similarly, conclusions will be based on the psychologists subjective opinion
Difficult to measure success - success is usually measured in terms of reoffending rates, however this ignores the fact that most reoffending goes undetected, so what is actually measured is reconviction rates.
81
Treatment for offenders
Cognitive behavioural treatment (anger management)
Improved diet
82
Treatment for offenders - anger management
A treatment in which violent offenders are encouraged to recognise what triggers their anger as well as being taught techniques to regulate their behaviour.
It assumes that the offender's inability to control their anger is the root cause of offending.
There are three main phases - cognitive preparation, skill acquisition and application and practise
83
Treatments for offenders - anger management - cognitive preparation
Working with a trained therapist the offender reflects on scenarios that have previously triggered anger, considering how they could have acted differently. Events that may have been 'flashpoints' in the past are gradually rationalised
84
Treatment for offenders - anger management - skill acquisition
Offenders are taught a range of behavioural techniques to help them cope more effectively with anger-provoking situations. This may be counting to ten or breathing patterns, over time these will become the automatic response to anger
85
Treatment for offenders - anger management - practise and application
The therapist would devise situations that would provoke anger in the offender so that they can practise what they have been taught. This will test whether the skills have been internalised.
86
Treatment for offenders - anger management - strengths
Ireland (2004)
Holbrook (1997)
Eclectic approach to offending - addresses different aspects of the offenders behaviour, working on cognitive, behavioural and social aspects.
87
Treatment for offenders - anger management - weaknesses
Not suitable for all offenders
Ireland (2004) - the study only lasted for eight weeks this may not be sufficient time to realistically evaluate the effectiveness, it may only be effective short term.
88
Ireland (2004) - procedure
Studied two groups of prisoners, 50 following an anger management programme and a control group waiting for the programme. She asked prisoners to complete a 53 question questionnaire at the start and end of the treatment (two weeks before and eight weeks after 12 sessions of anger management) and a behaviour checklist was completed by prison staff.
89
Ireland (2004) - findings
She found that 92% of the treatment group showed improvement in at least one measure and 48% on the questionnaire and checklist. The control failed to show any improvement on any on the measures.
90
Holbrook (1987)
26 male prisoners with a history of aggression were required to fill out a vengeance scale before and after anger management therapy. There was a significant decrease in post-treatment vengeance scores
91
Treatment for offenders - improved diet - vitamins and minerals
There is links between diet and crime, particularly the onset of aggression and anti-social behaviour. People that are deficient in particular minerals and vitamins are more likely to engage in aggressive or violent acts, suggesting that a diet improvement would reduce crime. Brain function depends on biochemical processes, which in turn rely on a steady supply of vitamins and minerals.
Moore et al (2009)
To improve diet a baseline measure is first established, ascertaining what vitamins the offender is currently lacking in. In most cases a multi-vitamin will be given to the offender.
92
Moore et al (2009)
Found that among a group of violent offenders 69% reported eating confectionary pretty much everyday during childhood. Suggesting that there may be a link between violence and sugar.
93
Treatment for offenders - improved diet - sugar
A high sugar duet causes changes in blood sugar levels, leading to the secretion of insulin. This may lead to a shortage of glucose, which is associated with irritability, difficulty making judgements and violent outbursts.
Benton et al (1996)
94
Benton et al (1996)
Children playing a video game became more aggressive as their blood sugar levels decreased
95
Treatments for offenders - improved diets - strengths
Gesch et al (2002)
Dan White (1979)
96
Treatments for offenders - improved diet - weaknesses
Cause and effect uncertain - it is difficult to establish a cause and effect between diet and crime. Crime is a complex social that is unlikely to be addressed by treating a single factor alone. The individuals with the worst diets are most likely to be the ones living in socially and economically deprived areas, which may be the cause of the crime.
Most studies focus on violence - not all crimes are violent yet most research studies look at changes in diet decreasing aggressive urges
97
Gesch et al (2002) - procedure
231 inmates in a young offenders institution were involved for between two weeks and nine months.
Those in the experimental group were given a daily vitamin, mineral and essential fatty acid supplement in addition to their normal diet, whilst those in the control group were given a placebo. Both groups were matched for disciplinary incidents.
A double blind procedure was used, where neither the prisoners or the prison staff knew who was on the placebo. A baseline measure of diet, as well as anger, anxiety and depression before the study took place.
98
Gesch et al (2002) - findings
In the experimental group there was a 35.1% reduction in disciplinary incidents per 1000 person days. The equivalent in the placebo group was 6.7%. There was also a significant reduction in serious violent incidents (37% in the experimental group and 10.1% in the placebo)
99
Gesch et al (2002) - conclusion
Supplementing the offenders diets with vitamins, minerals and fatty acids was linked to decrease in incidents of anti-social behaviour
100
Dan White (1979)
A former police officer and fireman that shot and killed the mayor of San Francisco and his supervisor. In his trial his lawyer stated that he was depressed and had become obsessed with junk food and sugary drinks, leading to a mood change and him being 'out of character'. His conviction was downgraded to manslaughter.
101
Factors influencing the reliability of EWT
Post event information
Leading questions
Anxiety
Weapon focus effect
102
Factors affecting the reliability of EWT - post event information
Refers to any information that arrives after an event that may affect or distort an eye-witness' testimony of what happened. This links to reconstructive memory and schema theory
103
Factors affecting the reliability of EWT - leading questions
Questions that lead the witness towards a specific answer. For example, 'did you see the man in the yellow hat?' implies that there was a man in a yellow hat. They may trigger schemas, leading to incorrect recall of the event.
104
Factors affecting the reliability of EWT - influence of anxiety
Deffenbacher (1983)
105
Deffenbacher (1983)
There is an inverted u relationship between anxiety and the reliability of EWT. Moderate levels of anxiety are helpful, however if it continues to rise recall worsens
106
Factors affecting the reliability of EWT - weapon focus
When a witness' attention is focused on the main source of stress( e.g. a weapon), resulting in their recall for other details being worse.
107
Factors affecting the reliability of EWT - post event information - strengths
Gabbert et al (2003)
108
Gabbert et al (2003)
Showed pairs of participants a video of the same crime from different angles, encouraging discussion before recall was tested. Found that 71% of participants recalled something that they could not have seen from the point of view shown in their video
109
Factors affecting the reliability of EWT - leading questions - strengths
Loftus and Palmer (1974)
110
Factors affecting the reliability of EWT - leading questions - weaknesses
Yuille and Cutshall (1986)
Loftus and Palmer (1974) - low ecological validity
111
Factors affecting the reliability of EWT - weapon focus - strengths
Johnson and Scott (1976)
112
Johnson and Scott (1976)
Half the participants heard a conversation in an adjoining room before a man emerged with greasy hands holding a pen with the other half seeing a man with bloody hands holding a knife. In the control 49% correctly identified the man from a selection of 50 photos compared to 33% when they saw him with the knife
113
Christiansson and Hubinette
Interviewed 110 interviews of 22 real life bank robberies finding that those that had been directly threatened or attacked had a better recall than those that were not
114
Factors affecting the reliability of EWT - weapon focus - weaknesses
Pickel (1998)
115
Factors affecting the reliability of EWT - anxiety - strengths
Christiansson and Hubinette
Valentine and Mesout
116
Pickel (1998)
The unusualness of the object had a larger impact on recall than the anxiety. Recall was worse when a man pulled out raw chicken at a hairdresser than when they pulled out a gun
117
Factors affecting jury decision making
Characteristics of the defendant -
Attractiveness, race, accent
Pre-trial publicity
118
Factors affecting jury decision making - attractiveness
Abwender and Hough (2001)
119
Abwender and Hough (2001)
Investigated the attractiveness leniency hypothesis (more attractive are treated more favourably). 209 participants (129 female and 78 males) were asked to judge the guilt of and recommended sentence for an imaginary drink driver that drove recklessly and killed a person. Found that female participants were more lenient towards attractive female defendants and less lenient to unattractive ones, whereas males displayed the opposite tendency.
120
Factors affecting jury decision making - race
Bradbury and Williams (2013)
Pfeifer and Olgoff (1991)
121
Bradbury and Williams (2013)
Analysed data from real life US court cases. They found that juries comprising of predominantly white jurors were more likely to convict a black defendant, as well as juries mostly made of hispanic jurors. In both scenarios the effect was more marked for certain crimes, such as drug offences
122
Pfeifer and Olgoff (1991)
Got participants to read a transcript of a trial in which the race of the victim and defendant varied, and were asked to rank the guilt of the defendant. Participants overwhelmingly rated black defendant guiltier than white defendants especially when the victim was white.
123
Factors affecting jury decision making - accent
Dixon et al (2002)
124
Dixon et al (2002)
A recorded conversation between a male suspect and policeman was played to 119 participants, with the accent varied between a Birmingham or standard British accent. Ratings of guilt were significantly higher in relation to the Birmingham accent
125
Factors affecting jury decision making - pre-trial publicity
Steblay et al (1999)
126
Steblay et al (1999) - procedure
A meta-analysis of 44 studies involving 5,755 participants in a mock jury or questionnaire. Negative information was given to experimental group participants and they were asked to decide whether the defendant was innocent or guilty, the control was not given any information
127
Steblay et al (1999) - findings
Those that were exposed to negative pre-trial publicity were significantly more likely to return a guilty verdict (59%) than control groups that were not (45%).
128
Steblay et al (1999) - conclusion
The data analysed supports pre-trial publicity as a factor affecting jury decision making, generally leading to more guilt judgements.
129
Factors affecting jury decision making - strengths
Research is ethical - mock juries therefore factors can be analysed without affecting the real outcome of a trial
Application to criminal trials - knowing about factors affecting juries can lead to the reduction of this for fairer verdicts
130
Factors affecting jury decision making - weaknesses
Patry (2008)
Other untested factors may affect juries - reduces validity
131
Patry (2008)
Found that mock jurors who discussed the case were more likely to find an attractive defendant guilty, whilst those who discussed it less were less likely to find the attractive defendant guilty. This shows other factors may affect the jury
132
Valentine and Mesout (2009) - aims
To test eye witness identification in an everyday scenario within which anxiety would be high and participants would not realise that their memory was being tested
133
Valentine and Mesout (2009) - procedure
Set in the labyrinth of the London dungeon, a pre-test showed that the labyrinth induced significant increases in heart rate.
56 participants which agreed to complete a couple of questionnaires in return for a reduced ticket price.
All walked around the labyrinth for approximately seven minutes (in which they saw the scary person step out in front of them), the rest of the visit was then completed (around 45 minutes)
At the end informed consent was gathered, the aims of the study were explained and they were given the right to withdraw.
Those who consented completed the trait anxiety inventory (measure typical anxiety level), the state anxiety inventory (how they felt in the labyrinth) and a memory questionnaire testing their recall of the scary person
134
Valentine and Mesout (2009) - procedure
Set in the labyrinth of the London dungeon, a pre-test showed that the labyrinth induced significant increases in heart rate.
56 participants which agreed to complete a couple of questionnaires in return for a reduced ticket price.
All walked around the labyrinth for approximately seven minutes (in which they saw the scary person step out in front of them), the rest of the visit was then completed (around 45 minutes)
At the end informed consent was gathered, the aims of the study were explained and they were given the right to withdraw.
Those who consented completed the trait anxiety inventory (measure typical anxiety level), the state anxiety inventory (how they felt in the labyrinth) and a memory questionnaire testing their recall of the scary person
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Valentine and Mesout (2009) - findings
The mean SAI score was 49.0, significantly higher than the mean TAI score of 36.8.
Witnesses who experienced higher state anxiety were able to correctly recall fewer descriptors of the scary person
Only 17% of those whose state anxiety was higher than the mean correctly identified the scary person from the line up, compared to 75% of those below
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Valentine and Mesout (2009) - conclusions
Accurate EWT is impaired by higher anxiety levels.
Lab studies may underestimate the effect of stress on the reliability of EWT
