Topic 4; psychology and the courtroom

Question 1

how can juries be persuaded by the characteristics of witnesses and defendants?

Answer 1

stereotypes such as appearance, attractiveness, dress, age, race, and accent of the witness and defendant

Question 2

how does attractiveness influence juries (Stewart, Sigall and Ostrove)?

Answer 2

as the attractiveness of defendants increases the severity of punishments decreases
individuals gave harsher sentences for burglary to the defendants who were considered physically unattractive

Question 2

how does race influence juries (Brewer - OJ Simpson trial)?

Answer 2

white Americans tended to see the defendant as guilty owing to the weight of the evidence against him whereas black Americans tended to interpret the presented evidence in terms of police misconduct

Question 2

how does the way language is used affect juries (Lakoff)?

Answer 2

males or females who used hedges (I think) were perceived as less intelligent, less competent and less believable

Question 2

how does accent affect juries (Mahoney and Dixon)?

Answer 2

the ‘brummie’ accent is consistently rated more negatively than received pronunciation
the ‘brummie’ accent was rated more guilty than the received pronunciation - the black ‘brummie’ accent was rated the most guilty, especially for blue collar crimes (theft)