| Popis: |
Though juror, defendant, and victim demographics are extra-legal factors, they have been shown to influence legal decisions in the U.S. criminal justice system. One characteristic that has received a great deal of attention is the personality trait right-wing authoritarianism (RWA). Persons high in RWA tend to show extreme adherence to authority figures, and discriminatory prejudice against those they perceive as non-conforming. Jurors high in RWA tend to be more punitive toward defendants they perceive as being subordinate. One way persons are viewed as subordinate, is when they are perceived as a lower socioeconomic status (SES) compared with the perceiver. However, little legal psychology research has examined how RWA and SES interact to bias juror decisions. This study explores biases in juror sentencing decisions toward low versus high SES defendants, while examining juror level of RWA. Three-hundred and seventy-five participants acted as mock jurors and read a trial transcript where defendant SES (low or high) was manipulated. The criminal charge against the defendant wasmurder. Mock jurors rendered a verdict, recommended a sentence, and provided various culpability, defendant trait ascription ratings, and demographic questions. Jurors then completed a short survey that included the RWA scale. Using a median split, jurors were grouped into low and high RWA groups creating a 2 (defendant SES: low or high) X 2 (juror RWA: low or high) between-groups design. I hypothesized that jurors high in RWA would be more punitive toward the low SES defendant accused of murder. Analysis revealed significant interactive effects of juror RWA and defendant SES. |
